Senior reporter Brenda Sapino Jeffreys covers the business of law in Texas. Contact her at [email protected] On Twitter: @BrendaSJeffreys
May 18, 2007 | National Law Journal
Texas-Based Firms' Lone Star Offices Unmoved in Current Round of Pay HikesAssociates at large Texas-based firms may be left out of the recent associate salary raises for a while. Some firms such as Houston-based Susman Godfrey say they upped starting salaries to stay competitive with other firms. But other large Texas firms aren't feeling pressure. "I think most observers would differentiate the Texas market from both coasts ... and so far I'm seeing no signs of any movement here," says Kenneth Menges, a partner at Akin Gump, which isn't currently considering associate raises.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
10 minute read
April 21, 2003 | Texas Lawyer
Entering the War ZoneTexas attorneys traveling overseas face two new challenges: the spread of a mysterious respiratory illness named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and the political instability created by the war in Iraq.
By Jeanne Graham and Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
8 minute read
December 11, 2006 | Law.com
Baron & Budd Alleges Ex-Shareholders Breached Duties by Planning Vioxx Venture With LanierIn August, Dallas lawyers Fred Baron and Lisa Blue filed a breach of contract suit against plaintiffs firm Baron & Budd over payments for the sale of their equity interest in the firm. Now, in a counterclaim, Baron & Budd alleges that Baron and Blue breached contractual, fiduciary and legal obligations to the firm by failing to receive prior consent from Baron & Budd for plans to form a new firm -- with Houston plaintiffs lawyer W. Mark Lanier and others -- to handle Vioxx litigation against Merck & Co.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
7 minute read
January 16, 2004 | The Legal Intelligencer
For Texas-Style Legal Giant, Voir Dire Is KeyAt 78, notable trial lawyer Joe Jamail of Houston tells the story of his life and career in Lawyer: My Trials and Jubilations, published in October by Eakin Press in Austin and written with Mickey Herskowitz.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
4 minute read
October 10, 2000 | Law.com
Follow Texas' Green-Brick RoadAttorneys atop the list of best-paid general counsel in Texas in 1999 got there either by working at a company involved in a large acquisition or working for a high-tech corporation. The highly paid GCs garnered multimillion-dollar compensation packages in 1999, with the GCs of AMFM Inc. and El Paso Energy leading the pack, receiving pay packages valued at more than $10 million each.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
11 minute read
November 09, 2009 | Texas Lawyer
John M. O'Quinn Remembered as a Courageous, Complicated ManJohn M. O'Quinn, the successful Houston plaintiffs lawyer who died at age 68 in an automobile accident in Houston on Oct. 29, was called a hero, a devoted friend, a complicated man and a champion of people in need at his funeral on Nov. 4 in Houston.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
7 minute read
May 17, 2006 | Law.com
In Closing Arguments, Enron Defense Zeroes In on Juror HesitationIn a high-volume, passionate argument, defense attorney Daniel Petrocelli implored jurors to find his client, former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, not guilty of criminal charges pending against him, and argued that federal prosecutors failed to prove Skilling participated in a conspiracy to engage in fraud. Petrocelli told jurors Tuesday that if they can't, without hesitation, pinpoint the beginning of a conspiracy at Enron, they must acquit. "If you hesitated, that's reasonable doubt. We own that. We win."
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
7 minute read
April 16, 2007 | Corporate Counsel
$1 Billion Fen-Phen Case Settles Before Appellate Oral ArgumentsThree 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
August 21, 2006 | Texas Lawyer
New Managing Partner in the Wings at Locke Liddell & SappJerry K. Clements, a litigation partner in Locke Liddell & Sapp in Austin, will become the 378-lawyer firm's new managing partner on Jan. 1, 2007, when current managing partner Bryan Goolsby, a corporate partner in Dallas, gives up his managing partner duties.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
3 minute read
May 23, 2011 | Texas Lawyer
Arbitration Angst: Opinion Paves Way for Easier Judicial Review of Awards Under TAAA Texas Supreme Court decision paves the way for easier judicial review of arbitration awards decided under the Texas General Arbitration Act (TAA). Alan Busch, a partner in Busch Ruotolo & Simpson in Dallas, represents Nafta Traders in Nafta Traders Inc. v. Margaret A. Quinn.
By Brenda Sapino JEffreys
4 minute read