Susman Godfrey will pay bonuses ranging from $40,000 to $90,000 this month to associates who have been at the Houston-based litigation firm for at least a year.

The year 2013 was a tumultuous one in the Lone Star State’s legal market, with a number of significant lateral groups moving to new firms and several out-of-state firms, lured by the energy industry’s strength, establishing offices here.

Employers who don’t include arbitration clauses in their employment contracts to prevent employees from filing class actions may want to start. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has handed businesses a powerful weapon in disputes with workers in its decision in D.R. Horton v. National Labor Relations Board.

A man who claimed a lumbar disc bulge and post-traumatic stress disorder in a head-on crash agreed to a $2.3 million settlement on Sept. 16. Felix A. Villa claimed that Peter Mejias, driving a tractor-trailer for Russell Transport Inc., crossed the center line.

Looking back on 2013, there was no shortage of those deserving of Texas Lawyer’s annual Tongue-in-Cheek awards. But, as always, there were a few standouts who really should receive this dubious recognition.