John Council

January 11, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

Anyone who shows up in Rusty Ladd's courtroom as he takes the bench in the morning will be asked to participate in a ritual that Texas schoolchildren perform every day. But he hopes people will remember why he asks them to place their hands over their hearts. "We say the Pledge of Allegiance every day, whether it's two people or 20," says Ladd, judge of Lubbock County Court-at-Law No. 1.

By John Council

7 minute read

September 15, 2011 | Law.com

Attorneys should take a hard look at their fee agreements with clients -- even the letterhead -- to make sure they are crystal clear and mistake-free. Otherwise, lawyers risk not getting paid -- as shown by a recent court ruling that favored the client over the attorney in a fee dispute.

By John Council

7 minute read

April 10, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

Weatherford attorney Tom Vick is looking for about 100 lawyers willing to volunteer for what likely is the biggest family law case in Texas history. Their mission will be to represent hundreds of children recently removed by Child Protective Services from a secretive polygamist compound in West Texas.

By John Council

13 minute read

June 02, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

The war over words between Judge Carlos Cortez and attorney Coyt Randal "Randy" Johnston recently moved to a new field of battle.

By John Council

8 minute read

October 20, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

William R. Edwards thought that a potential client's personal injury case seemed too good to be true. Later that client's phone conversation would lead to the arrest of a man who police, prosecutors and the Texas Department of Corrections say has been previously convicted several times for theft by conning lawyers out of cash advances.

By John Council

8 minute read

February 14, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

A state law that allows defendants to be tried for the deaths of unborn children was tested on Feb. 4 when a Dallas jury found a man guilty of capital murder for killing a pregnant woman and her fetus.

By John Council

5 minute read

February 24, 2003 | Law.com

Attempts by a prominent Dallas plaintiffs' firm to recover a contingent fee from a former client who took his case to a lawyer outside the firm were "unconscionable as a matter of law," Fort Worth, Texas' 2nd Court of Appeals ruled. The decision stems from an unusual dispute in which the client took a case away from the Law Offices of Windle Turley and then tried unsuccessfully to bring it back to the firm.

By John Council

7 minute read

May 10, 2004 | Texas Lawyer

Gary M. Lavergne does a good job explaining the relevance of Abdelkrim Belachheb Belachheb who killed six people in a Dallas nightclub in 1984 and his impact on the Texas Penal Code.

By John Council

6 minute read

April 19, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

The Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, the group known for aggressively cracking down on self-help legal publishers and captive insurance law firms, did the unthinkable last week - they settled a declaratory judgment action. In an unusual turn of events, the normally unyielding UPLC agreed on April 15 to stop investigation into the propriety of four independent companies that identify class-action members and help them, for a fee, to file claims to collect from a nationwide settlement.

By JOHN COUNCIL

4 minute read

June 14, 1999 | Law.com

It appeared to be an innocuous bill aimed at ensuring indigent criminal defendants are appointed capable attorneys in a timely manner. But when Texas trial judges got a look at a heavily amended bill passed late in the state's legislative session, it caused a judicial uproar. The bill strips trial judges of broad powers to appoint attorneys for poor people in jail. The judges have turned to Gov. George W. Bush, urging him to veto the legislation, between presidential campaign whistlestops.

By John Council

6 minute read