Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

July 29, 2004 | Law.com

Muslim investors are not allowed to earn interest on their money or pay interest. Nevertheless, Bracewell & Patterson partner Alfred G. "Al" Kyle is developing a niche practice of representing banks in deals financed in part with money from Muslim investors. No one knows how much money from the Middle East is waiting in the wings to be invested in the United States, but estimates are as high as $200 billion.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

8 minute read

March 26, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

Plaintiffs lawyer Bill Lerach says that Enron shareholders will ask the Supreme Court to review a March 19 opinion from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that put the brakes on the trial in Mark Newby, et al. v. Enron Corp., which was set to begin on April 16 in U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon's Houston court.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

8 minute read

December 14, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

A prosecutor in Denton County has sued the county, the Denton County Criminal District Attorney's Office and three assistant DAs, alleging she has been subjected to a hostile work environment at the DA's office and has been harassed and discriminated against because of her race. Nadiya Williams-Boldware, who handles criminal misdemeanor matters, has been a Denton County assistant DA since February 2007.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

8 minute read

March 14, 2006 | The Legal Intelligencer

Michael Ramsey, Kenneth Lay's criminal-defense attorney, hammered hard on witness Andrew Fastow's credibility and honesty during his March 13 cross-examination of Fastow, the former chief financial officer of Houston's Enron Corp. who has pleaded guilty to two criminal charges in connection with the investigation into the tragic collapse of the former high-flying energy company.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

5 minute read

October 21, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

Federal prosecutors who won a conviction against Enron Corp. accounting firm Arthur Andersen for obstruction of justice say the stiff sentence sends a message to corporate executives. Leslie Caldwell, head of the Enron Task Force, says corporate executives need to know they have a responsibility to the public, and she suggests they think twice before engaging in action that would obstruct justice.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

9 minute read

January 20, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

Accurate depiction or not, the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas can't shake its reputation as a paradise for plaintiffs lawyers and hostile territory for the defense. Lawyers on both sides of the docket practicing in the Valley maintain it's pure exaggeration to say plaintiffs walk into a courtroom with an advantage that defense lawyers can't overcome. Morris Atlas says tort reform has had an impact on Valley litigation.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

9 minute read

October 08, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

Tired of waiting for the State Bar of Texas Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee to respond to a complaint he filed in May, Corpus Christi plaintiffs personal-injury lawyer Thomas J. Henry began running television advertisements on Sept. 28 questioning the credentials of Mauricio Celis, a partner in CGT Law Group International in Corpus Christi, which also represents plaintiffs.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

11 minute read

November 17, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

The defense strategy in the Robert Durst murder trial was quite simple, Durst�s lawyers say. It was a matter of constantly reminding the jury that Durst was only charged with murdering Black � and not on trial for cutting up his body or fleeing from prosecution.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys and Kelly Pedone

14 minute read

March 06, 2007 | Law.com

The dismantling of Jenkens & Gilchrist has been in the works for a while, ever since the firm suffered hits to its image and lawyer count in the wake of troubles with its Chicago-based tax practice. What's unusual is management's apparently generous and helpful attitude toward the recent wave of attorney defections from the firm. Several lawyers from branch offices say they participated in negotiations with other firms with the blessing and support of leadership at Jenkens.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys and Miriam Rozen

12 minute read

September 09, 2005 | Law.com

Joseph Ratzinger, a defendant in a Texas suit filed before he was elected Pope Benedict XVI, wants to be dismissed from the litigation, arguing he has head-of-state immunity. But lawyers for the plaintiffs, who argue that Ratzinger "designed and explicitly directed" a conspiracy to fraudulently conceal tortious conduct in connection with alleged sexual abuse, vow to challenge any suggestion of immunity issued by the U.S. Department of State. Plaintiffs lawyers call the case one of first impression.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

8 minute read