Forum

The Hilltop Forum is a hub for dialogue and insight into corporate governance, leadership, and accountability. Connecting scholars, executives, practitioners, and students, it fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and real-world impact. With growing support from industry leaders and alumni, the Forum reflects Texas’s rising influence in shaping ethical and effective corporate practices—anchored in SMU’s values and commitment to thought leadership.

  • Shane Goodwin

    Texas Business Court’s Primexx Ruling: A Victory for Contractual Certainty in Corporate Governance

    Texas’ Business Court affirms contractual freedom in corporate governance, upholding drag-along rights and fiduciary duty waivers—Primexx signals speed, certainty, and enforceability in partnership disputes.

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  • Sam Keltner Headshot

    Equity plus Liabilities: Can Texas Law Play a Larger Role in Debt, Liability Management and Leveraged Finance?

    Texas is expanding its role in debt, liability management, and leveraged finance, aiming to rival New York as a hub for corporate capital.

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  • headshot of Hilltop forum contributor Chris Bankler

    Texas Business Court Rejects Delaware-Style Veil Piercing, Enforces Texas’ Statutory Standard

    Texas Business Court strictly applies Texas’ veil-piercing statute, rejecting Delaware-style alter ego theories while letting a targeted fraud claim proceed.

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  • A New Era for Business Litigation: What Lensabl Signals About Texas’s Corporate Jurisdiction

    The new Texas Business Court, through its Lensabl decision, is shaping a text-centered corporate jurisprudence that strictly enforces statutory limits on veil piercing, demands detailed factual pleading under Rule 91a, and distinguishes Texas’s predictable, statute-driven approach from Delaware’s more flexible equitable doctrines.

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