On June 1, 2025, the Texas legislature passed HB 40, and Governor Greg Abbott signed it on June 21, 2025. The new law helps further define the jurisdiction of Texas’s Business Courts, originally established in 2023. This is an…
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/ Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Commercial Law & Contracts, Construction Law
On June 9, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released updated guidelines governing the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), signaling a more focused and strategic approach to foreign bribery cases. The…
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/ Administrative Law, Criminal Law, International Law & Trade
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently focused on “rooting out” the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) by publicly traded companies and brokerage firms.
On February 20, 2025, the SEC established the Cyber…
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/ Consumer Protection, Science, Computers, & Technology, Securities Law
The Texas Legislature is currently in session and is scheduled to adjourn on June 2, 2025. Porter Hedges is actively monitoring any legislation that influences Texas construction law and impacts construction projects, contracts,…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Construction Law
On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division (NSD) issued a Compliance Guide to provide additional information to assist companies and individuals in complying with the NSD’s Data Security…
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/ Administrative Law, International Law & Trade, Privacy
Since February 2025, numerous tariffs affecting the construction industry have been announced, imposed, and paused. These tariffs present a problem for parties drafting and negotiating construction contracts—namely how to…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Construction Law, International Law & Trade
The Texas Business Court is a statewide, specialized trial court created to resolve certain complex business disputes. Five of the planned eleven divisions began operating September 1, 2024, with two appointed judges in each…
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/ Civil Procedure, Commercial Law & Contracts, Construction Law
On February 10, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for 180 days. During this period, Attorney General…
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/ Administrative Law, Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Business Organizations, International Law & Trade
If you ask owners, general contractors, or subcontractors how long the warranty lasts that they received or gave on a construction project, they will often tell you that they have a “one year warranty.” However, if the parties…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Construction Law, Real Estate - Commercial
When entering into construction contracts, the question of which state’s laws will govern is a pivotal consideration. Choice of law has real-world implications for how construction disputes are resolved. Different states have…
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/ Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Civil Procedure, Commercial Law & Contracts, Conflict of Laws, Construction Law
As we reported earlier this year, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final rule on April 23, 2024 (the “Final Rule”), raising the salary threshold for the so-called “White-Collar” Exemptions and the Highly Compensated…
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/ Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law
While change orders are widely viewed as a mechanism to increase the contract price in a construction contract, sophisticated players understand that change orders can and should be used to manage claims…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Construction Law
In construction disputes, owners typically deal with defects within the scope of work of the subcontractor or vendor by pursuing claims directly against the general contractor. The owner, however, may consider pursuing claims…
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/ Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Commercial Law & Contracts, Construction Law
As we predicted back in our May post, the sky is not falling in the world of non-compete agreements. After the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued its controversial final rule on April 23, 2024, which voided existing…
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/ Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law
Coordination between the Owner-Architect Agreement and the Owner-Contractor Agreement is crucial for any successful project. In particular, parties most commonly overlook the provisions related to an Initial Decision Maker…
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/ Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Commercial Law & Contracts, Construction Law
