Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

December 01, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

Nearly two years after Enron Corp. filed a Chapter 11 in the wake of a massive drop in its stock price, a bankruptcy examiner's fourth and final report concludes that outside lawyers at Vinson & Elkins and Andrews & Kurth may have been negligent or may have aided and abetted Enron officers in breaching their fiduciary duties to the battered company.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys and Miriam Rozen

11 minute read

February 01, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

Large Texas firms made fewer new partners this year but more of them are women and more are minorities than in years past. Considering the uncertainty in the nation`s economy and the turmoil in Texas` bedrock energy industry in the wake of Enron Corp.`s bankruptcy, it`s probably not too surprising large Texas firms made fewer new partners as a whole in 2002 than in 2001. The decline isn`t large, about 9.8 percent, but it`s the second year in a row for the trend line to head down instead of up.

By BRENDA SAPINO JEFFREYS

8 minute read

May 02, 2011 | Texas Lawyer

Everything's coming up green for associates and counsel at Vinson & Elkins and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Both BigTex firms, following a market move by many large New York City firms, will pay spring bonuses in May to associates and counsel who received 2010 year-end bonuses. Joe Dilg, V&E's managing partner, says V&E is committed to keeping associate and counsel compensation within the market range.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

5 minute read

November 13, 2000 | Law.com

With Texas' highest courts already under Republican control, the GOP picked up four more seats on the mid-level appellate courts. Now the question is whether judicial decisions will be impacted by the fact Republicans will hold nearly two of every three seats on the state's mid-level appellate courts. "In certain politically charged cases, it will have an effect," says law professor James Paulsen.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys, Mary Alice Robbins, and John Council

13 minute read

April 05, 2004 | Texas Lawyer

Five lawyers put in extra extra effort to become some of the Texas in-house world's rising stars.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

23 minute read

June 28, 2004 | Texas Lawyer

Gross revenue at the Texas 25, the 25 highest-grossing firms in Texas, was up 4.9 percent in 2003 compared to 2002, but the bigger story for 2003 is a substantial increase in profits per partner at the firms. Partners in the Texas 25 made $776,000 each, on average, in 2003, a hefty increase of 16.9 percent from the $664,000 made by the average partner in 2002.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

51 minute read

January 30, 2006 | Law.com

As the long-awaited trial of former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay and CEO Jeffrey Skilling gets underway, thousands of ex-employees want to know who to blame for their misfortune, while business executives look to the case to determine how a company as large and innovative as Enron could sink in a wave of near-worthless stock. It may not be the single most important trial to ever occur in Houston, but its significance goes far beyond the fate of Lay and Skilling, who face fraud and conspiracy charges.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys and Miriam Rozen

21 minute read

December 22, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

Michael Ramsey, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Pierce, Joe Jamail, Donald Godwin and Mike Gruber, State Bar of Texas chief disciplinary counsel Dawn Miller, Jeff Blackburn and Mitchell Katine

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys, Mary Alice Robbins, Miriam Rozen, John Council

44 minute read

June 16, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

An analysis by Texas Lawyer, based on lawyer counts as of Jan. 1 at the 100 largest firms in the state, shows that 10 Texas-based firms now have 21 percent or more of their attorneys in offices outside the state. Dallas-based Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld — with 14 offices and 1,023 lawyers — leads the pack with 71 percent of its lawyers outside of Texas. Roughly 27 percent of Bracewell & Giuliani's 418 lawyers are in out-of-state offices, says Mark C. Evans (pictured), managing partner.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys and Miriam Rozen

31 minute read