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Kirkland & Ellis Steals Second Gibson Dunn Partner in August - Kirkland & Ellis announced this morning that Prerak “Pre” Shah, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, has joined its Houston office as a partner to focus on state attorneys general litigation.
Shah, who worked a year in the Texas attorney general’s office in 2016, told The Texas Lawbook that he lateraled to Kirkland because it “has an unmatched litigation platform, an exceptional client base and a real appetite for investing in areas where clients are facing growing risk.” August 31, 2026
Vartabedian Katz Continues to Grow, Gains Three Partners from McKool Smith - After Rob Vartabedian brought on Marc Katz and his labor and employment team from DLA Piper in February, he told The Texas Lawbook he was “a little exhausted by expansion.”
But that was six months ago. On Monday, Vartabedian Katz Hester & Haynes announced it is bolting on an intellectual property litigation practice with the addition of a trio of partners from McKool Smith. August 31, 2026
But that was six months ago. On Monday, Vartabedian Katz Hester & Haynes announced it is bolting on an intellectual property litigation practice with the addition of a trio of partners from McKool Smith. August 31, 2026
nVent Buys Maverick Power to Invent ‘Electrified Future’ - Jackson Walker advised Maverick Power in its $1.75 billion acquisition by British power products manufacturer nVent. The deal positions nVent to provide key power products for data center power and backup needs. Foley & Lardner advised nVent. August 30, 2026
CDT Roundup: Not the Kind of Cool-off We’re Looking For - While the summer heat continues to scorch the state, the Texas M&A market has certainly cooled. There wasn’t much activity for the week ended Aug. 29, with nary a capital markets transaction. That left the CDT Roundup with seven M&A and funding transactions with a combined disclosed value just over $3 billion.
August 30, 2026
Data Shows Texas Remains Center of Patent Litigation Universe - Texas’ reputation as the nation’s top venue for patent disputes hasn’t faded, according to a new report from Lex Machina that shows a remarkable 40.4 percent of all patent litigation in the country from 2023 through 2025 was adjudicated in the state. August 28, 2026
Fifth Circuit Again Revives Texas Prisoner’s Sleep-Deprivation Lawsuit - For the third time, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has sent a Texas prisoner’s long-running sleep-deprivation lawsuit back to a federal district court, finding the judge had again applied legal standards the appeals court had previously rejected. Since 2019, Haynes Boone has dedicated about 1,200 hours to the case. August 28, 2026
Judge Reduces Award from $9.2M to $1M in Favor of GlobalFoundries’ Motion - U.S. District Judge Alan Albright significantly reduced the damages award from $9.2 million to $1 million in favor of GlobalFoundries, ruling that the plaintiff’s damages model was legally unreliable. August 27, 2026
Centerpiece
Asked & Answered with Tillotson Patton’s Mollie Mallory: Trials, Family and Fun - In this edition of Asked & Answered, Tillotson Patton’s Mollie Mallory shares her first trial experience and what it is like working with her brother. She also talks about her favorite Dallas restaurants and her morning routine getting ready for trial. August 26, 2026Law Firms in Texas ‘Off to a Very Strong Start’ in H1 2026 - Corporate lawyers in Texas were busier handling mergers, acquisitions and capital market transactions during the first half of 2026 than in any six-month period since 2021 and the tail end of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new Citi Global Wealth at Work Law Firm Group data released exclusively to The Texas Lawbook. The Citi data shows that Texas businesses’ demand for legal services and lawyer headcount were up slightly, while the legal fees charged by Texas lawyers were up an astonishing double digits. August 24, 2026
Expert Voices
What Gov. Abbott’s Data Center Audit Directive Means for ERCOT and the Batch Zero Study Process - The audit, which ERCOT anticipates will take several months to complete, must occur prior to any additional data center being approved to move forward in the interconnection process. August 25, 2026
Four Pitfalls European Companies Should Avoid When Transferring Senior Leaders to the U.S. - As European companies launch operations into Texas and across the United States, transferring senior leaders stateside is among the most consequential steps they’ll take during the expansion process. In the course of these cross-border moves, foreign companies frequently underestimate four pitfalls that can undermine even well-planned transfers. August 24, 2026
Stories You Might’ve Missed
The Real Harry Potter’s ‘Magic Wand — Loyalty to the Law’ - “Your boss is a crook!” Arthur Golden, a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell and a lawyer for Big Tobacco, screamed into the telephone in the fall of 1998. “A crook!”
On the other end of the line, Harry Potter, then a special assistant attorney general in Texas running the tobacco litigation, who was appointed three decades ago by then-Texas Attorney General Dan Morales to lead the historic lawsuit brought by the state of Texas against Big Tobacco. Potter and Golden had negotiated the details of the historic $15.3 billion settlement agreement between the state of Texas and large cigarette makers.
“Arthur was extremely angry — livid,” Potter said. “He talked about secret lawyer contracts. I didn’t know anything about it, but it sent chills throughout my body."
In Part II of The Texas Lawbook's series on the tobacco litigation, learn the story of the real Harry Potter, a Houston lawyer whose secret power was his ethics and commitment to the law. July 16, 2026
