Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

April 16, 2001 | Law.com

On Houston court dockets since 1978, Chick Kam Choo v. Exxon didn't go to trial until 2000. In January, the case finally settled for $2.7 million. But it's not over yet. The aftermath of this wrongful-death suit is a free-for-all with at least seven Texas plaintiffs' lawyers fighting over fees. At least one person involved has had enough: The fee dispute "cries out to be settled," said Judge Brent Gamble.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

8 minute read

April 16, 2007 | Law.com

Three years ago, plaintiffs in a Texas fen-phen suit won a record-setting $1 billion verdict, including $900 million in punitive damages. Defendant pharmaceutical company Wyeth's appeal of the judgment was noteworthy because it would have tested Texas' statutory cap limiting punitive damages. But lawyers for the parties have negotiated a settlement. The parties filed a joint motion asking the appeals court to set aside the judgment "without regard to the merits" and to remand the case to the trial court.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

5 minute read

July 21, 2006 | National Law Journal

A state district judge in Dallas recently signed a judgment ordering Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to pay a former client about $1.1 million in damages in a negligence suit. No individual lawyers were named as defendants. The case stems from Akin Gump's representation of the plaintiffs in an underlying declaratory judgment suit filed in 1997. Christopher Scanlan, who represented Akin Gump at trial, said the firm is likely to appeal the judgment.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

4 minute read

October 03, 2005 | The Recorder

The indictment matches up a Texas prosecutor and defense lawyer that sparred in a similar case 10 years ago.

By Mary Alice Robbins and Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

9 minute read

October 15, 2001 | Law.com

Houston businessman Charles E. Hurwitz may end up turning the tables on the FDIC in the agency's long-running effort to collect from him and his companies. Hurwitz and his lawyers have long contended the agency's litigation was designed to force Hurwitz's Pacific Lumber Co. to turn over acres of old-growth redwood trees in a "debt-for-nature" swap. Now Hurwitz has an administrative law judge on his side, and his sights set on collecting sanctions from the FDIC.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

8 minute read

August 09, 2004 | Texas Lawyer

In the first significant associate pay hike in Texas since the heady days of 2000, Thompson & Knight will raise associate base salaries in January, a move that might signal the start of another paycheck bonanza for associates.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

5 minute read

May 19, 2000 | Law.com

Houston trial lawyer Joseph Jamail has proven many times he knows how to pick a jury -- he's won more than 200 jury verdicts or settlements in excess of $1 million in a career spanning nearly five decades. Jamail may be in the waning days of his practice, but the combative ex-Marine isn't sitting back while the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee considers rules for conducting voir dire.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

7 minute read

August 11, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

Several thousand lawyers and their spouses nationwide -- including some 1,000 in Texas -- support campaigns for the 2004 presidential election with dollars. They already have given the maximum of $2,000 per candidate.

By Miriam Rozen and Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

9 minute read

January 16, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

Associates with BigTex firms presumably looked with envy at their counterparts at Houston�s Susman Godfrey when the 76-lawyer litigation boutique paid year-end bonuses to its associates ranging from $86,000 to $150,000.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

9 minute read

January 14, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

As an e-mail brouhaha involving Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal intensified last week, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett announced that county officials had asked the Texas Office of the Attorney General to investigate Rosenthal to see if his actions may be grounds for removal from office � a request granted on Jan. 10.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys and John Council

6 minute read