American Airlines and Chuck E. Cheese. Farmer Brothers and HMS Holdings. Southwest Airlines and Aventiv. The CLOs and GCs at these six North Texas companies utilized their legal acumen and business leadership skills to lead their employers through a monumentally challenging year. They are finalists for the 2020 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards.
Texas Supreme Court: Is Facebook Immune from Claims It ‘Failed to Warn’ Teen Rape Victims?
Lawyers for three Texas teenagers who were targeted by sexual predators on Facebook, raped and forced into sex trafficking told the Supreme Court of Texas Wednesday that a federal law protecting social media sites from defamation litigation should not shield them their duty to warn and protect minors using its website. The case is being monitored by legal experts nationwide. A win for the plaintiffs could open the floodgates for litigation against Facebook and other social media outlets brought by victims of sexual predators across the country.
Power Outage Lawsuit Avalanche Coming
A dozen lawsuits against ERCOT and four Texas energy companies have already been filed and hundreds more are expected as a result of the winter storm-induced power outages. The initial lawsuits are by individuals, but legal experts say that the biggest cases – those pitting energy companies against each other over contract breaches – are several months away from being lodged. The Texas Lawbook has an in-depth report.
Alston & Bird, Baker Botts Spend Tizzying Weekend in Electrolit v. Gatorlyte Fight
For 76 hours this weekend, two corporate law firms representing two makers of rehydration drinks did battle in a trade dress, trademark dilution, tortious interference and antitrust lawsuit in Texas. The heated litigation with Alston & Bird representing Laboratorios Pisa and Baker Botts defending PepsiCo ended Sunday at 10:19 p.m. at the Fifth Circuit. Lawyers on both sides anticipate the fight to continue later this week.
Bobby Lee Cook: The Death of the ‘Best There Has Ever Been’
For 72 years, Bobby Lee Cook defended suspected criminals and prosecuted corporate desperados through civil litigation across the U.S., including a dozen in Texas. His clients included moonshiners, murderers and politicians. Matlock was based on his life. His defense of Savannah socialite Jim Williams helped bring to life John Berendt’s true-crime classic Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
As a lawyer/journalist, I have covered hundreds of trials. In the courtroom, Bobby Lee Cook is the best there has ever been.
Texas GCs: Contract and Employment Disputes Dominated 2020 Litigation
The litigation dockets of nearly one-third of Texas businesses increased in 2020 because of Covid-19 37% of corporate legal departments in the state believe that the social justice movement of the past year has made them more vulnerable to employment litigation, according to Norton Rose Fulbright’s 16th annual litigation trends survey.
Prominent Trial Lawyers Heading Toward Litigation Showdown
Dallas personal injury attorney Amy Witherite wants the opportunity to question under oath her old boss and law partner, Brian Eberstein, about possibly violating an agreement the duo reached in 2015 when Eberstein decided to retire and Witherite paid him for exclusive rights to their old firm’s intellectual property.
Lawyer to Dallas Court of Appeals: Ken Paxton ‘Committed Legal Malpractice’
Lawyers for Unity Resources want the Fifth Court of Appeals to declare Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a “designated responsible third party” in a securities case so they can question Paxton under oath about his role in the alleged securities fraud. The Texas Lawbook was there for oral argument.
Match.com CLO Jared Sine Leads Yet Another Billion-Dollar Deal
Neither global pandemic nor 13-hour time difference nor language barriers stays the ability of Jared Sine to the swift completion of a $1.7.billion deal. As chief legal officer for Match Group, Sine said the biggest challenge in acquiring Seoul-based Hyperconnect was gaining the trust of a thriving business’s founders.
‘I’m here live. I’m not a cat.’
A West Texas lawyer was participating in a court hearing in the 394th Judicial District Court when he suddenly appeared as a kitten.