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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 Dallas Morning News.

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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 Dallas Morning News.

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.

King & Spalding, Norton Rose, O’Melveny and Sidley Announce Partner Promotions

The firms have announced their new partnership classes for 2025, which includes 20 lawyers in Texas. So far, 18 corporate law firms have announced the names of 98 new partners. 

December 11, 2024 Mark Curriden

Hilda Galvan Seeks to ‘Leverage Experience and Passion to Drive Meaningful Change’

For three decades, Hilda Galvan has established herself as one of the most successful IP litigators in the U.S. and a highly respected leader in the legal profession. She has won huge cases for IBM, Charles Schwab, OnStar, Motorola and Compass Bank. After nearly three decades at global legal giant Jones Day — including a decade as the managing partner of its Dallas office — Galvan has decided to step away to “seek new opportunities to make an impact.”

"I plan to dedicate my efforts to consulting with technology startups, joining corporate boards and deepening my involvement in nonprofit boards and community engagement," Galvan told The Texas Lawbook. "This allows me to leverage my experience and passion in ways that will drive meaningful change.”

December 9, 2024 Mark Curriden

P.S.: Join the Joy: Texas Lawyers Help Those Less Fortunate

Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa had the “Three Bs,” and now The Texas Lawbook has the “Three Ps” — public service, pro bono and positive press. Bracewell, O’Melveny & Myers, Haynes Boone and Yetter Coleman are the first four law firms in Texas to provide information on their efforts to help those in need during the holidays. The details of their initiatives are included in this week’s P.S. column. Please send us the good work you are doing and thank you for the other firms that have sent us their efforts. They will be included in next week’s P.S. column.

December 6, 2024 Mark Curriden

California Trucking Firm Files Bankruptcy in Houston

In its bankruptcy petition, Kal Freight cites between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities and provides the same range for its assets. Houston lawyer Benjamin Lawrence Wallen of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones along with lawyers from the firm’s New York and California offices are listed as Kal Freight's lead legal advisors.

December 6, 2024 Mark Curriden

Haynes Boone Announces New Texas Partners

The Dallas-based firm announced Thursday that it is promoting 15 lawyers to partner — nine of them in Texas — in eight different offices, including Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio. It is the second largest class of partner promotions in the firm’s history.

December 5, 2024 Mark Curriden

ACC-DFW & Texas Lawbook Name Lifetime Achievers: Bridgett Zeterberg, Marita Covarrubias, Derek Lipscombe

Bridgett Zeterberg has been a GC for nearly three decades guiding companies such as Total Wine, Tuesday Morning and now Torrid Holdings “through periods of significant transformation." For more than 25 years, Marita Covarrubias has been an in-house lawyer and leader at Tenet Healthcare "managing some of the largest employment and general business litigation matters throughout the country." Derek Lipscombe has been an in-house lawyer focused on labor and employment litigation for 20 years at AAA Texas, JC Penney and Toyota North America.

Zeterberg, Covarrubias and Lipscombe have a new common attribute: the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring them with the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.

December 5, 2024 Mark Curriden

Sidley Leads Independence Drilling’s Bankruptcy Restructuring in SDTX

Houston-based Independence Contract Drilling and its affiliated company, Sidewinder Drilling, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Monday in the Southern District of Texas. ICD leaders chose Sidley Austin as its lead legal advisor. Latham & Watkins is counsel for the noteholders. Piper Sandler is the investment bank advising ICD.

December 3, 2024 Mark Curriden

Foley Leads Vodka Maker’s Bankruptcy

The U.S. subsidiary of vodka producer Stoli Group and its sister company, whiskey maker Kentucky Owl, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of Texas.

December 2, 2024 Mark Curriden

Update: GOP Considers Appeal in Dallas Appeals Court Election

Thompson Coe litigation partner Matthew Kolodoski, a Republican candidate for the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas, will have to decide in the next few days whether he will challenge the official election results in his race against his Democratic opponent, Dallas Criminal Court Judge Tina Clinton. When votes were tallied on election night, Nov. 5, Kolodoski was unofficially declared the winner, leading Judge Clinton by 1,512 votes. But mail-in and provisional ballots were counted, there was a 3,000-vote swing in Judge Clinton's favor.

December 2, 2024 Mark Curriden

Texas Secretary of State Updates Results in Dallas Appeals Court Election

Wednesday afternoon, as lawyers left their offices for the long Thanksgiving weekend, Texas election officials quietly updated the official results of the race for the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. The final vote tally shows that Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Tina Clinton received nearly 1,600 votes more than her Republican opponent, giving the Democrats a sole victory among the eight races for state appellate court. But lawyers say that state Republican leaders are pressuring its candidate to challenge the results.

November 29, 2024 Mark Curriden

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Features

  • My Five Favorite Books: Allison Cook (Partner at Reese Marketos) - When I started practicing law, reading for pleasure took on another hurdle: I was intellectually intimidated. I assumed all lawyers were reading the likes of Kafka, Proust, and Tolstoy for fun. And after spending my days reading case law and briefs, the last thing I wanted to do was crack open Anna Karenina. So I simply didn’t read anything.

    Now I confidently crack open yet another Frieda McFadden thriller next to my insanely intellectually curious husband, who is reading yet another Dostoevsky book. Ten years ago, that might have made me self-conscious. Now it just makes me laugh.
    March 18, 2026Allison Cook

GCs, Lawyers & Firms

  • Specialty Dallas Real Estate Partners Move to Bracewell - Alex Dimock and Sam Murphy, real estate and finance partners, have joined Bracewell in Dallas from Holland & Knight. They will focus their practices on distressed commercial real estate, CMBS loan workouts and restructurings.
  • Fort Worth Biz Litigation Partner Laterals to Bonds Ellis
  • Alex Wolens Joins Hamilton Wingo
  • Clifford Chance Taps Alexandra Wilde to Lead Houston Office
  • Mayer Brown Lands Six-Partner Litigation Group
  • DLA Piper Adds Corporate, Securities Litigation Partner to Austin Office
  • Dallas Government Enforcement Partner Hired by Bradley
  • Thought Leadership: Miles Mediation & Arbitration Opens New Office in Houston
  • Mitby Pacholder Adds Houston Commercial Litigation Partner
  • Vartabedian Katz Hester & Haynes Adds Three More Employment Lawyers from DLA Piper
More GCs, Lawyers & Firms

Lawyers in the News

Hover right to see full list

Chip Babcock
Chris Bankler
Jamie B. Beaber
David J. Beck
Bill Benitez
Jessica Berkowitz
Brent Bernell
Tyler Bexley
Shawn Blackburn
Michael Blankenship
Jeffrey Brill
Anita Brown
Ian Brown
Stuart Campbell
Jack Chadderdon
Paul Clement
Erin Nealy Cox
Scott Craig
Kevin Crews
Shamus Crosby
Hannah M. Crowe
Geoffrey Culbertson
Sean Cunningham
John Daywalt
Rajiv Dharnidharka
James Ducayet
Brian K. Erickson
Scott Everett
Weiru Fang
Elizabeth Freeman
Tad Freese
Melanie Fry
Geoff Gannaway
Paul Genender
John J. Gilluly III
Rodney Gilstrap
Andrew Gorham
John Greer
Joseph Grinstein
Matthew Haddad
Colleen Haile
Breen Haire
Shahmeer Halepota
Dionne Hamilton
Troy Harder
Rusty Hardin
Michael Hawes
Nathan Hecht
Stephen Hessler
Hillary Holmes
Marc Jaffe
Lauren Jenkins
David Jones
Atma Kabad
Susan Kennedy
David Kinder
Justin King
Allan Kirk
Melanie Koltermann
Doug Kubehl
Joe Laurel
Sang Lee
Steven Lockhart
Arthur Lotz
Barbara Lynn
Mike Lynn
Nora McGuffey
Stephanie McPhail
Mark Melton
Jeri Leigh Miller
Kimberly A. Moore
Mark Moore
Shelby Morgan
Alia Moses
Davis Mosmeyer III
Darren Nicholson
Eamon Nolan
Ivy Nowinski
Holland O’Neil
George Padis
Ian Peck
Jonathan Platt
Chase Proctor
Doug Rayburn
Joel Reese
Kevin Richardson
Andrew Rodheim
Seth Rubinson
Mazin Sbaiti
Ana Sanchez
Vincenzo Santini
Jeffrey Scharfstein
Robert Schroeder III
Scott Seidel
Steven Sexton
Ahmed Sidik
Robert Slovak
Emily Smith
Melissa R. Smith
Jonathon Soler
Robert Soza
Lande Spottswood
Craig Stanfield
Justin Stolte
Josh Teahen
Kelly Tidwell
Linda Tieh
Rafael B. de Toledo
Monica Uddin
Rhett Van Syoc
Rahul Vashi
Gabe Vazquez
Patrick Venter
Sarah Walden
Kandace Walter
Kyle Watson
Mikell Alan West
Noël Wise
Meng Xi

Firms in the News

Hover right to show full list

AZA
Baker Botts
The Bandas Law Firm
Beck Redden
Boies Schiller Flexner
Bracewell
Bradley Arant
Burns Charest
Clement & Murphy
Condon & Forsyth
DLA Piper
Dykema
Foley & Lardner
Gibson Dunn
Gillam & Smith
Haynes Boone
Holland & Knight
Jackson Walker
King & Spalding
Kirkland & Ellis
Latham & Watkins
Lynn Pinker
Mayer Brown
MoloLamken
Pamela Welch PLLC
Patton Tidwell Culbertson
Paul Hastings
Porter Hedges
The Probus Law Firm
Reese Marketos
Rusty Hardin & Associates
Sbaiti & Company
Sidley Austin
Simpson Thacher
Skadden
Squire Patton Boggs
Sullivan & Cromwell
Susman Godfrey
Troutman Pepper Locke
Vinson & Elkins
Weil
Willkie
Winston & Strawn

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