The former HD Vest Financial GC started his new job as the regional director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth office last Monday. In an exclusive interview, Peavler says he faces significant challenges but people need to know about one change from his predecessor.
East Texas Jury Rejects Plastronics’ $104M Patent Infringement Claim
Lawyers at Haynes and Boone overcame major hurdles in an East Texas courtroom last week when they defended a Korean-speaking client accused by a prominent North Texas business of patent infringement and tortious interference.
Woodland Resources Ordered to Stop Selling Oil and Gas Investments
The Texas Securities Commission issued an emergency cease-and-desist order late Wednesday against a Fort Worth oil executive for allegedly providing misleading and incomplete information to potential investors about so-called “offset wells.”
Three Firms, Three Mergers – Measuring Success After 15 Months
Gardere would have celebrated its 110th anniversary this year. Andrews Kurth of Houston would have been 117 years old. Strasburger & Price would have turned 80. In April, the three firms merged with national practices within days of each other. The Texas Lawbook examines how each of those mergers has worked out.
Feds Reach Plea Deal with Final Forest Park Defendant
Carli Adele Hempel, the former director of bariatric services at Forest Park Medical Center, has agreed to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to misapply property of a health care benefit program. Mark Curriden has the breaking details.
Only Five Major Texas Companies Join Legal Brief Favoring LGBT Rights
More than 200 American businesses have jointly filed an amicus brief filed Wednesday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to find that workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal. Only seven – including five major corporations – of the 206 companies are based in Texas. All are in the DFW area. None in Houston or Austin. None in the oil and gas industry.
Seventeen Law Firms in Texas Hit Elite Status
There are many ways to judge the financial success of a law firm, including head count, total revenues, net profits and profits per partner. The Texas Lawbook uses revenue per lawyer. A new Texas-based law firm crashed into the group of elite firms that had RPLs of $1 million or more in 2018. The Lawbook has the exclusive rankings.
Fifth Circuit: Securities Offering Fraud Cases Require More SEC Fact-finding
When is an investor buying a security versus purchasing a partnership in a joint venture? It depends on some very specific but basic facts that usually are only available via a full trial, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
TechnipFMC Settles FCPA Case for $296M
Oil and gas services company TechnipFMC, co-headquartered in Houston and London, reached a settlement Tuesday with the DOJ and the SEC to resolve decade-old allegations that company officials violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in business dealings in Brazil and Iraq.
Exclusive: Legal, Financial Advisor Tab Hits $61M in Exco Resources Bankruptcy
Exco Resources is paying its legal and financial advisors $4 million a month to help guide the company through bankruptcy. Since the Dallas oil and gas operation filed for Chapter 11 protection last year, Exco has paid the lawyers and other restructuring experts $61.6 million. The Texas Lawbook has exclusive details.
