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Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

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Mark Curriden

Mark Curriden is a lawyer/journalist and founder of The Texas Lawbook. In addition, he is a contributing legal correspondent for The Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Business Journal.

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Mark Curriden

Mark Curriden is a lawyer/journalist and founder of The Texas Lawbook. In addition, he is a contributing legal correspondent for The Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Business Journal.

Mark is the author of the best selling book Contempt of Court: A Turn-of-the-Century Lynching That Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism. The book received the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award and numerous other honors. He also is a frequent lecturer at bar associations, law firm retreats, judicial conferences and other events. His CLE presentations have been approved for ethics credit in nearly every state.

From 1988 to 1994, Mark was the legal affairs writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he covered the Georgia Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He authored a three-part series of articles that exposed rampant use of drug dealers and criminals turned paid informants by local and federal law enforcement authorities, which led to Congressional oversight hearings. A related series of articles by Mark contributed to a wrongly convicted death row inmate being freed.

The Dallas Morning News made Mark its national legal affairs writer in 1996. For more than six years, Mark wrote extensively about the tobacco litigation, alleged price-fixing in the pharmaceutical industry, the Exxon Valdez litigation, and more than 25 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Mark also authored a highly-acclaimed 16-part series on the future of the American jury system. As part of his extensive coverage of the tobacco litigation, Mark unearthed confidential documents and evidence showing that the then Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, had made a secret deal with a long-time lawyer and friend in which the friend would have profited hundreds of millions of dollars from the tobacco settlement. As a direct result of Mark’s articles, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation, which led to the indictment and conviction of Mr. Morales.

For the past 25 years, Mark has been a senior contributing writer for the ABA Journal, which is the nation’s largest legal publication. His articles have been on the cover of the magazine more than a dozen times. He has received scores of honors for his legal writing, including the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, the American Judicature Society’s Toni House Award, the American Trial Lawyer’s Amicus Award, and the Chicago Press Club’s Headliner Award. Twice, in 2001 and 2005, the American Board of Trial Advocates named Mark its “Journalist of the Year.”

From 2002 to 2010, Mark was the senior communications counsel at Vinson & Elkins, a 750-lawyer global law firm.

Mark’s book, Contempt of Court, tells the story of Ed Johnson, a young black man from Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1906. Johnson was falsely accused of rape, railroaded through the criminal justice system, found guilty and sentenced to death – all in three weeks. Two African-American lawyers stepped forward to represent Johnson on appeal. In doing so, they filed one of the first federal habeas petitions ever attempted in a state criminal case. The lawyers convinced the Supreme Court of the United States to stay Johnson’s execution. But before they could have him released, a lynch mob, aided by the sheriff and his deputies, lynched Johnson. Angered, the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the sheriff and leaders of the mob, charging them with contempt of the Supreme Court. It is the only time in U.S. history that the Supreme Court conducted a criminal trial.

You can reach Mark at mark.curriden@texaslawbook.net or 214.232.6783.

Alana Matthews Leaves Dallas Stars to Be Pioneering Entrepreneur

Last month, Matthews left the Dallas Stars to pursue another deeply-held passion: creating a business that focuses exclusively on custom-made luxury workwear for professional women.

June 22, 2022 Mark Curriden

Louisiana Federal Magistrate Nominated to Be First African American Woman in Fifth Circuit

President Joseph Biden has nominated U.S. Magistrate Dana Douglas of New Orleans to one of two open seats on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. An African American jurist who practiced energy litigation, products liability and intellectual property law during her 17 years in corporate law, Judge Douglas would be the first woman of color to serve on the Fifth Circuit.

June 16, 2022 Mark Curriden

Remembering Jim Cowles – A Lion of the Texas Bar

Jim Cowles, who tried nearly 600 cases to a jury verdict, including a dozen trials while he was still in law school, died this past weekend, according to an announcement released Wednesday by Cowles Thompson, the firm he co-founded in 1978.

June 15, 2022 Mark Curriden

Judge: Jury to Decide Law Prof. Linda Mullenix Equal Pay Case Against UT

A federal judge in Austin has ruled that University of Texas School of Law professor Linda Mullenix and the university will go to trial over the educator’s claim that she has been discriminated against under the federal Equal Pay Act. An expert on class action litigation, Mullenix claims she was paid less than male professors who have less experience, fewer articles published and fewer professional honors.

June 15, 2022 Mark Curriden

Siltstone Capital’s Mani Walia Wins Houston Legal Innovation Award

When the Houston private equity firm Siltstone Capital decided to expand its investment portfolio beyond energy, minerals and real estate into the arena of litigation finance, it had the perfect advisor already in the house. Siltstone General Counsel Mani Walia has leveraged his background in Big Law, plaintiffs’ IP litigation and private equity to create a new model for litigation finance investments. Citing Walia’s creativity and achievements, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook awarded the 2022 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Legal Innovation to the Siltstone Capital general counsel.

June 13, 2022 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Mani Walia

Premium-Only Content: Mani Walia shares tips and pet peeves for outside counsel.

June 13, 2022 Mark Curriden

Archrock GC Stephanie Hildebrandt – A Lifetime of Achievements and a ‘Never-ending Education’

Stephanie Hildebrandt has been an in-house lawyer and general counsel at some of the nation’s largest energy companies and has been involved in some of the biggest and most complicated civil lawsuits and M&A transactions in Texas. For three decades, corporate executives from Texaco and El Paso Energy to Enterprise Products to Archrock have relied on Hildebrandt’s legal knowledge, ability to analyze an issue, wisdom and creativity to develop and execute a successful strategy.

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook honor Hildebrandt with the 2022 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.

June 10, 2022 Mark Curriden

Baker Botts Secures Partial Win for Union Pacific in Environmental Lawsuit

The plaintiffs, according to court records, seek more than $100 million in damages for wrongful death, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish and loss of use and enjoyment of real property. Houston’s 14th Court of Appeals dismissed some claims against Union Pacific but sent the case back to Harris County District Court to determine the fate of the others.

June 8, 2022 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Theresa Terrell

Premium-Only Content: Theresa Terrell discusses what she’d do if she won the Powerball lottery tomorrow and shares pet peeves regarding outside counsel.

June 7, 2022 Mark Curriden

Hines Real Estate’s Theresa Terrell is 2022 Houston Senior Counsel of the Year

Theresa Terrell was a rookie litigator at Jackson Walker when she realized the trial practice was not a good fit for her and a partner at the firm
encouraged her to try real estate. “I still remember the first project I worked on was reviewing leasing in connection with a portfolio acquisition of office buildings, and I never looked back,” she said. “I love that real estate transactions can feel non-adversarial – deals can get contentious, but both sides ultimately want to get to a mutually beneficial outcome.”

Sixteen years later, Terrell is still in the real estate law practice – only now as an assistant general counsel at Hines, a privately held real estate investment firm operating in 28 countries with $90 billion of investments under management. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook honor Terrell with the 2022 Houston Senior Counsel of the Year Award.

June 7, 2022 Mark Curriden

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Features

  • ‘Sanctuary Cities’ on SCOTX Schedule in Fall, but the Issue is Defamation Protection Under Texas Citizens Participation Act - Two grants, consolidated for argument, raise facts and issues that will capture headlines, but both raise questions under the citizens participation act, the pervasive interlocutory scheme intended to provide a quick dismissal ramp for claims based on free-speech issues. Both cases focus on efforts to create anti-abortion “sanctuary” cities throughout Texas. And both involve an ordinance, the first of several, declaring Waskom to be a sanctuary city. But the proponents didn’t stop there. June 21, 2022Osler McCarthy
  • ‘I Never Meant to Make Marshall a Patent Lawyers’ Mecca,’ Storied Ex-Judge Says - T. John Ward, a pioneer of the ‘rocket docket,’ says he didn’t think his simple case-management plan – set strict deadlines and hold people to them – would beckon thousands of patent litigants to knock on his Marshall courtroom door.






    June 21, 2022Bruce Tomaso

GCs, Lawyers & Firms

  • Alana Matthews Leaves Dallas Stars to Be Pioneering Entrepreneur - Last month, Matthews left the Dallas Stars to pursue another deeply-held passion: creating a business that focuses exclusively on custom-made luxury workwear for professional women.
  • AZA IP Lawyers Spin Off into New Firm 
  • Gibson Dunn Adds Another PE Partner from Willkie
  • Two Energy Deal Lawyers Boomerang to Norton Rose Fulbright
  • TX GC Forum Honors Mary Kay’s Julia Simon for Ethics and Law
  • Capital Markets Pro Michelle Earley Moves to O’Melveny
  • Former Texas SG Kyle Hawkins Exits Gibson Dunn for Lehotsky Keller Litigation Boutique
  • Christopher Peponis Leaves White & Case for Latham
More GCs, Lawyers & Firms

Coming Soon

Please click here for an advance look at excerpts from Texas lawyer Marc Gravely’s upcoming book.

Firms in the News

Hover right to show full list

Akin Gump
Allegion
American Airlines
Ashford
AZA
Baker Botts
Bell Nunnally
BHP
Blueknight
Bracewell
Cardinal Midstream 
Citi Private Bank
Convene
Crescent Energy
Dykema
EnCap Flatrock
EN Engineering
Enoch Kever
Ergon
FBFK
Gibson Dunn
Gray Reed
Harrison Steck
Hilcorp
Hines
Holland & Knight
Hunton AK
Huntsman
Jackson Walker
Jones Day
K&L Gates
Kelly Hart
Kirkland
Kizzia Johnson
Lehotsky Keller
Locke Lord
Lynn Pinker
Mary Kay
McGuireWoods
Medical Informatics
Miller Bryant
Munck Wilson
Munsch Hardt
Norton Rose Fulbright
O'Melveny
Pan Capital Management
Phillips 66
Pillsbury
Precisely
Remington Hotels
Rogge Dunn Group
Schlumberger
Sentry Center Holdings
Shearman & Sterling
Shell 
Sheppard Mullin
Sidley
Siltstone Capital
Simpson Thacher
Stanley Access
Sun Communities
TG Advisers
TotalEnergies
V&E
Weil
White & Case

Lawyers in the News

Hover right to see full list

Will Anderson
Larry Barden
Will Becker
Lisa Bennett
Kathleen Bertolatus
David Beveridge
Jeff Brooker
Alaina Brooks
Shonn Brown
Brad Butwin
Andy Calder
Chrysta Castaneda
Matt Cavenaugh
Jeff Cody
Wade Cooper
Mike Considine
Jay Cuclis
Josh Davidson
Trey DeLoach
Tess Dennis
Alyssa Desgranges-Ellett
Michelle Earley
Adam Endick
Kimberly Fitzpatrick
Keith Fullenweider
Paul Genender
Doug Getten
Catharine Hansard
Clifford Harrison
Henry Havre
Kyle Hawkins
Ashley Hill
Allyson Ho
Brad Honeycutt
Michael Hurst
Scott Keller
Mehdi Khodadad
Brad Kizzia
Peter Kosydar
Chris Kratovil
Melissa Lorber
Todd Lowther
John Martin
Cynthia Martinez
Greg McAllister
Sarah McLean
Harriet Miers
Rob Miller
Yvette Ostolaza
Scott Parel
Andrew Piel
Veronica Polnick
Robert Rabalais
Dianne Ralston
David Rassin
Doug Rayburn
Courtney Roane
Whit Roberts
Anna Rotman
Casey Shaw
Bo Shi
Julia Simon
Rachael L. Smiley
Macey Reasoner Stokes
David Stryker
Saba Syed
Theresa Terrell
Travis Torrence
Tyler Vinal
Cliff Vrielink
Dale Wainwright
Mani Walia
Rob Walters
Jonathan Whalen
Kelsi White
Wesley Williams
Angela Zambrano
Kent Zimmermann

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