Texas Pulse

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    Mid-Law Mergers On Track In 2024 To Match Recent Years

    Thus far in 2024, law firm mergers have been in keeping with prior years, industry observers said, with leaders at midsize firms considering mergers driven by a number of factors including the rise of artificial intelligence, aging firm leadership and effort to meet client demand.

  • Texas Attorney Serving 15-Year Sentence Is Disbarred

    The State Bar of Texas announced Monday that it has yanked the license of a criminal defense attorney who was sentenced in 2021 to more than 15 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of cheating big-time Colombian drug trafficking clients.

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    Paul Hastings Adds Cyber Ace In Dallas From Akin Gump

    Paul Hastings LLP announced Monday that it has strengthened its global data privacy and cybersecurity practice with a partner in Dallas who previously served as co-head of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she practiced for more than two decades.

  • Split SCOTX Revives Judge's Same-Sex Wedding Challenge

    A split Texas Supreme Court revived a judge's lawsuit against the state judicial ethics commission over sanctions for her refusal to officiate same-sex marriages, with the majority finding the judge's claims are not barred because she did not go through the administrative process.

  • Texas Judge Who Axed DACA To Retire In January 2025

    U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen — a controversial Republican appointee best known for twice ruling against President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy — has announced that he will take senior status on Jan. 2, 2025, allowing the next president to name his replacement.

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Susman Godfrey LLP, Hausfeld LLP and Langer Grogan & Diver PC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a California federal jury awarded $4.7 billion to two classes of DirecTV Sunday Ticket subscribers in an antitrust trial against the National Football League and its teams.

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    Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry marked the end of June with another action-packed week of BigLaw hires and three straight days of U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    Litigation Pro Joins Bradley Arant From Houston Boutique

    Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has strengthened its litigation practice in Texas with a partner who came aboard from Houston corporate law firm BoyarMiller.

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    Ogletree Deakins' Well-Being Leader On Mental Health Effort

    Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC is no stranger to the needs of employers, focusing its legal efforts on representing management. But the law firm recently launched an effort to prioritize its own employees' mental health.

  • Paxton Attys To Testify In Federal Probe, 5th Circ. Indicates

    A federal grand jury impaneled to weigh Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's alleged abuses of office is set to continue hearing witness testimony next week, a recently published Fifth Circuit opinion indicates.

  • Texas DAs Escape Defendant Class Cert. In Abortion Case

    A Texas federal judge on Wednesday rejected a bid to force state prosecutors to become a certified class of defendants in a suit aimed to curb retaliation against advocates who help women get an abortion outside the state, saying there was no risk of varying adjudications.

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    Law Firm Real Estate Report

    Leasing activity remained strong for several large firms throughout June as Lathrop GPM moved its Chicago office into a smaller space, and Polsinelli PC planted its second flag in Utah three years after launching its Salt Lake City office and three months after relocating its St. Louis team.

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    How Attorneys Are Celebrating Pride Month In 2024

    This June, LGBTQ+ attorneys around the country at law firms big and small shared with Law360 how they — and their firms — are celebrating Pride Month.

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    New Holland & Knight Diversity Atty Hopes To 'Reimagine' DEI

    Holland & Knight LLP's new diversity partner, O'Kelly E. McWilliams III, never sought out opportunities to serve in the diversity, equity and inclusion space, but the chance to serve in those roles presented themselves throughout the years.

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    Spencer Fane Lobbying Pro Joins Holland & Knight In Austin

    Holland & Knight LLP has brought on a veteran lobbyist and lawyer in Austin, who previously led the government affairs group at Spencer Fane LLP, to helm the firm's new Texas government advocacy team.

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    Most New Attys Don't See 'Flashy Lawyer Salary'

    While some new attorneys earn top dollar right out of their Juris Doctor program, that isn't actually the norm, according to a new study from Georgetown University, which found that when factoring in student loan debt, the median earnings for all law graduates land at just $72,000 four years after graduation.

  • Texas Planning To Use New Bar Exam In 2028, Justices Say

    The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday announced that it expects to adopt a new bar examination beginning in July 2028 after considering public comments.

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    The Case For BigLaw Being More Transparent About Suicides

    While BigLaw's suicide prevention efforts emphasize open communication around mental health, firms are largely less transparent about how they'd respond to the suicide of an employee.

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    Baker McKenzie Promotes 66 To Partner In 2024

    Baker McKenzie said Wednesday that 66 lawyers are being promoted to partnerships in 2024, its smallest yearly intake of newly elevated partners in a decade, though it has also hired nearly 50 partners over the past year.

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    Stone Hilton Brings On Litigation Pro From Austin Boutique

    The newest partner to join the roster of boutique litigation, appellate and government relations firm Stone Hilton PLLC came aboard from Austin boutique Ewell Brown Blanke & Knight LLP and also boasts experience at BigLaw outfits like Vinson & Elkins LLP and Covington & Burling LLP.

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    Kroger Using Annual Meeting To Stress Value Of Merger

    As grocery chain The Kroger Co. prepares to defend its proposed merger with Albertsons Cos. later this summer, it's using its virtual annual meeting on Thursday to trumpet its value to shareholders, to communities and to workers.

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    Schouest Bamdas Opens Dallas Office With 6-Partner Hire

    Schouest Bamdas Soshea BenMaier & Eastham PLLC has expanded its footprint in Texas by launching a new office in Dallas with six new partners from Hartline Barger LLP, it said in an official announcement Tuesday.

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    Small Firms Put Unique Spin On Summer Associate Programs

    As the competition for sought-after BigLaw summer associateships continues to ramp up, some small firms and boutiques are seeing an opportunity to develop their own programs to attract law students looking to gain valuable experience.

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    Legal Office Leasing Stayed Strong In Q1, Cushman Says

    Cushman & Wakefield said in a report Tuesday that the legal sector continued to take on real estate at a strong clip in the first quarter of 2024 after reaching records among office leases in both 2022 and 2023.

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    Approach The Bench: Judge Nazarian Touts Mentorship

    Judge Douglas Nazarian of the Appellate Court of Maryland has given a lot of thought to clerkships since he took the bench more than 11 years ago.

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Expert Analysis

  • 4 Ways To Break Down Barriers For Women Of Color In Law Author Photo

    Female lawyers belonging to minority groups continue to be paid less and promoted less than their male counterparts, so law firms and corporate legal departments must stop treating women as a monolithic group and create initiatives that address the unique barriers women of color face, say Daphne Turpin Forbes at Microsoft and Linda Chanow at the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession.

  • Opinion

    We Need More Professional Diversity In The Federal Judiciary Author Photo

    With the current overrepresentation of former corporate lawyers on the federal bench, the Biden administration must prioritize professional diversity in judicial nominations and consider lawyers who have represented workers, consumers and patients, says Navan Ward, president of the American Association for Justice.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Retire Without Creating Chaos? Author Photo

    Retired attorney Vernon Winters explains how lawyers can thoughtfully transition into retirement while protecting their firms’ interests and allaying clients' fears, with varying approaches that turn on the nature of one's practice, client relationships and law firm management.

  • Why I Went From Litigator To Law Firm Diversity Officer Author Photo

    Narges Kakalia at Mintz recounts her journey from litigation partner to director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the firm, explaining how the challenges she faced as a female lawyer of color shaped her transition and why attorneys’ unique skill sets make them well suited for diversity leadership roles.

  • For Asian American Lawyers, Good Mentorship Is Crucial Author Photo

    Navigating the legal world as an Asian American lawyer comes with unique challenges — from cultural stereotypes to a perceived lack of leadership skills — but finding good mentors and treating mentorship as a two-way street can help junior lawyers overcome some of the hurdles and excel, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Coping With Secondary Trauma From Pro Bono Work Author Photo

    As the need for pro bono services continues to grow in tandem with the pandemic, attorneys should assess their mental well-being and look for symptoms of secondary traumatic stress, while law firms must carefully manage their public service programs and provide robust mental health services to employees, says William Silverman at Proskauer.

  • How Firms Can Benefit From Creating Their Own ALSPs Author Photo

    As more law firms develop their own legal services centers to serve as both a source of flexible personnel and technological innovation, they can further enhance the effectiveness by fostering a consistent and cohesive team and allowing for experimentation with new technologies from an established baseline, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Modernizing Legal Education Through Hybrid JD Programs Author Photo

    Amid pandemic-era shifts in education, law schools and other stakeholders should consider the wide geographic and demographic reach of Juris Doctor programs with both online and in-person learning options, and educators should think through the various ways hybrid programs can be structured, says Stephen Burnett at All Campus.

  • How BigLaw Can Mirror Small Firm Attorney Engagement Author Photo

    BigLaw has the unique opportunity to hit refresh post-pandemic and enhance attorney satisfaction by adopting practices that smaller firms naturally employ — including work assignment policies that can provide junior attorneys steady professional development, says Michelle Genet Bernstein at Mark Migdal.

  • Ditch The Annual Review To Boost Attorney Job Satisfaction Author Photo

    In order to attract and retain the rising millennial generation's star talent, law firms should break free of the annual review system and train lawyers of all seniority levels to solicit and share frequent and informal feedback, says Betsy Miller at Cohen Milstein.

  • How Attorneys Can Narrow LGBTQ Gap In The Judiciary Author Photo

    Lawyers can take several steps to redress the lack of adequate LGBTQ representation on the bench and its devastating impact on litigants and counsel in the community, says Janice Grubin, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee at the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York.

  • Employers Must Heed Rising Attorney Stress And Alcohol Use Author Photo

    Krill Strategies’ Patrick Krill, who co-authored a new study that revealed alarming levels of stress, hazardous drinking and associated gender disparities among practicing attorneys, highlights how legal employers can confront the underlying risk factors as both warnings and opportunities in the post-COVID-19 era.

  • Lawyers Can Get Ready For Space Law To Take Flight Author Photo

    While international agreements for space law have remained relatively unchanged since their creation decades ago, the rapid pace of change in U.S. laws and policies is creating opportunities for both new and veteran lawyers looking to break into this exciting realm, in either the private sector or government, says Michael Dodge at the University of North Dakota.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: What Makes A Successful Summer Associate? Author Photo

    Navigating a few densely packed weeks at a law firm can be daunting for summer associates, but those who are prepared to seize opportunities and not afraid to ask questions will be set up for success, says Julie Crisp at Latham.

  • How To Successfully Market Your Summer Associate Program Author Photo

    Law firms can attract the right summer associate candidates and help students see what makes a program unique by using carefully crafted messaging and choosing the best ambassadors to deliver it, says Tamara McClatchey, director of career services at the University of Chicago Law School.

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