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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.

T&K Partner Kenn Webb Named President of The Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse’s Board of Directors

The non-profit is dedicated to improving health, safety and productivity in Dallas-area communities by reducing the incidence and impact of alcohol and drug abuse.

August 31, 2015 Mark Curriden

T&K Partner Kenn Webb Named President of The Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse's Board of Directors

The non-profit is dedicated to improving health, safety and productivity in Dallas-area communities by reducing the incidence and impact of alcohol and drug abuse.

August 31, 2015 Mark Curriden

Finding a Road map to `Reasonable Certainty’ in Economic Damages Calculations

Court dockets are littered with verdicts in commercial litigation that have been undermined by weak or flawed economic damages projections and a failure to understand and appreciate the concept of “reasonable certainty” as it relates to calculating lost profits. Proving up lost profit calculations remains challenging, but familiarization with the challenges identified in this article will help litigators on both sides of a Daubert challenge.

August 27, 2015 Mark Curriden

EFH GC Stacey Doré: “The Smartest Person in the Room”

At age 43, Energy Future Holdings GC Stacey Doré is one of the few women corporate general counsel at a Fortune 500 company and she is certainly one of the youngest. She finds herself leading one of the largest business bankruptcies in U.S. history, even though she had no prior bankruptcy law experience. No business lawyer in Texas is under more pressure or scrutiny these days than Doré. But lawyers with intimate knowledge of the situation say that EFH’s executive leadership and board specifically chose Doré to be the general counsel in 2012 to lead the company through what it knew could be a long and contentious bankruptcy.

August 27, 2015 Mark Curriden

Kirkland, Akin Gump and T&K Advise in $850 Million Haynesville Assets Deal

GeoSouthern Haynesville, LP and GSO Capital Partners announced Tuesday their plans to purchase $850 million worth of Haynesville Shale assets from Canada-based Encana Corporation.

August 26, 2015 Mark Curriden

Kirkland, Akin Gump and T&K Advise in $850 Million Haynesville Assets Deal

GeoSouthern Haynesville, LP and GSO Capital Partners announced Tuesday their plans to purchase $850 million worth of Haynesville Shale assets from Canada-based Encana Corporation.

August 26, 2015 Mark Curriden

Baker Botts Advises Schlumberger in $14.8 Billion Purchase of Cameron

Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services company, has announced that it is acquiring Houston-based Cameron International Corporation in a $14.8 billion all-stock transaction.

August 26, 2015 Mark Curriden

Ten Lawyers Selected to Leadership Dallas Class of 2016

The Class of 2016 is Leadership Dallas' 41st class.

August 26, 2015 Mark Curriden

Baker Botts Names Nick Peacock First COO in Firm History

Peacock, who will be based in Houston, was most recently the regional operating officer of Baker & McKenzie’s North American Operations.

August 26, 2015 Mark Curriden

Andrews Kurth Elects 2015-2016 Policy Committee

© 2015 The Texas Lawbook. By Brooks Igo (Aug. 26) – Andrews Kurth announced its 2015-2016 Policy Committee this week. The Policy Committee serves as the principal governance body of

August 26, 2015 Mark Curriden

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Lawyers in the News

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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

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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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