Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

October 04, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

Nearly flat as a pancake — that's an apt way to describe 2009 compensation compared to 2008's for Texas general counsel who are among the highest-paid executives at their companies. Compensation for Charles W. Matthews (pictured), former VP and GC of Exxon Mobil Corp., totaled $9.7 million in 2008, more than the highest-compensated GC in 2009. Matthews retired from his GC position in 2010.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

6 minute read

March 23, 2004 | Law.com

A state district judge in Texas has approved a nationwide settlement, valued at up to $149 million, between Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. and consumers who allege in a class petition that their Firestone tires had a tendency to fail.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

7 minute read

October 14, 2002 | Law.com

Steven L. Scheinthal has a lot on his plate. As general counsel at Landry's Restaurants Inc., Scheinthal says he is not only responsible for the legal operations, but also oversees risk management, human relations and compliance. He came to Landry's with a litigation background, but he learned during his first day on the job that the role of a general counsel is much broader.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

11 minute read

August 10, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Houston Lawyer Referral Service sued Houston lawyer W. Fulton Broemer and his firm on July 27, seeking a judgment to force them to pay referral fees to the nonprofit.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

6 minute read

January 31, 2000 | Law.com

Henry Akin, who helped make Akin, Gump a national powerhouse, died in Dallas little more than a week after turning 100 years old. The firm he helped to build has ballooned to 900 lawyers, with offices ranging from Los Angeles to the District of Columbia to London to Moscow.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

6 minute read

December 14, 2007 | Law.com

A federal judge in Texas -- who has hired Houston criminal defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin -- met with FBI agents on Nov. 30 to discuss allegations that he sexually harassed a court employee. In September, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judicial Council issued an order reprimanding and admonishing U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent in connection with a May complaint filed by Cathy McBroom, a former case manager for the judge. DeGuerin says Kent, on his own, "solicited the interview" with the FBI.

By John Council and Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

6 minute read

May 19, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

While the demise of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison's Austin office and its Dallas offshoot were clearly linked to the fortunes of the San Francisco-based firm, the speedy turn of events that led to an announcement that the firm would dissolve didn't give the lawyers in Texas any time to think about forming a firm together, or linking as a group with another firm.Some partners say they were left scrambling.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

14 minute read

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