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Lane Change: Bobby Tudor Shifts from Adviser to Investor - As chairman of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative, Tudor has been hard at work shepherding Houston’s energy sector through its transition to a lower-carbon future. If successful, he may just yet earn himself another moniker as a doula as he helps birth a new industry. October 4, 2026Mark Druskoff

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Top Stories

Jury Trial to Begin in Multimillion Dollar Dispute in Dallas Business Court - Texas Business Court Judge Bill Whitehill will preside over his first jury trial starting Tuesdaymorning with jury selection in a $100 million breach-of-contract case between two oil and gascompanies. The case, in which Synergy Thermogen is accusing Blackbrush Oil & Gas of breach of contractby using its access to the company to delay progress and defraud investors, will take place inthe Merrill Hartman Courtroom of the George Allen Courts Building in Dallas since the business court has no courtroom space of its own. October 5, 2026Alexa Shrake
Exxon, Suncor Seek Protection from Climate Change Lawsuits - On Monday, the two energy companies are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to put a stop to one specific case brought by the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, with hopes that a favorable ruling will kill off similar lawsuits before they go to trial. October 4, 2026Mark Curriden
First Court of Appeals Justice Guiney Dies at 51 - The First Court of Appeals announced Friday that Justice Kristin Guiney, 51, died. Justice Guiney joined the court last year and previously presided over the 232nd and the 179th District Courts in Harris County. People who knew Justice Guiney say she will be remembered for her fairness. October 3, 2026Alexa Shrake
Trump to Nominate Phelps Dunbar Partner to Succeed Fifth Circuit Judge Southwick - President Donald Trump announced on social media Thursday his plans to nominate Phelps Dunbar partner G. Todd Butler to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, filling a vacancy created by Judge Leslie Southwick’s move to senior status. Butler, who is currently the managing partner at Phelps Dunbar’s Jackson, Mississippi, office, is a former clerk for Judge Southwick. October 1, 2026Alexa Shrake
Dallas Attorneys Win Dismissal of Cryptocurrency Memecoin RICO Suit - Dallas trial lawyers from Sbaiti & Company secure the dismissal of a civil RICO punitive class action in the Southern District of New York involving cryptocurrency memecoins. U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon granted the defenses' motion to dismiss all claims with prejudice and denied leave for an amended complaint Wednesday. October 1, 2026Alexa Shrake
Gibson Dunn Powers Up IP Practice, Adds Mathews and Fountain - Fresh off their third trial defense win in a row in the Eastern District of Texas, Nicholas Mathews and Erik Fountain are transferring their intellectual property litigation talents to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. They are the latest in a string of partner losses at McKool Smith this summer. October 1, 2026Brooks Igo

Centerpiece

Litigation Roundup: Uber Settles Sex Assault Bellwether on Eve of Austin Trial  - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a lawyer who filed an AI-generated brief "littered with errors” is sanctioned by the Dallas Court of Appeals, a Stephenville businessman agrees to forfeit more than 90 exotic cars after admitting to running a scam loan program and Vinson & Elkins and Hunton Andrews Kurth gear up to defend data center clients against an environmental suit in San Antonio.  October 5, 2026Michelle Casady
CDT Roundup: A Week Sans Shiny Objects - The week ending Oct. 3 saw 14 deals valued at a bit over $4 billion, featuring the usual menu of power and infrastructure deals. It was a week without a banner transaction — made extraordinary by its adequacy in head-scratching times. October 4, 2026Jason Philyaw

Expert Voices

What Buyers Are Really Underwriting in Texas Healthcare Deals: Regulatory History - Buy-side diligence in healthcare deals can no longer stop at current earnings. Past coding irregularities, noncompliant leases and unaddressed HIPAA risk analyses travel with a target through closing, affecting purchase price, indemnities and exit valuations. October 2, 2026Megan Neel
The Taxing Challenge of Produced Water - As millions of barrels of oilfield wastewater flood into Texas from New Mexico daily, shrinking underground disposal capacity in the Permian Basin threatens to constrain future energy production. Levying a severance-style tax on out-of-state produced water would generate over $100 million annually, protect Texas operators and spur vital investment in water recycling infrastructure. September 29, 2026T. Ray Guy

More Stories

White-Collar & Regulatory Roundup: Attorney Charged in $1.45M Tax-Lien Ponzi Scheme
Small Businesses to Get a ‘More Affordable, Efficient Way’ to Restructure Debt
Catching Up with Mike McKool, 3 Years After Departing Firm He Founded
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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, 2026Mark Curriden

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