John Council

July 04, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

By night, Delilah broadcasts her feel-good radio show on 220 stations across the nation, courtesy of a syndication deal brokered by Dallas' Godwin Gruber. But by day, lawyers are fighting over that same deal, in which the firm claimed a percentage interest of a partnership it helped create on behalf of Delilah.

By John Council

11 minute read

September 02, 2005 | The Legal Intelligencer

As Hurricane Katrina and growing floodwaters have turned the New Orleans business district into a legal ghost town, officials at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are making plans to relocate the court.

By John Council

4 minute read

October 26, 2005 | Law.com

For the past decade, business interests and tort reform advocates were satisfied with their fate at the Texas Supreme Court, where corporate defendants often prevail. But that was before the court decided Frank's Casing, creating a battle that pits two groups normally on the same side of civil litigation -- business interests and insurance companies -- against each other. Now, as the court weighs whether to rehear the case, a flurry of amicus briefs are pleading with the court to change its mind.

By John Council

9 minute read

May 30, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

In a decision that legal ethics experts say could affect a variety civil lawyers, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an attorney has a duty to investigate with what funds a client pays  especially if a court injunction has frozen the client's assets.

By John Council

8 minute read

May 08, 2006 | Texas Lawyer

Prison law libraries presumably play a huge role in the heap of pro se petitions filed in courts each year. In fiscal year 2005, 33,000 pro se petitions were filed in U.S. District Courts across the nation � nearly half of which were penned by prisoners, according to a report by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts. Of those pro se cases, 8,500 are from Texas.

By John Council

12 minute read

May 30, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

After three nominations, four years of waiting and a U.S. Senate showdown that nearly required a change of a 200-year rule to assist her, the Senate finally confirmed Priscilla Owen for a seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week.

By John Council and T.R. Goldman

8 minute read

February 22, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. may have a valid complaint in its fight with the State Bar of Texas` Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee on the issue of captive firms, but the issue ultimately should be decided in state court, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Feb. 20.

By JOHN COUNCIL

4 minute read

August 09, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

Texas Lawyer turned 25 on April 3. To mark our anniversary, each week the editorial department is looking back at the news we covered over the past 25 years and selecting one story to update for readers. This week, senior reporter John Council updates "Court Extends Dram Shop Liability," an article from the Aug. 12, 1991, issue of Texas Lawyer.

By John Council

5 minute read

June 30, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

The three-story Grimes County Courthouse, restored in 2002 at a cost of $1.8 million and one of the first projects completed by the Texas Historical Commission Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, has been the scene of more than its share of violence and history since construction in the 1890s.

By John Council

7 minute read

December 05, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

In what several appellate lawyers believe is an ominous signal, the Texas Supreme Court last week heard oral argument in a rehearing of a dram shop decision the justices had handed down only 14 months earlier, which had affirmed a $35 million jury verdict.

By John Council

9 minute read