Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Texas Pulse
-
Legal Tech Funding Surges In Q3 Thanks To 3 Megadeals
Three outlier megadeals pushed funding for legal technology companies to $1.57 billion in the third quarter of 2024, up from $392.5 million in the same period last year, but the number of mergers and acquisitions fell by about 50%.
-
Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz
This was another action-packed week for the legal industry as BigLaw firms made a slew of hires and a state judge was admonished for lip synching "Jump" by Rihanna in a TikTok. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.
-
Paxton Prosecutor Fee Fight Ends With High Court Rejection
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday declined to take up a dispute over how much a special prosecutor appointed to oversee the securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton should be paid, ending a fee fight that has stretched on almost as long as the criminal case.
-
Israel-Palestine Suits Tested In Court With Mixed Results
A slew of lawsuits related to the Gaza war in the Middle East have already yielded mixed outcomes and, in the view of some, contradictory rulings as they've moved through the courts, revealing a tension between free speech and college campus safety while also stoking concerns over the fairness of the judicial system.
-
Houston Firm Says 'Scurrilous' Ex-Atty Not Entitled To Fees
A Houston law firm is urging a state court to dismiss a lawsuit from a disbarred attorney seeking fees for cases he worked on before going to prison for fraud, arguing that paying him the $3.84 million he is asking for would run afoul of ethics rules and a Texas Supreme Court order.
-
Investor Connected To Texas AG Seeks To Ax Fraud Case
Nate Paul, a real estate investor at the heart of the failed impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has moved to dismiss federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges against him, arguing that the indictment does not claim that he acted willfully when allegedly ripping off lenders and investors.
-
Houston-Based Locke Lord Atty Joins Int'l Disputes Boutique
Youssef & Partners, based in Egypt, has added a Houston-based attorney to its international arbitration and litigation practice who came aboard from Locke Lord LLP.
-
US BigLaw Firms Accelerate Enviro Efforts, But Diversity Lags
Amid a number of recent legal challenges, large law firms in the U.S. have amped up many of their environmental, social and governance-related efforts, with particular growth in environmental sustainability action, while areas like diversity, equity and inclusion have been less successful, according to a report out Wednesday that examined firms' public-facing communications.
-
Biotech Co. Names Well-Traveled Former GC As Board Chair
Virometix AG, a privately held Swiss biotechnology company developing synthetic vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer, has appointed a globe-trotting former general counsel as chair of its board of directors.
-
Constangy Appoints Additional Immigration Leadership
Labor and employment boutique Constangy said Wednesday that a North Carolina partner is stepping up to co-chair the firm's immigration practice group.
-
Munsch Hardt Taps Firm Vet To Lead Austin Shop
The incoming leader of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC's Austin, Texas, office has been with the firm for his entire legal career.
-
AI-Focused Exec Roles Are Having A Moment At Law Firms
Several law firms this year, including Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and McDermott Will & Emery LLP, have filled artificial intelligence-focused chief and director roles to keep up with technological advances and client demands, according to legal recruiters.
-
Judge Puts US Trustee's Depo On Ice In Judge Romance Suit
A Houston judge Tuesday put Jackson Walker's deposition of the U.S. Trustee for the Texas divisions of the bankruptcy watchdog on hold while he considers whether a Justice Department guideline applies to the ongoing dispute surrounding a former Texas bankruptcy judge's secret relationship with an ex-partner of the firm.
-
Texas Tribune Can Attend Bail Hearings, 5th Circ. Told
A Fifth Circuit panel pushed back on a Texas county's argument that the Texas Tribune and other news organizations do not have the right to enter magistration proceedings, asking why the process of setting bail would count as an informal procedure during oral arguments Tuesday.
-
Judge Security Data Reflects Policy Shifts As Much As Threats
Former employees of the U.S. Marshals Service say that while judicial security has never been more urgent, finding trends is nearly impossible: The way threats against federal judges are tracked has varied so much from year to year, the data is essentially meaningless.
-
Polsinelli Taps Chief Of Staff As First Practice Strategy Leader
Polsinelli PC announced Monday that it promoted its chief of staff to serve as both its staff lead and as its first chief practice strategy officer, tasking her with managing how its practices work together to benefit clients and promoting innovation through strategies such as the use of artificial intelligence.
-
Chamberlain Hrdlicka Brings On COO, Marketing Leader
Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry has added a new chief operating officer who joined from Greenberg Traurig LLP and a chief business development officer and marketing director who came aboard from Gray Reed & McGraw LLP, the firm announced Tuesday.
-
Spencer Fane Adds Litigator From Houston Boutique
Spencer Fane LLP has bulked up its litigation and dispute resolution practice group with a partner in Houston who came aboard from Texas boutique Burford Perry LLP.
-
Texas Class Wants Funding Firms To Face Hurricane Ad Suit
A Texas magistrate judge was wrong to recommend dropping litigation funding companies from a suit alleging a law firm deceptively advertised to hurricane victims, with a proposed class of storm victims arguing the funders must have been aware of the scheme when they loaned the firm $20 million.
-
White & Case Adds Marketing, Innovation Execs Amid Growth
White & Case LLP announced Monday the appointment of both a chief innovation officer and a chief marketing officer as the firm continues to expand through hiring and office openings.
-
More Law Firms Want To Merge, But Deals Aren't Skyrocketing
Law firm management consultants say they continue to see historic interest among law firms to engage in merger talks, driven further by a spate of big deals announced during the third quarter of the year, but the number of actual combinations inked has remained fairly steady, Law360 Pulse data shows.
-
Littler Adds Excelitas Exec As Chief Digital Innovation Officer
Labor and employment firm Littler Mendelson PC has added the former executive vice president and chief information officer at photonics and light technology company Excelitas Technologies as its chief digital innovation officer.
-
Law Firm Billing Rate Hikes Doubled In 2024
Billing rates for the top 100 law firms in the United States surged by 10% from 2023 to 2024, the largest rate hike in the past three years, according to a new research report on Tuesday.
-
Legal Employers Say AI Is Affecting Hiring
A majority of legal industry employers say that artificial intelligence is changing the skill sets they look for in hiring, according to a report released Monday by business consulting firm Robert Half, with the report also finding that employers prefer to train existing employees than hire externally.
-
Retired Exxon GC Starts 2nd Act Leading Texas Energy Center
Eight years after stepping down as general counsel of Exxon Mobil Corp., Jack Balagia is planning to leverage his decades of experience to assist students at the University of Texas at Austin as the new executive director of its Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center. Law360 Pulse spoke with Balagia about his new role and the path that led him to it.
Expert Analysis
-
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can Associates Seek More Assignments?.jpg)
In the first installment of Law360 Pulse's career advice guest column, Meela Gill at Weil offers insights on how associates can ask for meaningful work opportunities at their firms without sounding like they are begging.
-
Legal Sector Regulatory Reform Is Key To Closing Justice Gap
In order to improve access to justice for those who cannot afford a lawyer, states should consider regulatory innovations, such as allowing new forms of law firm ownership and permitting nonlawyers to provide certain legal services, says Patricia Lee Refo, president of the American Bar Association.
-
What Social Media Process Service May Look Like In Texas
The Texas Supreme Court's recently proposed rule change allowing substituted service through social media and email could take effect in December, and practitioners will need to know how to establish that the defendant received notice through a technological method, says Marcus Eason at McGinnis Lochridge.
-
Strategies For Associates Seeking Jobs Amid Hiring Slump
Law firms will be hiring conservatively well into 2021 and beyond, but associates eyeing a new firm or market can successfully make a move if they are pragmatic about their requirements, say Rebecca Glatzer and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.