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Texas Law Professors Join Amicus Brief in Support of Perkins Coie Challenge to Trump Executive Order - More than a dozen professors from Texas law schools joined an amicus brief in support of Perkins Coie’s challenge to President Donald Trump’s March 6 executive order targeting the firm. The president's executive order is unconstitutional and poses a grave threat to the rule of law, the professors argue. April 3, 2025Houston Judge Rejects $9B Bankruptcy Effort By J&J - Houston Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez ruled late Monday that multiple flaws require him to dismiss Johnson & Johnson’s third attempt to use the federal bankruptcy courts to rid itself of 90,000 cases filed across the country by women suing pharmaceutical giant for making and selling baby powder that they claim caused their ovarian and other gynecological cancers. In a 57-page opinion, Judge Lopez said his ruling to reject J&J’s efforts to create a separate subsidiary in Texas called Red River Talc for the sole purpose of funding a $9 billion resolution of its talc powder cancer litigation through the bankruptcy process was "not an easy one, [but] it is the right one.” March 31, 2025
Expert Voices
Where is Securities Litigation Headed in Texas? - Securities litigation is one of the most interesting and important areas of commercial litigation. It is arguably the reason why the United States has been able to attract more capital via foreign investment than any other country in the world. And Dallas has recently been making moves that are likely to result in it becoming a new center for securities-related litigation. April 3, 2025
Defining the Client File — Using Fee Agreements to Establish Clear Boundaries in the Digital Age - What categories of documents are included in the “file” has never been defined. With technology creating a record of nearly everything a lawyer does on behalf of a client, a liberal interpretation of the rule would mandate expansive and intrusive disclosures. This can be particularly problematic if the client is an entity that experiences a change in control — perhaps even to a former adversary. This article discusses the use of attorney-client fee agreements to define and limit what documents will be included in the client’s “file” to resolve the ambiguity and minimize exposure to lawyers. April 1, 2025
Stories You Might’ve Missed
Winter Storm Uri — Four Years Later, Zero Jury Trials for 30,000 Victims of Historic Storm - The ground had not yet thawed four years ago when the Texas courts were slammed with an avalanche of lawsuits. More than 30,000 individuals and small businesses filed wrongful death, personal injury and property damage lawsuits against ERCOT and the energy companies accusing them of gross negligence that caused much of the power blackouts. A separate class action accused energy companies and financial institutions of using Winter Storm Uri to manipulate prices and generate billions of dollars in profits. Four years later, not a single witness deposition has been taken and not a single case has been set for trial. And a growing number of legal experts predict that none of those cases will ever be heard by a jury of Texas citizens. February 13, 2025
