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Texas Pulse
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Legal Sector Jobs Ticked Up In May Amid Uncertain Economy
The U.S. legal industry added 1,100 jobs in May, holding steady in the midst of economic uncertainty, according to preliminary data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week
The University of Virginia School of Law Supreme Court Litigation Clinic and attorney Edward Gilbert lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the Sixth Circuit's ruling that plaintiffs claiming anti-heterosexual workplace discrimination need to provide extra "background circumstances" evidence.
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Texas Justices Say 'Reciprocal' Discipline Is Time-Limited
Texas' four-year time limit on attorney discipline applies to "reciprocal" discipline cases, in which a lawyer is sanctioned in Texas after being similarly sanctioned in another state, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday.
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Litigation Funder Can't Stop Attys' Texas Fee Fight Remand
A divided Texas First Court of Appeals won't disturb a split decision that revived a dispute between an attorney and a former attorney over a fee-sharing agreement in tobacco litigation, rejecting a litigation finance company's en banc request to keep its trial court victory and prevent the case from being remanded.
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Why Guided Talks Are Key To Retaining Women Attys
At an American Bar Association summit session on inclusive workplace practices on Thursday, one panelist noted that one of the ABA's recent recommendations is to engage in guided conversations throughout law firms and across the legal profession. But what exactly is a guided conversation?
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Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz
The legal industry began June with another action-packed week as BigLaw firms expanded their presence and offerings. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse’s weekly quiz.
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Which GCs Sold Stock In May? Intuit, Microsoft, Loar Holdings
Microsoft's Brad Smith may not carry the title anymore, but he is still the company's top lawyer, and he cashed in $35.3 million worth of company stock in May. Other big law department winners last month were Intuit's Kerry McLean with $12.18 million and Loar Holdings Inc.'s Michael Manella with $12 million.
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Boom In Nonequity Partner Tiers Test Law Firms' 'Discipline'
As nonequity partnership tiers expand across U.S. law firms, experts warn that the model, while effective for retaining talent and controlling costs, demands disciplined management oversight to avoid becoming a liability.
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Bradley Arant Expands With Texas Regional Bank's CLO
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has hired the former chief legal officer of Texas Regional Bank to bolster its banking and financial services practice group.
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Greenberg Traurig Lands Bracewell Employment Pro In Texas
Greenberg Traurig LLP has strengthened its labor and employment practice with the addition of a Bracewell LLP attorney in Houston, boosting the firm's ability to serve clients in the growing Texas market and beyond.
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Munsch Hardt Names New Women's Initiative Group Leaders
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC on Wednesday announced that it has tapped shareholders in Dallas and Houston to lead its women's initiative group, a program designed to support the advancement, retention and public profile of female lawyers across the firm.
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After Strong 2024 Growth, US Firms Face Looming Uncertainty
Domestic lawyer headcount growth among the 400 largest law firms in the U.S. picked up speed in 2024, rising 3.1% on average and outpacing growth the previous year, but experts say the winds that bolstered that expansion may have shifted as a result of macroeconomic uncertainty.
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The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms
Many of the largest law firms in the U.S. had a strong year in 2024. And as demand for their services ticked upward they invested in bench strength, boosting the number of lawyers available to assist clients, our latest ranking of the largest U.S. law firms shows.
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Taylor Duma Chair On Firm's Future After Leaders' Departures
Following a string of departures from the firm now known as Taylor Duma LLP — most notably a former name partner and a onetime managing partner — founding partner and Chairman Marc A. Taylor said the midsize law firm has a plan to grow in a more efficient and agile manner.
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Today's Legal Workplace Is Hybrid, Collaborative, Survey Says
Even as lawyers have returned to the office in larger numbers than in the years during and immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic, hybrid in-person and remote work remains the norm at law firms today, which have turned their focus to creating flexible, collaborative spaces that "link presence to purpose," according to the results of a survey released this week.
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Fish & Richardson Brings Back IP Veteran In Houston
Fish & Richardson PC announced Wednesday that an experienced intellectual property lawyer with a doctorate in chemistry has rejoined the firm as of counsel in the Houston office after retiring last year.
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Former Dell IP Counsel Joins Yetter Coleman In Texas
Houston litigation boutique Yetter Coleman LLP has added a senior counsel to its intellectual property litigation group from Dell Technologies whose combination of legal and technical expertise boosts the firm's ability to serve clients across a range of industries centered on emerging technologies.
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Meet The New Mediator In The Jackson Walker Fee Case
Retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Joan N. Feeney has been chosen to mediate a dispute between Jackson Walker LLP and the U.S. Trustee's Office over the watchdog's bid to get the firm to forfeit fees from dozens of cases overseen by an ousted judge, setting Feeney up to help resolve one of the most contentious cases to hit the bankruptcy bar in years.
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Bills Texas Attys Should Know From The 2025 Session
Texas lawmakers wrapped up the state's 89th legislative session this week, passing a number of bills on topics like artificial intelligence and social media, business law and the authorities granted to the attorney general.
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Holland & Knight Adds DLA Piper Real Estate Pro In Texas
Holland & Knight LLP announced Tuesday that it has hired a partner from DLA Piper to enhance its capacity to handle real estate matters for its clients.
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Ex-Texas Trial Attys Launch Litigation Funder With Over $40M
A pair of Houston-based former BigLaw trial attorneys have teamed up to form Signal Peak Partners LLC, a litigation funding company with a focus on domestic and international commercial and patent litigation.
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Kirkland Capital Markets Pro Joins Gibson Dunn In Houston
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP has bulked up its capital markets practice group with the addition of a Houston-based partner from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, the firm announced Tuesday.
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The Law360 400: A Look At The Top 100 Firms
A rebound in client work sent the nation’s largest law firms into growth mode last year, driving a wave of hiring, mergers and strategic moves that reshaped the top tier of the Law360 400. Here's a preview of the 100 firms with the largest U.S. attorney headcounts.
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Jackson Walker, US Trustee Agree To Mediator In Fees Case
Jackson Walker LLP and the federal government's bankruptcy watchdog have agreed to mediation in their fee dispute stemming from an ethics scandal in Texas, with the two sides agreeing that retired judge Joan N. Feeney should mediate.
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Susman Godfrey Founder, 'Preeminent' Litigator, Dies
H. Lee Godfrey, one of the founders of litigation boutique Susman Godfrey LLP, died on Monday, leaving behind a legacy as a thoughtful leader who performed exceptional work as a trial attorney, firm leaders said.
Expert Analysis
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How Law Firms Can Cautiously Wield AI To Streamline Tasks
Many attorneys are going to use artificial intelligence tools whether law firms like it or not, so firms should educate them on AI's benefits, limits and practical uses, such as drafting legal documents, to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving legal market, say Thomas Schultz and Eden Bernstein at Kellogg Hansen.
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Opinion
Attorneys Should Have An Ethical Duty To Advance DEI
National and state bar associations are encouraging attorneys to apply diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the legal profession and beyond, and these associations should take it one step further by formally recognizing ethical duties for attorneys to promote DEI, which could better the legal profession and society, says Elena Mitchell at Moore & Van Allen.
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Keys To Managing The Stresses Of Law School
Dealing with the pressures associated with law school can prove difficult for many future lawyers, but there are steps students can take to manage stress — and schools can help too, say Ryan Zajic and Dr. Janani Krishnaswami at UWorld.
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Can Mandatory CLE Mitigate Implicit Bias's Negative Impacts?
Amid ongoing disagreements on whether states should mandate implicit bias training as part of attorneys' continuing legal education requirements, Stephanie Wilson at Reed Smith looks at how unconscious attitudes or stereotypes adversely affect legal practice, and whether mandatory training programs can help.
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Ditch The Frills And Start Writing Legal Letters In Plain English
To become more effective advocates, lawyers need to rethink the ridiculous, convoluted language they use in correspondence and write letters in a clear, concise and direct manner, says legal writing instructor Stuart Teicher.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Negotiate My Separation Agreement?
Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey discusses how a law firm associate can navigate being laid off, what to look for in a separation agreement and why to be upfront about it with prospective employers.
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DoNotPay Cases Underscore Hurdles For AI-Fueled Legal Help
Recent legal challenges against DoNotPay’s "robot lawyer” application highlight pressing questions about the degree to which artificial intelligence can be used for legal tasks while remaining on the right side of both consumer protection laws and prohibitions against the unauthorized practice of law, says Kristen Niven at Frankfurt Kurnit.
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For The Future Of Legal Practice, Let's Learn From The Past
At some level, every practicing lawyer is experiencing the ever-increasing speed of change — and while some practice management processes have gotten more efficient, other things about the legal profession were better before supposed improvements were made, says Jay Silberblatt, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
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Why All Law Firms Should Foster Psychological Capital
Law firms will be able to reap great long-term benefits if they adopt strategies to nurture four critical components of their employees' psychological wellness and performance — hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, says Dennis Stolle at the American Psychological Association.
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A GC's Guide To Litigation, Inspired By Sun Tzu's 'Art Of War'
With caseloads and spending increasing, in-house counsel might find themselves called to opine on the risks and benefits of litigation more often, and they should look at five Sun Tzu maxims from the ancient Chinese classic "The Art of War" to inform their approach to any suit, says Jeff Golimowski at Womble Bond.
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Mentorship Is Key To Diversity In The Legal Industry
Not only can effective mentorship have a profound impact on women and people of color entering the legal field, but it also benefits mentors and the legal profession as a whole, creating a true win-win situation for all involved, says Natasha Cortes at Grossman Roth.
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ChatGPT Is A Cool Trick, But AI Won't Replace Lawyers
Generative AI applications like ChatGPT are unlikely to ever replace attorneys for a variety of practical reasons — but given their practice-enhancing capabilities, lawyers who fail to leverage these tools may be rendered obsolete, says Eran Kahana at Maslon.
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Pro Bono Work Is Valuable In IP And Continued Learning
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent elimination of a rule that partially counted pro bono work toward continuing legal education highlights the importance of volunteer work in intellectual property practice and its ties to CLE, and puts a valuable tool for hands-on attorney education in the hands of the states, say Lisa Holubar and Ariel Katz at Irwin.
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Increasing Public Access To Legal Services: A Practical Plan
Recommendations recently issued by a special committee of the Florida Bar represent a realistic, pragmatic approach to increasing the accessibility and affordability of legal services, at a time when the disconnect between the legal profession and the public at large has widened considerably, says Gary Lesser, president of the Florida Bar.
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Priorities For Improving The Legal Industry In Texas
To assist Texas lawyers in effectively executing their duties, we should be working on succession planning, attorney wellness, and increasing understanding of the grievance system by both bar members and the public, says Laura Gibson, president of the State Bar of Texas.