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In $17M Trade Secrets Case Between Rivals, Federal Judge Awards $2 - For more than four years, two competitors in the senior-citizen insurance space had battled through a $17 million trade secrets dispute in a Chicago federal court. This week, a judge held that Bankers Life and Casualty Co. was entitled to just $2 in damages. August 26, 2026Michelle Casady
Mobile Carriers, Tech Vendors Win EDTX Patent Dispute - A federal jury in Marshall returned a unanimous verdict Wednesday in favor of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Ericsson and Nokia, finding they did not infringe on three patents, denying the plaintiffs' $436 million request. The three disputed patents directed quality of service flow, control resource set configuration and small cell enhancements. August 26, 2026Alexa Shrake
Amid Rural Attorney Shortage, TIDC Awards $1.8M to Strengthen Indigent Defense - The Texas Indigent Defense Commission has approved more than $1.8 million in targeted grants aimed at strengthening indigent defense systems across the state as counties grapple with a growing attorney shortage, particularly in rural counties. The number of lawyers handling indigent defense cases in rural Texas declined 29 percent between 2014 and 2024, TIDC Executive Director Scott Ehlers said. August 25, 2026Krista Torralva
Litigation Roundup: Texas Oil Co. Ordered to Comply with SEC Investigation - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Texas Instruments is dealt a blow by the Texas Business Court in its quest to get an injunction against a competitor and a half dozen amicus briefs have been filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by parties in favor of preserving a Texas gun restriction penal code. August 24, 2026Michelle Casady
CDT Roundup: No Blockbusters, but Some Big Moves Brewing - The CDT Roundup saw nine deals announced during the week ended Aug. 22, with a combined reported value of about $2.8 billion — the lightest dollar figure since late January. The week prior had 15 deals with a value of nearly $7 billion, and a year ago at this time, the Roundup was reporting 23 deals worth more than $15.2 billion.

The rare week ended without an M&A megadeal. August 23, 2026Jason Philyaw
Dallas Firm Notches $1.2M Win Against J&J - After deliberating for four hours Friday evening, a New Orleans jury awarded $10 million in damages finding that talc powder manufactured and sold by Johnson & Johnson “was a substantial cause of Lynne Roy’s mesothelioma.” The jury set J&J’s share at $1.2 million. The jury, which issued its verdict Friday at 9:47 p.m. after a three-week trial, found that J&J and five other defendants made products, including talc powder, that led to the 2020 death of the prominent Louisiana real estate agent’s death at the age of 76. August 22, 2026Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

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, 2026Alexa Shrake
Law 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, 2026Mark Curriden

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, 2026Tory Lauterbach & Adam Whitehouse
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, 2026Joshua Redelman

More Stories

Dallas Jury Awards $8M to AT&T in Breach of Contract Case with Former Sales Providers
Trial Court’s Post-Verdict Error Triggers Major Reduction in Damages for Alex Jones
The Dallas-Based Law Firm Taking on Johnson & Johnson — And Winning
More Stories


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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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