Mary Alice Robbins

March 09, 2001 | Law.com

Three bills tossed in the legislative hopper seek to resolve the perceived conflict over Texas Supreme Court law clerks accepting high-dollar bonuses -- sometimes as much as $35,000 -- from law firms that they have agreed to join after completing their clerkships.

By Mary Alice Robbins

8 minute read

May 10, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

Describing a partial expungement of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct's public censure of a former Dallas judge as "de minimis," the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the judge's motion for attorney's fees. The case involves Robert Jenevein, judge of Dallas County Court-at-Law No. 3 from 1999 through 2002. Jenevein had appealed a district court's denial of his motion for attorney's fees; he sought them as a "prevailing party" under 42 U.S.C. �1988(b).

By Mary Alice Robbins

5 minute read

August 09, 2006 | National Law Journal

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia rejected Texas Republican Party Chairwoman Tina Benkiser's application for a stay on Aug. 7, blocking the GOP from replacing U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on the Nov. 7 ballot.

By Mary Alice Robbins

4 minute read

April 01, 2002 | Law.com

Firm associates owe a fiduciary duty to their employers with regard to referring cases to other lawyers, but it's a limited duty, the Texas Supreme Court has held. The court ruled 8-0 that an associate cannot accept a fee or other compensation for referring a matter to a lawyer outside his or her firm.

By Mary Alice Robbins

7 minute read

July 02, 2002 | Law.com

Overruling a more than 10-year-old precedent, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has further restricted the questions that can be asked during voir dire. Prosecutors praise the decision in Barajas v. State, which they say allows them to object to questions containing facts specific to a case. Says one county district attorney of the court's overturning of a 1991 holding: "They've finally recognized how ridiculous that ruling was."

By Mary Alice Robbins

5 minute read

August 19, 2013 | Texas Lawyer

Founded in 1917 in Houston during Texas' oil boom days, Vinson & Elkins grew up helping oil and gas clients resolve disputes and touts itself as "one of the world's leading energy law firms." "It is a big, big part of what we do and who we are," says V&E Houston partner Jim Thompson.

By Mary Alice Robbins

4 minute read

February 04, 2002 | Law.com

In a suit filed Jan. 11, Steven W. Smith, one of the winning Hopwood v. Texas lawyers and a Republican candidate for a seat on the Texas Supreme Court, challenges a section of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct barring judges and judicial candidates from making statements that "indicate an opinion on any issue" they may have to interpret as a jurist. Smith is challenging the provision on First Amendment grounds.

By Mary Alice Robbins

4 minute read

February 20, 2012 | Texas Lawyer

Trips to Montana for seminars, BP stock ownership and gifts for a judge who took senior status are the highlights of the 2010 financial disclosure reports filed by 22 active and senior judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Jennifer Elrod of Houston was one of four judges who reported that in 2010 they received reimbursements for attending one seminar each sponsored by the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment.

By Mary Alice Robbins

4 minute read

September 17, 2012 | Texas Lawyer

An organization of volunteers who advocate in court on behalf of children in the state's foster care system is among the groups that could lose more than half of its grant funding from the Compensation to Victims of Crime Fund unless the Texas Legislature shores up the CVCF.

By Mary Alice Robbins

4 minute read

August 19, 2013 | Texas Lawyer

Attorneys in Baker Botts' intellectual property practice not only grasp complicated technology but can explain it in terms simple enough for jurors to understand. Partner Bart Showalter says the high degree of technical expertise that its IP lawyers have distinguishes Baker Botts from other firms.

By Mary Alice Robbins

4 minute read