Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
Senior reporter Brenda Sapino Jeffreys covers the business of law in Texas. Contact her at [email protected] On Twitter: @BrendaSJeffreys
March 21, 2005 | Texas Lawyer
Facelift Turns Courthouse Into Tourist AttractionThe Bexar County Courthouse, a striking five-story structure built of vivid Pecos red sandstone, is the largest historic courthouse in Texas and one of the oldest. Located a stone's throw from the historic San Fernando Cathedral and the River Walk, and a short distance from The Alamo, the circa-1897 building is more than a historic working courthouse that houses state civil district courts.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
13 minute read
February 16, 2004 | Texas Lawyer
ABA Commission Holds Hearing on Criminal Justice in TexasA special American Bar Association commission came to Texas on Feb. 6 to talk with Texas criminal-justice officials about sentencing guidelines, rehabilitation programs for prison inmates and the overrepresentation of minorities in prisons.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
7 minute read
December 16, 2002 | Texas Lawyer
To Be ContinuedIn 30 years of practice, plaintiffs lawyer George Fleming says he has become "sadly familiar" with what he believes is a tried-and-true delay tactic used by some defense attorneys of hiring lawyers who also are legislators. He alleges that lawyers for Wyeth -- a defendant in a fen-phen suit Fleming planned to take to trial on Dec. 16 in Jim Wells County -- used a highly unusual strategy to delay the trial.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
10 minute read
December 23, 2002 | Texas Lawyer
State of MindCriminal-defense attorney George Parnham wasn't able to convince a Harris County jury in March that his client, Andrea P. Yates, was not guilty by reason of insanity for murdering her children. But Parnham's defense in one of the biggest trials in Texas in 2002 shone the national spotlight on postpartum depression and the insanity defense.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
5 minute read
October 15, 2003 | Law.com
An Appealing PointThe issue of whether Arthur Andersen employees had fair notice of a pending investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into Enron Corp.'s financial reporting dominated oral arguments on Oct. 9 in Andersen's appeal of its obstruction of justice conviction. An appeals attorney for Andersen told a 5th Circuit panel that the trial judge's instructions to the jury on the obstruction of justice statute were too broad.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
6 minute read
June 16, 2006 | Law.com
Firms Deal With Caseloads, Pay Policies for Attorneys Called to Active DutyTen days after Hayes and Boone partner Andrew Fono learned he was being called to active duty, he turned his environmental litigation docket over to his partners and packed up his office in Houston. It's a rare situation for a partner to be called to active duty, and the firm didn't have a policy to deal with the situation. Most firms will supplement attorneys' military pay, as Hayes and Boone will do for Fono -- but lawyers must still contend with re-entry issues at the end of service.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
10 minute read
November 23, 2009 | Texas Lawyer
Shafted? Dallas Firms Join Forces For Barnett Shale FightDrilling for natural gas in the Barnett Shale has been an economic boon to North Texas since production began in 2001, but hundreds of disgruntled property owners are lining up to sue drilling companies over terms of mineral leases. Randal Mathis, Kip Petroff and Christopher Payne (pictured, from left) are members of the North Texas Lease Litigation Group, which represents property owners in litigation against drilling companies and their agents.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
10 minute read
December 17, 2004 | Texas Lawyer
Liberty Legal Institute Sues Plano ISDOn Dec. 16, U.S. District Judge Paul Brown of Sherman issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Plano Independent School District from interfering with students who want to distribute gifts with religious viewpoints to classmates at winter parties scheduled for Dec. 17, or from interfering or prohibiting two parents who are plaintiffs in the suit from giving similar gifts to other parents at the parties.
By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
2 minute read
December 09, 2004 | Law.com
More In-house Legal Departments Use E-BillingBy Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
8 minute read
June 12, 2006 | Texas Lawyer
State Bar Recognizes Texas Pro Bono Work With AwardsThe State Bar's Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee recommended five recipients -- three individual attorneys, a firm and a legal organization -- for this year's pro bono and legal service awards.
By Mary Alice Robbins and Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
15 minute read
