The Ends Do Not Justify the Means: Pre-trial Asset Freezes Increasingly Paralyze the Defense

By Jeff Ansley
Special Contributing Writer for The Texas Lawbook

(March 6) – Imagine you are a respected businessman or licensed professional but you suddenly learn through media reports that you are under investigation for fraud. Nothing has been proven but the federal government, without warning, convinces a judge to freeze all of your and your family’s assets.

While Mark Cuban had billions of dollars at his disposal to fight these allegations, you, unfortunately, do not and have been stripped of everything. What do you do?

NBA Team Values: Three Ways Mark Cuban and Some of His Owner Brethren Are Cashing In

By Bryce Erickson
Special Contributing Writer for The Texas Lawbook

(March 5) – In a recent article, Mark Cuban commented how media revenues will push NBA valuations far higher than they are currently.

“If we do this right, it’s not inconceivable that every NBA franchise will be worth more than $1 billion within ten years”, he said.

While that observation could be on the money, it’s not the only engine that drives NBA team values. The undergirding economics of these teams are complex and nuanced. Values are influenced by a number of factors, some that cannot be controlled by owners and their advisory teams, but others that can be.

The Texas Lawbook Passes 5,000 Paid Subscriber Milestone

By Brooks Igo
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook

(February 25) -- The Texas Lawbook published its first article in November 2011 with no subscribers.

Twenty-eight months later, the online business law publication surged well past 5,300 this week thanks to several new group subscriptions from a handful of business law firms and corporate in-house legal departments.

Texas Lawyers Play Key Role in SCOTUS Securities Litigation Debate

By Mark Curriden, JD
Senior Writer for The Texas Lawbook

(March 7) – When the U.S. Supreme Court conducted oral arguments this past week in a case that could potentially significantly restrict large class action securities lawsuits across the country, there was a very strong Texas flavor. The lead lawyer arguing the case was from Baker Botts in Houston and the lawyer who authored a legal brief that many experts predict will be decisive in the justices’ ultimate decision was from Vinson & Elkins in Austin.

UPDATE: Jury Decides ETP and Enterprise Were in a Partnership, Awards $319 Million

By Natalie Posgate
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook

DALLAS (March 7) – A Dallas jury, in a potential landmark verdict that has attracted a lot of attention from energy companies and general counsel, ruled last Tuesday that two businesses can be involved in a legally binding partnership even when one of the parties never intended for the joint venture to be official.

The jury ordered Enterprise to pay ETP $319 million in damages for violating the corporate version of a common law marriage. The victory was the largest for prominent trial lawyer Mike Lynn and one of the largest ever awarded by a North Texas jury.

Previous Lawyers & Firms Articles > > >

The Dallas Bar Association Home Project sincerely thanks its biggest 2013 sponsors: Gardere Wynne Sewell, Dentons, Thompson & Knight, and Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank. Last year, these firms and others contributed to building the DBAHP’s twenty-second home! The DBAHP is raising funds for its twenty-third home and will begin construction in March 2014.If your firm or business wants to get involved, please contact KC Ashmore kcashmorbttl@yahoo.com or Greg McAllister gmcallister@ghjhlaw.com. www.dbahp.com

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The Behind-the-Scenes Story in Mark Cuban’s Insider Trading Trial

By Natalie Posgate
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook

(March 7) – As Tom Melsheimer gave his closing argument to the jury last October, his client slipped him a piece a paper. “He wanted me to tell something to the jury,” Melsheimer said. “He’s Mark Cuban, so I told it to the jury.”

Melsheimer’s comments were part of a 90-minute CLE program hosted Thursday evening by The Texas Lawbook, SMU Dedman School of Law and the General Counsel Forum.

The program, which also featured Cuban Companies General Counsel Robert Hart, litigation consultant Jason Barnes, Bell Nunnally white-collar defense expert Jeff Ansley and SMU Dedman law professor Linda Eads, focused on behind-the-scenes moments involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s insider trading trial against Cuban.

Meet Chief Judge Carl Stewart: “A Brilliant Legal Mind Housed in a Very Nice, Regular Person”

By Mark Curriden, JD
Senior Writer for The Texas Lawbook

NEW ORLEANS (January 27) – The Fifth Circuit's chief judge has lived an extraordinary life and experienced discrimination that would make most people bitter and angry for life. Yet his colleagues on the federal appeals court and lawyers who know him best say he is one of the most kind-hearted, gentle and forgiving men they have ever met.

Courts Address Important Questions About Allocation Wells in Texas

By Ned Price, Jr. and Greg W. Curry
Special Contributing Writers for The Texas Lawbook

(February 12) – The relatively recent drilling of horizontal wells continues to challenge settled Texas oil and gas law in several significant respects. Most recently, Texas courts have been faced with two important issues: (1) the legality of drilling allocation wells, and (2) the appropriate royalty allocation formula for unpooled interests affected by an allocation well. The answers to these issues will have far-reaching consequences for the pooling landscape in Texas.

Meadows Collier Celebrates 30 Years at George W. Bush Presidential Center

By Brooks Igo
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook

(February 13) -- The Dallas-based tax boutique celebrated its 30-year anniversary with more than 600 clients, friends and family of the firm.

The Texas Lawbook: Big Plans and Great Stories Coming in 2014

By Mark Curriden, JD
Senior Writer for The Texas Lawbook

(January 2) – As general counsel and law firms start 2014 with increased challenges and strategic goals, The Texas Lawbook also has ambitious goals for the year ahead. We are adding writers and increasing our presence in Houston and Austin. We will have must-read articles - from a comprehensive examination of energy M&A in Texas and in-depth profile of Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Carl Stewart to an article authored by SEC Regional Director David Woodcock about his two years as the area’s top securities cop and what he and his team of securities enforcement officers and examiners have planned for 2014.

Click on this FREE article for more details.