jgraham

June 09, 2003 | Law.com

Betsy Whitaker, the incoming president of the State Bar of Texas, has said she yearns to be on stage. "I've always thought it would be a blast to be a singer," Whitaker says. She will be on stage as the public spokesperson for the State Bar, pushing to implement technology innovations that will make it easier for members to use Bar information and participate in Bar activities, such as surveys and elections.

By Jeanne Graham

10 minute read

March 06, 2012 | Law.com

The bonus pool at the largest firms in Texas was wider and deeper in 2011. Interviews with firm leaders show that the range of paid bonuses stayed the same, but firms paid more overall, because more associates qualified or earned bonuses on the high end of the range.

By Jeanne Graham

8 minute read

May 10, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

The rites of spring at Texas law schools include final exams, hooding ceremony preparations and learning the results of the February bar exam. Three of the nine American Bar Association-accredited Texas law schools have improved passing rates when comparing February 2010 with February 2009 exam results: Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock; and Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law and South Texas College of Law, both in Houston.

By Jeanne Graham

9 minute read

March 19, 2012 | Texas Lawyer

Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock jumped 16 places to tie for the 101st position in U.S.News & World Report 's annual law school rankings. Texas Tech Law Dean Darby Dickerson attributes the improvement to several criteria U.S.News uses for the standings. The school's placement rate for this year's rankings was 93.3 percent — which was the placement rate for the school's 2010 graduates — and the placement rate for last year's rankings was 85.9 percent, she says.

By Jeanne Graham

5 minute read

November 05, 2012 | Texas Lawyer

James Brashear likes to fly, whether he's piloting a plane or steering a legal department. As vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Zix Corp. since 2010, Brashear flies solo as the only in-house lawyer for the Dallas public company. Zix Corp., which offers customers email encryption services, generated nearly $40 million in 2011 revenue.

By Jeanne Graham

9 minute read

October 01, 2012 | Texas Lawyer

Starting a law firm during a recession may not be easy, but Ralph Perez, a bankruptcy lawyer in Corpus Christi did just that after obtaining his Texas law license in November 2008. "I started a virtual practice and set up out of my house," he says. "It allowed me to save a lot of overhead and pocket a lot of profit. I settled on a flat $100 per hour when I started." Perez raised his rate to $125 an hour in 2009. By 2010, when his business had doubled as a result of marketing through social media and attending social media events, he raised his hourly fee to $175 and hired an administrative assistant who worked from her home.

By Jeanne Graham

47 minute read

February 04, 2013 | Texas Lawyer

Keith Head knows energy deals from beginning to end. As vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Harvest Natural Resources Inc. in Houston, he's been on the front end of deals identifying and valuing potential acquisitions.

By Jeanne Graham

11 minute read

June 10, 2013 | Texas Lawyer

While a Yale Law School student, Texas native Christian A. "Chris" Garza says he never imagined he'd be doing the work he does today. "In law school, you didn't really know what in-house practice was," says Garza, director, general counsel and secretary for Cosentino North America in Houston. "At Yale, most aspire to become politicians or professors or law firm partners."

By Jeanne Graham

9 minute read

December 03, 2012 | Texas Lawyer

'Tis the season for bargain hunting, which means that Lou Agnese, general counsel and corporate secretary for WhaleShark Media Inc., is in high gear, advising sales and management teams at his company on marketing and trademark issues and promotional campaigns with merchants.

By Jeanne Graham

10 minute read

August 22, 2008 | National Law Journal

The grades are in. Students gave their respective Texas law schools high marks for faculty accessibility and creating a collegial atmosphere but lower marks for the helpfulness of the schools' placement offices, according to Texas Lawyer's 2008 Dear Dean Survey. More than 97 percent of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law's graduates are employed within nine months of graduation, says Dean John Attanasio, which may explain why it ranked highest among Texas' nine law schools.

By Jeanne Graham

29 minute read