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This Week's Issue
Could Commissioners' Order Allow Seizure of Judges' Hard Drives?
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 9, 2009
An Oct. 20 Dallas County Commissioners Court order so concerned Criminal District Court No. 1 Judge Robert D. Burns III (pictured) that he wrote a letter to the commissioners asking them to rescind it. But on Nov. 3, the commissioners declined to do so. The commissioners' Oct. 20 order authorized the seizure of the hard drives on a constable's work computers as part of an ongoing investigation.
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Jury Room at Center of Fight Over New Trial
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 9, 2009
A federal prisoner convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for killing another inmate has filed a motion for new trial after a U.S. district judge made an unusual decision to dismiss a juror during deliberations. But the defense and prosecution disagree over what happened during those deliberations.
Inadmissible
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 9, 2009
"Speech Suit Filed," "Big Hurdle" and "To Market, To Market"
John M. O'Quinn Remembered as a Courageous, Complicated Man
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 9, 2009
John M. O'Quinn, the successful Houston plaintiffs lawyer who died at age 68 in an automobile accident in Houston on Oct. 29, was called a hero, a devoted friend, a complicated man and a champion of people in need at his funeral on Nov. 4 in Houston.
Legal-Mal Plaintiffs Can Recoup Fees Paid to Fix Lawyers' Mistakes
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 9, 2009
The Texas Supreme Court ruled on Oct. 30 that a legal-malpractice plaintiff can recover as damages the money it paid to fix a firm's negligence. But the opinion is not a complete win for the plaintiff because it lost the majority of its damages claims against Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
Court Nixes Irrebuttable Presumption of Conflict for Departing Lawyer
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 9, 2009
In an opinion that will go a long way toward protecting lateral hires from disqualification based on imputed conflicts of interest, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled it is a rebuttable presumption that attorneys have client confidences from their old firms when they change jobs. "This case provides guidance at a court of appeals level," says Kirk Kennedy (pictured).
Extraordinary Minorities In Texas Law Honored
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 9, 2009
On Oct. 23, Texas Lawyer held a luncheon to honor attorneys recognized in Extraordinary Minorities in Texas Law, a special section that profiled 25 attorneys who have had an impact on firms, government, nonprofits, academia and the corporate world in Texas.
Discipline
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 9, 2009
One lawyer was suspended from the practice of law, another was placed on probation, and another received a public reprimand.
VerdictSearch
VerdictSearch
Monday, November 9, 2009
Employer didn't breach contract when it fired manager, jury finds. Sexual harassment, gender discrimination suit settles for $60,000. Bus, car drivers equally responsible for collision, jury says. Jury awards $20,000 to motorcyclist thrown off bike in crash. Jury finds teen liable for fatal crash. Victim of fatal crash veered into truck's lane, jury finds. Electric company pays $948,000 to family of man struck on dark road.
Lawyers' Unique Role in Observing Veterans Day
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 9, 2009
On Veterans Day, Texas lawyers should pause to reflect on the freedoms veterans secured for all Americans and our duty as attorneys to further those freedoms, says State Rep. Allen Vaught. While this solemn day was originally enacted in 1938 as a legal holiday honoring World War I veterans on the annual anniversary of that war's armistice, it was expanded in 1954 to a holiday honoring all U.S. veterans.
Don't Rely on Conclusory Statements
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 9, 2009
Lawyers identify with their clients. As the saying goes, "When their clients bleed, they bleed." They empathize with their clients and show anger and indignation toward the other side. This is good bedside manner — clients love to be validated — and thus it is good business. But lawyers should be careful that their empathetic enthusiasm doesn't carry over to and dominate their persuasive writing, where indignation is no substitute for analysis.
VerdictSearch: Man Who Developed Infections After Colon Surgery Gets More Than $4 Million
VerdictSearch
Monday, November 9, 2009
A Fort Bend County district court jury awarded more than $4 million to a man who developed multiple infections after a botched colon surgery. The patient sued the doctor for more than $2 million, alleging a surgeon's error and failure to diagnose it led to his post-surgery problems. The physiciann argued that the man's complications resulted from Crohn's disease.
VerdictSearch: Electric Company Pays $948,000 to Family of Man Struck on Dark Road
VerdictSearch
Thursday, November 5, 2009
A jury in a Dallas County district court found TXU Electric Delivery Co. to be 40 percent liable for the death of a man who was struck by an auto as he walked on an unlighted road on Belt Line Road in Dallas in 2005. TXU argued that the driver of the car was at fault and also blamed the victim for failing to take his medication.
Fired Up: Changes Sought for Texas Forensic Science Commission
Texas Lawyer
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Williamson County DA John Bradley, new head of a commission at the center of a political firestorm, will recommend ways to improve the panel's operations at a Senate committee hearing Nov. 10. The controversy ignited when Gov. Rick Perry abruptly replaced two commission members two days before they were to review an arson expert's report in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham.
"Force of Nature" John M. O'Quinn Remembered at Funeral
Texas Lawyer
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Professor Gerald Treece noted that O'Quinn had conquered the "monster of alcoholism" more than a decade ago, but he was still fighting the "monster of low self-esteem," despite his tremendous success as a trial lawyer. O'Quinn's pastor asked the more than 2,000 people who attended the funeral to pray for O'Quinn and described him as a man of "overwhelming contradictions."
VerdictSearch: Tire Manufacturer Not to Blame for Deadly Crash, Jury Finds
VerdictSearch
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
A Hunt County district court jury found in favor of a tire manufacturer that had been sued as a result of an auto crash that killed a woman and her son and left her daughter with a traumatic brain injury. Plaintiffs claimed the design and construction of the tire were defective, but the defendant countered that the tire had been underinflated and appeared to have been damaged by a road hazard before the crash.
Court of Discord: Complaints Filed Over Judge Carlos Cortez's Alleged Behavior Toward Other Jurists
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 2, 2009
A lawyer and a judge say they each have filed complaints with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct against 44th District Judge Carlos Cortez of Dallas alleging that he has engaged in abusive behavior toward some of his judicial colleagues.
Appellate Award of $47,000 in Fees "Unreasonable," Supremes Say
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Texas Supreme Court recently reversed an intermediate appellate court's award of attorney's fees equaling 70 percent of the total damages awarded in a suit over the breach of a lease agreement. The unanimous court issued its opinion Oct. 23 in Smith, et al. v. Patrick W.Y. Tam Trust.
Inadmissible
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 2, 2009
"The Wright Stuff," "Nixing AG Run" and Team Effort Exonerates Two Men"
Strasburger Disqualified After Legal Assistant Conflict Alleged
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 2, 2009
Strasburger & Price was disqualified from representing a client in an insurance-coverage case after a party alleged that a Strasburger legal assistant had a conflict of interest. Strasburger's John Spiller (pictured) says it's unlikely he will ask for a rehearing on the disqualification ruling but he is weighing the possibility of pursuing a writ of mandamus.
Thompson & Knight Lawyer Does "Project Runway" Video Game Deal
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 2, 2009
Thompson & Knight partner J. Holt Foster has handled video game transactions for many years, but the high-profile deal he just negotiated for Tornado Studios stands out from the pack because it features a photo shoot instead of a shoot-'em-up. He helped arrange an agreement with television show "Project Runway" for his client.
Judge Recuses Himself Citing Jurist's "Unsolicited Conversations"
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 2, 2009
On Oct. 26, Judge Carlos Cortez of Dallas County's 44th District Court voluntarily recused himself from hearing a wrongful-termination suit after Court-at-Law Judge Sally Montgomery (pictured), who is a witness in the litigation, had an "unsolicited conversation" with him regarding the case.
Austin Solo Who Made Obscene Gesture Before Judge Loses at CCA
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 2, 2009
Adam Reposa, the Austin criminal-defense solo who made a gesture simulating masturbation toward a prosecutor while standing before Travis County Court-at-Law No. 6 Judge Jan Breland, faces 90 days in jail. The CCA overruled five issues that Reposa (pictured) raised challenging the judgment of contempt and sentence.
Disciplinary Report: Dallas County Lawyer Suspended, Two Others on Probation
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 2, 2009
The State Bar of Texas has announced that a Dallas County lawyer has been suspended from the practice of law for six months and placed on probation for 18 months. He also was ordered to pay $2,550 in attorneys' fees and expenses to the State Bar. In separate actions, the Bar also announced two other lawyers were placed on probation.
VerdictSearch
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 2, 2009
Former distributors win $1,894,000 in DTPA suit. Sale of used Porsche didn't violate DTPA, judge rules. Jury rejects prisoner's excessive-force claim. Jury awards $3.6 million to kin of three women killed.
It's Time to Speak Up: Don't Miss Out on Debate Over Professional Liability Insurance
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 2, 2009
By February 2010, the State Bar of Texas board of directors will make its recommendation to the Texas Supreme Court concerning the controversial issue of whether attorneys in Texas should be required to disclose — either through the State Bar Web site or directly to their clients — whether they carry professional liability insurance.
