The State Bar of Texas has made its April update on disciplinary actions. Violations include an injudicious quarrel, a judicial threat and a lawyer with an apparent penchant for forging official documents.
Corporate Deal Tracker Chart: 2019 M&A
If a Texas lawyer worked on a corporate transaction – even if the deal involves non-Texas clients – The Texas Lawbook documents it as part of its Corporate Deal Tracker. Today, the CDT publishes its master list of non-confidential mergers and acquisitions for 2019. The M&A non-confidential database features 303 transactions and the lawyers who worked on them.
State Bar of Texas Lawyer Discipline
Bar Discipline, as reported by the State Bar of Texas this month, includes six license suspensions, three disciplinary appeals, three public reprimands and one disbarment. Two of the disciplinary appeals include a Lake Jackson lawyer convicted of faking real estate documents and a former state district judge from South Texas convicted of receiving bribes.
SCOTX: ‘General Easements’ Aren’t a Problem Until They Are
Seventy years ago, utility companies were routinely granted easements across private property of no fixed width. Those “general easements” have become a concern for landowners who fear they give the companies too much power over their private land. Last week, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled on such a case made by three North Texas landowners. Their ruling offered sympathy, but not a lot of help.
The Long, Short Law Career of Mikel Peter Eggert
This week the First Court of Appeals in Austin rejected an appeal by Mikel Peter Eggert to reverse his 2008 disbarment after his conviction for conspiring to falsify evidence. Although his appeal failed, it stirs up a convoluted tale about a newly-minted lawyer in Erath County who briefly followed in his father’s messy footsteps practicing law outside the law.
Regional Law School Enrollment Declines — But Only Slightly
Regional law school enrollment experienced a decline of less than 1% between 2018 and 2019, according to the American Bar Association. However, two schools increased enrollment by more than 6% and neither of them was the University of Texas.
SCOTX Tosses Bridal Shop Ebola Claim
An Ohio bridal shop lost its claim against Dallas Presbyterian Hospital Friday for its handling of the 2014 Ebola scare in Dallas, when the Texas Supreme Court decided unanimously that the shop’s claim failed to meet an essential requirement of the Texas Medical Liability Act. The court ruled, in effect, that when it comes to medical claims bridal shops are people, too.
Chapter 11 for Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy overnight in Delaware. The Irving-based nonprofit has reached out to a Chicago law firm to advise in the development of a trust to deal with the legal fallout from lawsuits claiming decades of sexual abuse.
First COA: Whatever they didn’t do, they didn’t do it in Texas
A $15,000 dispute involving the ill-starred Podesta Group was properly tossed from a Houston court, the First Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The D.C. firm was accused of ignoring their client, a prominent Houston law firm, while the firm’s co-founder, Tony Podesta, was under federal scrutiny in the Paul Manafort investigation.
State Bar Discipline
Clearing out their report on disciplinary actions for 2019, the State Bar of Texas reported one disbarment, one resignation, nine suspensions and three public reprimands, including one for a South Texas county judge.