Insights

The past year saw several attempts to apply new applications of the public nuisance doctrine to the opioid crisis, thanks to litigators seeking to expand the definition to areas outside traditional applications. Senior counsel Brandon Winchester reviews key developments in Oklahoma, Ohio, and California.

Partner Persis Dean joined Hicks Johnson in 2015 after six years as in-house counsel for Exxon Mobil Corporation and three at Vinson & Elkins. Now, she is poised to help lead the firm through its most rapid growth period yet. Dean discusses what it’s like to be a working parent in corporate law, her approach to mentoring, and the benefits of boutique firm life.

As law firm hiring season shifts into high gear, top students are faced with a plethora of choices.  In addition to the traditional on-campus interviews (or their Zoom equivalents) by Big Law recruiting departments, a growing number of boutique litigation firms are offering competitive packages—including top-tier salaries and benefits—to prospective summers and first-years. Hiring partner Adam Dinnell of Houston-based Hicks Johnson talks candidly about the pros and cons of boutique firm life.

Public nuisance claims have long been understood to rest on “an unreasonable interference with a right common to the general public.” Typically, litigation sought recovery for damages in connection with (among other examples) interference in land use and public spaces, polluting public waterways, or making too much noise.

On May 21, the U.S House Committee on Financial Services released draft legislation excluding all SPACs from the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA). Hicks Johnson partner Varant Yegparian and Jon Janes, a vice president at insurance brokerage firm Woodruff Sawyer, teamed up to assess the increased potential liability that could befall SPACs, their targets, and their respective directors and officers should the legislation be passed.

While the recent suit brought by 57 Texas High Plains wine grape growers against Bayer-Monsanto and BASF is receiving extensive press coverage, it is not clear whether the Texas wine industry can survive the onslaught. Some vineyards have experienced a 90 percent reduction in their grape harvest, which brings in more than $2,500 a ton.

Cyberattacks on the nation’s critical infrastructure are becoming more frequent, more severe, and more dangerous. This article outlines crucial steps businesses can take to insulate themselves from liability before a cyberattack occurs.

The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) boom has hit a major roadblock in the form of faulty disclosures. Given the centrality of the SPAC’s disclosures to a plaintiff’s claims, SPACs need to take special care in crafting their disclosures going forward. This article will examine how SPACs can use guidance issued by the SEC to craft robust disclosures that will weaken a plaintiff’s claims.

As healthcare becomes more technology-driven, the traditional understanding of what constitutes a “heathcare provider” has been blurred. Brandon Winchester and Andy Hicks examine protections afforded by the Texas Medical Liability Act, which can be used as an important tool for medical technology companies facing possible liability related to the provision of medical care.

Transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have risen at a meteoric rate in recent months. Partner Varant Yegparian examines key legal issues that could arise in the event of SPAC litigation and provides sponsors—including private equity firms and investment banks—with a general outline of steps that may mitigate legal exposure.

This article focuses on a spate of recent decisions from the Texas federal courts to show how the two laws can impact a trade secret dispute and how a party in litigation can maneuver them towards a favorable resolution.

In the wake of President Joe Biden’s executive order revoking the Keystone XL pipeline permit, oil and gas producers are bracing for additional actions. Producers and others shipping oil and gas on potentially affected pipelines would be well served to apprise themselves of their rights and obligations as soon as possible.

Arctic cold and historic snowfall this February have caused substantial disruption nationwide, in particular in the state of Texas. The probable, if not unavoidable, consequence of these events is a disruption of business and contractual performance.

On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order revoking the presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline border crossing. While this is not the first time a U.S president has issued such a directive, it may be the final blow for a project that has been in progress for more than a decade.

Three months on from the Supreme Court’s decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, the fallout is becoming increasingly clear in Oklahoma—wide-ranging effects on the state’s taxation and environmental regulatory bodies are already emerging. Summer associate Dave Finkel, Andy Hicks, and Adam Dinnell examine the post-McGirt landscape.

The predicted wave of force majeure litigation related to COVID-19 has now become reality. Lawsuits are increasingly being filed by parties to contractual disputes and practitioners are increasingly being called upon to evaluate such disputes. This article is intended to provide in-house lawyers and business executives with a guide for evaluating these disputes from their inception.

As U.S. companies struggle with government-mandated closures—including re-openings followed by rollbacks in states like Texas, Florida, and California—a growing number of businesses, especially in the hospitality and entertainment sectors, are closing their doors for good. In this grim scenario, business owners may be wondering if litigation is possible when government-enforced suspensions cause their businesses to fail.

A new regulatory regime is on the horizon for Oklahoma oil and gas companies in the wake of a recent ruling reclassifying most of the eastern part of the state as an Indian reservation. Partners Andy Hicks (an Oklahoma bar trial lawyer) and Adam Dinnell assess how the ruling is likely to affect business.

While the Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”) was designed to ameliorate economic harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it leaves lenders open to possible litigation exposure if borrowers fail to satisfy their obligations. How can lenders protect themselves and minimize the level of risk?

In a turbulent economy, circumstances often arise in which a party seeks to avoid contractual obligations by invoking a force majeure provision in the relevant agreement. The following checklist offers a preliminary way forward.

As American society copes with the COVID-19 pandemic, masks and face coverings have become the focus of legal mandates, political protests, and nonstop commentary—in some instances, even violence. But beyond the public health guidance and ideological debates, trial lawyers face a new and unique question: Could whether a witness is wearing a mask impact their credibility in the eyes of a jury?

The troubles affecting the federal government’s Payroll Protection Program (PPP) have been well documented. One critical issue is the fact that, while PPP lenders have been receiving their fees, PPP agents have not. This article examines three recently filed class actions, analyzes other litigation concerning the CARES Act, and provides guidance to PPP agents on how to protect their rights and receive their fees.

The current crisis is already spawning tort suits seeking damages for illness or death allegedly caused by negligent or reckless exposure. Former DOJ trial counsel Adam Dinnell has successfully used genetic typing, a form of “fingerprinting” that differentiates between thousands of different genetic types of a particular pathogen, as evidence in similar cases involving Legionnaire’s Disease.

The coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the healthcare, travel, and hospitality industries has been severe.