• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Sign up for email updates
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

  • Appellate
  • Bankruptcy
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Corp. Deal Tracker/M&A
  • GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.
  • Firm Management
  • White-Collar/Regulatory
  • Pro Bono/Public Service/D&I
Avatar photo

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.

Email Mark

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.

The Mentor: Jim Coleman Turns 90

Jim Coleman has tried of hundreds of jury trials over six decades of practicing law. He has defended huge corporations, including Oscar Wyatt’s Coastal States in 1972 in a multi-billion-dollar trial. Scores of lawyers in trouble have called him for help. He fired clients when he learned they hid evidence from the court and when they refused to allow women lawyers at his firm work on their case. Simply put, no lawyer has influenced the legal profession or lawyers more.

On Thursday, Coleman turns 90. “I know my clock is running down,” he says. This is Jim Coleman’s story.

May 21, 2013 Mark Curriden

Gardere’s James Cooper Receives HBA’s President’s Award

James Cooper, a partner at Gardere, received the President’s Award from the Houston Bar Association (HBA) on May 16 at the HBA’s Annual Dinner Meeting. This is the second time

May 21, 2013 Mark Curriden

David Chaumette Takes Post as President of the HBA

David A. Chaumette, founding partner of Chaumette, PLLC, took office May 16th as the new president of the Houston Bar Association (HBA), the fifth largest metropolitan bar association in the

May 21, 2013 Mark Curriden

Texas Bar Foundation Honors Baylor Law School Professors

Baylor Law School professors Ron Beal, Patricia Wilson and Bridget Fuselier have been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows are selected for their professional

May 21, 2013 Mark Curriden

Jones Day Represents Chuy’s in Greenshoe Option from Secondary Public Offering

Underwriters from the public offerings will have the option to by up to 15 percent more shares.

May 17, 2013 Mark Curriden

Patent Litigator David Burgert Moves to Jones Day

David L. Burgert, formerly at Porter Hedges, has made the move to join Jones Day’s Houston office as a partner in its intellectual property practice. Burgert, who has tried 50

May 15, 2013 Mark Curriden

Cantey Hanger’s Philip Vickers Appointed to State Board

Texas Governor Rick Perry has appointed Philip A. Vickers, a partner at Cantey Hanger, to the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners. The board licenses and regulates the profession of

May 15, 2013 Mark Curriden

Best Practices & Enduring Leadership Lessons from the Ancients

People ask me all the time, “Why do you study the ancients?” It’s because the lessons they taught are as fresh today as they were thousands of years ago. They are highly relevant to all modern walks of life, whether they be in our living rooms, boardrooms, war rooms or courtrooms. The truth is that our modern technology hasn’t made us safer, happier or wiser. We must admit that we don’t know everything and we still have much to learn.

May 15, 2013 Mark Curriden

Best Practices & Enduring Leadership Lessons from the Ancients

People ask me all the time, “Why do you study the ancients?” It’s because the lessons they taught are as fresh today as they were thousands of years ago. They are highly relevant to all modern walks of life, whether they be in our living rooms, boardrooms, war rooms or courtrooms. The truth is that our modern technology hasn’t made us safer, happier or wiser. We must admit that we don’t know everything and we still have much to learn.

May 15, 2013 Mark Curriden

Updated — Rob Roby Makes Move to Become President/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters

After 36 years, attorney Rob Roby is leaving the private practice of law to become the president/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Lone Star…

May 14, 2013 Mark Curriden

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 491
  • Go to page 492
  • Go to page 493
  • Go to page 494
  • Go to page 495
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 547
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Features

  • P.S. — Litigation Boutique Partner, Once a Teen Advocate for the Texas Dream Act, Now Fights to Save it in Court  - He was once a Texas student with no more than a visa to be in the U.S. who coincidentally helped pass landmark tuition law. Now, Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann partner Andrés Correa is at the forefront of a legal battle to stop its repeal following a swift federal court ruling. June 27, 2025Krista Torralva

GCs, Lawyers & Firms

  • Frisco Attorney Speaks Out Against Dallas Judge’s ‘Standing Recusal Order’ Against Her - A Dallas County district court judge has issued a standing order barring a Frisco attorney from handling cases in her courtroom — a move the judge said was necessary to ensure “the impartial and efficient administration of justice,” but the attorney says the order constitutes oppression. 
  • Thomas Verity Vaults to Norton Rose Fulbright
  • Veteran Houston Partner Jumps from Latham to Simpson
  • Skadden Hires Two M&A Partners from White & Case
  • V&E Adds Three Partners: Two from Kirkland, One from Baker Botts
  • Houston Texans Associate GC Jumps to Munsch Hardt
  • Gray Reed Hires Longtime Houston Exec to Lead Operations and Growth
  • Sorrels Law Adds Trial, Appellate Partner in Dallas
  • Holland & Knight’s Recent Lateral Partner Additions Strengthen RE, Financial Services Offerings
  • Rice Taps Munck Wilson Attorney to be Associate Athletic Director
More GCs, Lawyers & Firms

Lawyers in the News

Hover right to see full list

Barry Barnett
Wes Bearden
Emily Westridge Black
Michael Burke
Alicia Campbell
John Campbell
Madeleine Carpenter
Alexander Clark
Dawn Pittman Collins
Richard Finneran
Elizabeth Freeman
David Gail
Elizabeth Gibson
David Jones
Frank Lopez
Abbe Lowell
Neal Manne
Billy Marsh
Tom Melsheimer
Tasha Moser
Justin Nelson
Reed O'Connor
Kate Pennartz
John “J.” Pieratt
Danielle Reyes
Christopher Richardson
Randy Sorrels
Harry Susman
Larry Vincent
Victor Vital
Brent Walker
Matt Weybrecht
Melody Wilkinson
Alex Wolens

Firms in the News

Hover right to show full list

A&O Shearman
Bryan Cave
Cozen O'Connor
Haynes Boone
Holland & Knight
Jackson Walker
King & Spalding
Kirkland & Ellis
Law Office of Liz Freeman
Paul Hastings
Porter Hedges
Sorrels Law
Susman Godfrey
Toyota
Troutman Pepper Locke
Willkie
Vinson & Elkins
Weil
Winston & Strawn

Footer

Who We Are

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Submit a News Tip

Stay Connected

  • Sign up for email updates
  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Premium Subscriber Editorial Calendar

Our Partners

  • The Dallas Morning News
The Texas Lawbook logo

1409 Botham Jean Blvd.
Unit 811
Dallas, TX 75215

214.232.6783

© Copyright 2025 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.