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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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May 25, 2007 | National Law Journal

Locke Liddell Merger With Lord Bissell Will Form 700-Lawyer Firm

Locke Liddell & Sapp, based in Houston and Dallas, and Chicago-based Lord, Bissell & Brook have agreed to merge and will form a 700-lawyer firm named Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell. Locke Liddell is the larger firm with 399 lawyers, but Lord Bissell, which has about 300 lawyers, has a wider range of offices. "To my knowledge, this is the first time a large Texas firm merges with a law firm from outside Texas with offices outside the United States," says Jerry Clements, managing partner of Locke Liddell.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

4 minute read

September 12, 2011 | Texas Lawyer

Texas Firms File Suits to Pursue Legal Fees

The fee suits keep on coming. Here is a report on some of the suits Texas firms filed recently to collect allegedly unpaid fees from clients or former clients. Firms filing the suits include Welsh & Chapoton, The Newman Law Firm, The Kuntz Law Firm, Bennett, Weston, LaJone & Turner, and Fish & Richardson.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

6 minute read

January 03, 2008 | National Law Journal

Attorney Follows Faith to Musical Ministry

After spending a week in contemplative silence at a retreat, Jennifer Klein decided to leave her job as an associate at Strasburger & Price in Austin, Texas, give up the trappings of a lawyer lifestyle and devote her life to a music ministry. "I decided to share the Word [of God] through song," she says. Klein says she took pride in her work as a lawyer but came to realize law isn't her passion. And she says other lawyers considering a career change shouldn't be fearful of giving up a lawyer's income.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

12 minute read

November 24, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

The (Musical) Scales of Justice in Midland

State District Judge Dean Rucker says he really enjoys his job hearing family law and criminal cases as a judge in Midland, but he's already anticipating his second career as a composer of ballads and piano music.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

12 minute read

May 24, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

Locke Liddell to Merge With Lord, Bissell

Texas-based Locke Liddell & Sapp and Chicago-based Lord, Bissell & Brook have agreed to a merger that will create a 700-lawyer firm with offices in 11 cities.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

4 minute read

August 23, 2005 | Law.com

Merck Looks At Grounds for Appeal

In the wake of the $250 million verdict in Texas, the drug maker is considering several challenges, including what it says was the use of "unqualified experts."

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

3 minute read

October 06, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

Combo Deal

When 78-year-old William Hilgers and 63-year-old Thomas Watkins showed up for work on Oct. 1, it was the first time either had practiced at a firm that didn�t bear their names. On that day, they and 27 other lawyers from their 26-year-old Austin-based firm, Hilgers & Watkins, joined Austin's Brown McCarroll, creating a 199-lawyer firm with offices in five cities in Texas.

By Mary Alice Robbins and Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

7 minute read

July 31, 2008 | Law.com

Firm in Silica Case Fee Dispute Loses Mandamus Bid in Texas Appeals Court

Houston-based Beirne, Maynard & Parsons lost a discovery dispute recently in its quest to obtain $1.2 million in unpaid legal fees for defending U.S. Silica in silicosis litigation. The 6th Court of Appeals in Texarkana, Texas, denied the firm's petition for writ of mandamus and also vacated a temporary stay of the proceedings. Discovery can proceed in the underlying case, in which the firm is suing U.S. Silica's insurer, TIG Insurance, and Riverstone Claims, which handled TIG's claims management.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

5 minute read

September 08, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

Fee Fight Ends With $500,000 Verdict

A Houston jury found O'Quinn, Laminack & Pirtle underpaid former lawyer Samuel R. Palermo for work he did on five suits while at the personal-injury firm in Houston, and awarded Palermo $500,000 in damages and attorneys' fees.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

8 minute read

December 14, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

Gardere Reduces First-Year Salaries And Billable Hours

On Dec. 10, Gardere Wynne Sewell of Dallas took the plunge and announced a new first-year associate compensation plan that will pay a starting salary of $120,000 effective Jan. 1, 2010 — down from the current $140,000. The new compensation plan is largely a result of feedback from clients, says Steve Good, the 275-lawyer firm's managing partner.

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

4 minute read