Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

June 12, 2000 | Law.com

Because jurors were asked to consider his race as a factor in future dangerousness, the sentence of Texas death-row inmate Victor Hugo Saldaqo was vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a highly unusual move, Texas Attorney General John Cornyn supported Saldaqo's appeal. Cornyn's office has identified at least eight other cases in which a death sentence could be partly based on similar testimony.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

8 minute read

September 13, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

Citing a University of Texas School of Law professor's study that found defendants won 87 percent of tort cases the Texas Supreme Court decided by opinion in calendar years 2004 and 2005, the plaintiffs in a wrongful-death case filed a motion Wednesday seeking to recuse four members of the Texas Supreme Court from hearing a mandamus on the ground the justices cannot be impartial.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

5 minute read

October 27, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

Houstonians don't usually long to follow Dallas' lead, but Democratic judicial candidates in Harris County are hoping for a Democratic sweep on Nov. 4 like the one that rocked the courthouses in Dallas County in 2006. The last time a Democrat was elected to a state district court bench in Harris County was 1996.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

8 minute read

November 20, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

For Converse lawyer ileta A. Sumner, former general counsel of Family Violence Prevention Services Inc. in San Antonio, public interest law was a big part of her life � until she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. "It's such a euphoria helping women and kids get safe," she says. "It was such a high, so when I think that could be over forever, I get angry."

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

11 minute read

March 10, 2005 | The Legal Intelligencer

Finding Baker Botts breached its fiduciary duty in connection with estate-planning work done for a wealthy widow in Kerrville, Texas, a jury in Kerr County returned a $65.5 million verdict on Feb. 25 against the Houston-based firm and other defendants.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

5 minute read

December 05, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

Much of the job for Jonathan Needle, general counsel of the Houston Firefighters' Relief and Retirement Fund, is giving speedy and accurate answers to questions about benefits for the 6,027 active and retired firefighters who have a stake in the $2.28 billion fund. Needle has other responsibilities as general counsel -- a major duty is working on contracts for pension fund investments.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

10 minute read

February 05, 2001 | Law.com

Jenkens & Gilchrist is paring about 25 lawyers from its San Antonio office, including many with an insurance-defense practice, apparently because they arent bringing in enough money. David Laney, chairman of the Dallas-based firm, says about half of the lawyers in the San Antonio office were presented with some options, including the opportunity to regroup at a new firm.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

6 minute read

November 10, 2005 | Corporate Counsel

In 2004, eight corporations that gave money to a Republican PAC founded by U.S. Rep. Tom Delay were criminally indicted for unlawful corporate political contributions. By April 2005, the indictments against four of those corporations were dismissed, an excellent result by any GC's standards. However, this September's grand jury indictment of DeLay and two others on conspiracy charges has brought those corporations, and the other four companies with pending cases, back into the media spotlight.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

9 minute read

September 16, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

Last summer, Spencer C. Barasch, head of enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission in Fort Worth, was worried about pending budget cuts. But in short order, terrorists attacked the country; Enron Corp. collapsed in a wash of scandal; Arthur Andersen was indicted on a charge of obstruction of justice; and WorldCom filed bankruptcy in the wake of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC. It's a new day for the SEC. And there is much to do.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

10 minute read

August 15, 2011 | Texas Lawyer

Two California residents sued Dallas-based Winstead and shareholder Mike McWilliams on July 29 alleging they failed to disclose a conflict of interest that left the plaintiffs "without effective representation" in connection with several real estate and financing transactions. Jeffrey Goldfarb (pictured) represents the plaintiffs in the case.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

4 minute read