Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

January 25, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

An Ohio man who accepted an approximately $100,000 settlement for his Vioxx personal-injury claim has filed a negligence suit against three Houston firms and three Houston lawyers, alleging the defendants made paperwork errors in his case file that reduced the size of his settlement. The plaintiff said that he should have received a settlement totaling more than $436,000.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

4 minute read

January 31, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

When an Austin firm sued a former client -- who is an attorney -- for alleged nonpayment of fees for representing the client in a lengthy arbitration proceeding, the firm may have gotten more than it bargained for. On Jan. 24, Melissa Hamilton sued Richard �Rick� Harrison, Daniel Byrne and Thomas Fritz, partners in Fritz, Byrne, Head & Harrison (FBHH), which had sued Hamilton to collect a debt that the firm alleges she owes.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

13 minute read

February 14, 2001 | Law.com

When Jack Pierce retired at the end of 2000 after 37 years as a state district judge in East Texas, he was looking forward to sitting as a visiting judge and doing mediations at his new office in downtown Nacogdoches. But six weeks into 2001, Pierce is trying to get over an illness -- arsenic poisoning -- and Texas Rangers and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating whether there was foul play involved.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

3 minute read

February 16, 2005 | Law.com

Rekindling a hot topic in the bankruptcy bar, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, filed a bill Feb. 8 that would require corporations to file for bankruptcy where their principal place of business or their principal assets are located. It would prevent a corporation from filing for bankruptcy in a location that's simply the home of a subsidiary, or the state where it is incorporated. Cornyn says the Fairness in Bankruptcy Litigation Act of 2005 would prevent forum-shopping.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

8 minute read

August 02, 2007 | The Legal Intelligencer

Dallas-based Winstead, one of the largest firms in Texas, will not raise associate salaries in the wake of Texas market moves kicked off by a new salary scale effective today at Houston-based Vinson & Elkins.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

4 minute read

July 02, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

Warren Todd Hoeffner, a partner in Houston plaintiffs firm Hoeffner & Bilek, was named in a federal indictment that alleges he paid more than $3 million in "bribes and kickbacks" to two former claims adjustors for The Hartford Insurance Co. in connection with $34 million in settlements of Hoeffner's silica-related suits. Hoeffner, 42, pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment on June 27.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

6 minute read

October 03, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

The indictment of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay for alleged criminal conspiracy sets up a rematch between Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle and prominent Houston criminal-defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin, who successfully defended another high-profile politician in a case that ultimately was a big embarrassment for Earle.

By Mary Alice Robbins and Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

10 minute read

June 19, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

Ah, Father's Day, filled with neckties, golf clubs and Brut soap on a rope. But there's more to this important day than gift-giving and cookouts. It is really about honoring and remembering your father. So Texas Lawyer asked some attorneys to reflect on the lessons they learned from their lawyer-dads. Here is what they said.

By BRENDA SAPINO JEFFREYS, MARY ALICE ROBBINS and JOHN COUNCIL

5 minute read

August 10, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

It's really all about the fees. Criminal-defense attorney Dick DeGuerin no longer wants to represent R. Allen Stanford, because he doesn't have assurance that Stanford will have money to pay him for future work. But Stanford's new legal team hasn't filed papers to substitute into Stanford's criminal case, because they too want to be sure they will be paid.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

5 minute read

June 18, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

A former client of Jenkens & Gilchrist sued the Dallas-based firm in federal court in New York on June 8 alleging malpractice and breach of contract in connection with the firm's work on a reverse merger in 2004.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

4 minute read