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This Week's Issue
Shafted? Dallas Firms Join Forces For Barnett Shale Fight
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
Drilling for natural gas in the Barnett Shale has been an economic boon to North Texas since production began in 2001, but hundreds of disgruntled property owners are lining up to sue drilling companies over terms of mineral leases. Randal Mathis, Kip Petroff and Christopher Payne (pictured, from left) are members of the North Texas Lease Litigation Group, which represents property owners in litigation against drilling companies and their agents.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
Relationship Between Judge, DA's Office at Issue in Recusal Motion
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
A criminal defendant seeks to recuse 140th District Judge Jim Bob Darnell from his case based on his allegation that Darnell is beholden to the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office for the way it handled a case involving the judge's son, Jared.
Diversity Appeal: Few Minorities Hold Positions As Law Clerks, Staff Attorneys
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
In the 10 years Jennifer Lewis Williams has worked at the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas, she has been the court's only African-American staff attorney. That lack of diversity persists throughout the state's appellate courts. The reasons for it, and possible solutions, remain in dispute.
Inadmissible
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
"Hail to the New Chief," "Precedent Overturned," "Double Duty" and "Field of Dreams"
Unit 39, Where Are You?
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
U.S. District Judge Gray Miller did his best to follow his father's advice on careers he should not pursue. So he set off on a professional quest that took him around the world on a ship, through the mean streets of Houston in a police patrol car, and in front of a television camera for a children's show before he ultimately wound up on the federal bench.
Players Win Relief From Stanford Receiver's Clawback Attempt
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
A group of current and former professional baseball players recently won a big victory in a courtroom instead of on the ball field. Because of a 5th Circuit ruling, the seven ballplayers and about 500 other investors will be able to keep money they earned on CDs they purchased from Stanford International Bank. Gene Besen (pictured) represents the players.
Discipline
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
Two lawyers were placed on probation, and two others received public reprimands.
VerdictSearch
VerdictSearch
Monday, November 23, 2009
Dating site sets up $1.5 million fund to settle class action suit. Business pays $125,000 to settle white workers' discrimination claims. Jury sides with state trooper accused of false arrest. Western Union wins $16,529,502 in infringement case. Settlement reached in bus fire that killed 23 nursing home residents. Tire manufacturer not to blame for deadly crash, jury finds.
How to Realize the Power of a Strong Brand
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, November 23, 2009
Branding — once considered the key mission of law firm marketing efforts — is now more appropriately viewed as a means to achieve the desired result: developing business. In fact, "All institutional marketing must fuel business development — or be ineffective," say Norm Rubenstein and Kent Zimmermann of the legal marketing consultancy Zeughauser Group.
Simple Steps to Update a Wardrobe, Develop a Signature Style
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
Fall/winter update shopping used to feel like a chore, for fashion consultant Kasia Benson. She says she would spend countless hours at the mall, bobbing in and out of stores as she came upon them, looking for those few necessities that would bring old favorites back to life. But, inevitably, she'd get home and realize that, in a sea of shopping bags and trendy items, she'd neglected to pick up a single one of those few necessities. And so, back to the mall she went the following weekend, with the same result — until she came up with a plan.
Texas Energy Litigation Trends
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
Charts show statistics about energy company litigation filed during the first 10 months of 2009 in U.S. district courts in Texas.
Under Pressure: Advance Work on Prepack Leads to Short Stint in Bankruptcy
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
Only 28 days after Baseline Oil and Gas Corp. of Houston filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition, a federal bankruptcy judge confirmed the Houston-based energy company's reorganization plan. Rhett Campbell of lawyers from Thompson & Knight worked on the prepackaged bankruptcy filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Getting From Here to There: Push to Increase Renewable Energy Capacity and Transmit Power Means Work for Lawyers
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
Texas is charging ahead with the Legislature's mandate to increase renewable energy capacity in competitive renewable energy zones. These CREZ areas are regions of the state designated for the construction of renewable energy generation. In S.B. 20, the Legislature in 2005 directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to require utilities to "construct or enlarge transmission" for CREZ-generated electricity.
Deadline Approaching for Emissions Monitoring and Reporting
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken a noteworthy step toward regulating greenhouse gas emissions by implementing a rule that requires industries to begin emissions monitoring and reporting. Whether these industries laud or lament these requirements likely depends upon their preparedness to comply with a fast-approaching Jan. 1, 2010, monitoring deadline and March 31, 2011, reporting deadline. Unprepared industries have little time to comply and few options to postpone conformity. Lawyers should be aware that clients affected by the rule could include a number of energy industry sectors that previously have not been regulated in this way.
Danger in the Pool: Craft Pooling Clauses to Avoid the Results of Wagner & Brown Ltd. v. Sheppard
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 23, 2009
Owners of oil and gas interests pooled for efficient development of the resources have something in common with the hapless guests in the Eagles' classic tune "Hotel California": They can check into the pooling unit, but they can never leave.
Opinion: Venue Shopping in Patent Cases Must Stop
The National Law Journal
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
There is nearly universal agreement that reform of the U.S. patent system is urgently needed. But patent reform has many elements, with just as many players lined up on various sides of the debate: pharmaceutical companies versus high-tech, big corporations versus small inventors. Some want to preserve strong patent rights, while others maintain such rights weaken, rather than foster, innovation. For some, speed and transparency are key.
VerdictSearch: Western Union Wins $16,529,502 in Infringement Case
VerdictSearch
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin found that MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc. infringed on patents held by Wester Union Co. and set damages at more than $16 million. The patents involved the methods for performing financial transfers over the telephone. MoneyGram argued the patents were were obvious in view of prior art, and therefore were invalid. Although jurors found in favor of Western Union, they determined that the infringement wasn't willful.
VerdictSearch: Dating Site Sets Up $1.5 Million Fund to Settle Class Action Suit
VerdictSearch
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
An online dating service has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle claims that it wrongfully billed customers. A former customer had accused True.com of unjust enrichment and conversion, as well as violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. True.com denied it had a policy of refusing to honor cancelation requests, but it agreed to settle the matter by creating a fund for members of the class. The case was in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas.
Case Against Alleged Fort Hood Shooter to Test Military Justice System
The National Law Journal
Monday, November 16, 2009
Lawyers involved in the court-martial of the man accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, will shoulder incredible pressure from inside and outside the military to get it right, experts on military law say. And they'll have to do it while trying to find an unbiased jury and managing a complex and high-profile capital trial at the same time overlapping congressional investigations may be under way. Even under normal circumstances, a court-martial is a "real drain" on the military and needs to be handled expeditiously, said John O'Connor, a partner at Washington's Steptoe & Johnson
After First Year of Practice, Law Grads Are Settled in to Lawyer Life
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 16, 2009
The past 12 months have been a tumultuous time in the legal industry, especially for many of the 2008 law school graduates who were just beginning their careers. Despite the turbulent times, some of those still-new lawyers are flourishing. "It's just amazing how much you can learn in a year," says Ronn Paiz Garcia.
Questions Remain After Decision on Blood Draws in DWI Arrests
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 16, 2009
A recent decision by Fort Worth's 2nd Court of Appeals puts up a roadblock to a trend developing in law enforcement: police officers who draw blood from DWI suspects. The Nov. 5 decision came in Texas v. Christi Lynn Johnston. Tanya Dohoney (pictured), Tarrant County assistant district attorney, represents the state in the case.
To Disclose, Or Not To Disclose?
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 16, 2009
On Nov. 9, the State Bar of Texas concluded a series of seven public hearings focusing on whether lawyers should have to disclose if they have professional-liability insurance. A majority of the 67 speakers who testified at the hearings were of a like mind: They oppose such a rule. But did the testimony at the public hearings represent the public's view on the disclosure issue?
A Life in the Law or Diddly Squat
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 16, 2009
For George Gallagher, an acceptance letter he received from St. Mary's School of Law in 1979 changed the course of his life. Put more bluntly, according to Gallagher: "If I didn't get into law school, I wouldn't have done diddly squat with the rest of my life." Gallagher, now judge of the 396th District Court in Fort Worth, talks about his career and his style on the bench.
Houston Lawyers Develop Niche in Iraq War-Related Cases
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 16, 2009
Toby Cole and Mark Midani, partners in Houston's Midani, Hinkle & Cole, have carved out a specialty of sorts: Iraq war-related cases. They are handling about a dozen pending complaints for current and former employees of KBR Inc., a Houston-based military contractor with operations in Iraq. Cole estimates there are about 30 federal civil suits pending in the United States in which Iraqi plaintiffs are suing private security contractors operating in Iraq.
Texas Tech Tops State's Law Schools in July Bar Pass Rates
Texas Lawyer
Monday, November 16, 2009
Texas Tech University School of Law graduates hit a bittersweet note on the July 2009 Texas bar exam. Of the Lubbock school's first-time test-takers, 94.52 percent passed. That's the highest percent passing rate on the July exam among the nine American Bar Association-accredited law schools in Texas. Walter Huffman (pictured) is dean of the law school at Texas Tech.
