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Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

Senior reporter Brenda Sapino Jeffreys covers the business of law in Texas. Contact her at [email protected] On Twitter: @BrendaSJeffreys

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October 03, 2011 | Texas Lawyer

Chief Legal Officers' Compensation Up 15.5 Percent

General counsel who are among the highest-paid executives at large Texas companies earned a little more silver to put in their pockets in 2010 than the year before. Wayne Watts, senior executive vice president and general counsel of AT&T Inc. in Dallas, heads the list of the best-paid general counsel in 2010 in Texas with total compensation of $9,244,814.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

6 minute read

June 08, 2011 | Legaltech News

Lawyer Alleges E-Mails to Clients Libeled Him

Dallas lawyer Cary Schulman and his firm have sued attorney Blake Hyde and his former firm, alleging they slandered and libeled him in e-mails Hyde sent to Schulman's clients. The plaintiffs' causes of action include slander and slander per se, statutory libel per se and common-law libel per se, and intentional interference with contractual relations.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

6 minute read

April 07, 2004 | Texas Lawyer

Judge Rejects Lea Fastow Plea Agreement

U.S. District Judge David Hittner of Houston on April 7 rejected a plea agreement Lea Fastow — the wife of former Enron Corp. chief financial officer Andrew Fastow — had with federal prosecutors that called for her to spend five months in federal prison and another five confined to her house.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

4 minute read

April 20, 2007 | Law.com

Stern Files Defamation Suit Against Attorney for Anna Nicole Smith's Mother

Howard K. Stern, the longtime attorney and companion to former Playboy model and television personality Anna Nicole Smith, who died Feb. 8 in Florida, has filed a federal defamation suit against Houston lawyer John O'Quinn. Stern alleges in the complaint that O'Quinn, an attorney for Smith's mother Virgie Arthur, repeatedly made false and defamatory public statements alleging that Stern caused the death of Smith and her son, Daniel, for Stern's own financial gain.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

3 minute read

March 15, 2011 | New York Law Journal

29 Defect to Launch New Firm

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

2 minute read

June 12, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

Out of Practice: Attorneys Called to Active Duty Must Cover Caseload, Plan for Legal Life After Service

Some large Texas firms have policies in place for the times when lawyers are called to active duty, but others don't -- presumably because it has not been an issue. Like Haynes and Boone, many of the firms with policies will supplement lawyers' military pay, so they don't suffer financially while on active duty.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

10 minute read

May 18, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

A Different Type of Bar

With his life and legal career a smoldering wreckage, on May 11 retired U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent was sentenced to 33 months in prison for one count of obstruction of justice, and the two women he abused finally got a chance to speak directly to the jurist who made their lives hell.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys and John Council

12 minute read

September 28, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

Retention Success? Percentage of Women, Minority Attorneys at BigTex Firms Holds Steady Despite Economy

Taken as a whole, the firms with the largest Texas offices shed some lawyers between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009, but the percentages of minority and female lawyers at those firms did not slip. Emmanuel Obi (pictured), an associate with Weil, Gotshal & Manges, is on a committee looking at ways to increase diversity at Dallas firms.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

9 minute read

February 27, 2006 | National Law Journal

As Date With Playmate Approaches, High Court to Ponder Jurisdiction Issue

Tuesday's arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on a federal jurisdiction matter are apt to attract a somewhat different audience for such an issue. That's because Playmate Anna Nicole Smith is due to attend, in connection with a judgment awarding her millions from her husband's estate. Legal obervers are split on whether the circus atmosphere that often surrounds Smith will be a concern for the justices as they consider whether federal courts have jurisdiction in state probate matters.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

9 minute read

March 21, 2007 | The Recorder

Enron Shareholders Can't Pursue Suit

Shareholders' plans to sue Enron were thwarted when the Fifth Circuit overturned an earlier ruling granting class certification, but the case is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

5 minute read