Roxanne Almaraz was four when she told her parents that she planned to be either a lawyer or a cardiothoracic surgeon. Thirty-five years later, she is the general counsel of a multibillion-dollar philanthropic and public policy-oriented LLC in Houston. Along the way, Almaraz worked on some major energy M&A transactions. This is her story.
Law Firms in Texas Beefed Up in 2019: Could They Have Picked a Worse Time?
Lawyer headcount for corporate law firms operating in Texas was stagnant for the past decade. But new Texas Lawbook 50 data shows that those same firms went on a relative hiring spree in 2019, adding more attorneys last year than they had during the previous four years combined. Analysts say the long-awaited growth occurred at exactly the wrong time. The Texas Lawbook has all the stats and comments.
Déjà vu – Bill Brewer Asks Judge to Disqualify Dorsey over Secret NRA Documents
One day after Ackerman McQueen sought to disqualify Bill Brewer from representing the National Rifle Association in a dispute, the NRA shot back with allegations of its own against lawyers for the Oklahoma-based advertising agency.
Lawyers: Bill Brewer Should be Disqualified from NRA Case for Ethics Reasons
Lawyers for Ackerman McQueen, the Oklahoma advertising agency that worked with the National Rifle Association for more than three decades, want the NRA’s top lawyer, Bill Brewer, booted from their heated litigation claiming he has ethical conflicts and is paid $100,000 a day. The NRA accuses AMc of fraudulent billing.
Dallas Real Estate Title Worker Sentenced Via VTC to 46 Months for Fraud
In the first video teleconference sentencing in federal court in Dallas since the COVID-19 crisis began, U.S. District Chief Judge Barbara Lynn this week sentenced a medical mask-wearing white-collar criminal defendant to nearly four years in prison for her role in a $1.4 million real estate title insurance scheme.
Two V&E Lawyers Lead Astros to Court Win in Sign-Stealing Case
When a Massachusetts fantasy baseball contestant sued the Houston Astros in Manhattan federal court in January, legal commentators thought the case would take several months or even years before being resolved. But Hilary Preston and Michael Holmes knew better about U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff. Nine weeks later, the case against the Astros has been dismissed. Here’s how it happened.
Thompson & Knight Adds Three IP Partners
Even the coronavirus and stay-at-home orders cannot contain the ever-hot Texas lateral market. Thompson & Knight announced Monday that three intellectual property trial lawyers – Phillip Philbin, Jamie McDole and Michael Karson – have joined the firm’s Dallas office as partners.
Legal Industry Experts: Law Firms Should Start Making Cuts Now
Gibson Dunn managing partner Rob Walters, fresh out of the hospital after testing positive with the coronavirus, has a unique perspective on the potential impact that COVID-19 and cheap oil prices could have on Texas law firms: “This will affect the entire legal industry [and] prove fatal for some fine businesses and law firms.”
Legal industry experts say corporate law firms across Texas should be more worried than they appear to be. Many need to cancel summer associate programs, tell new lawyers that they may not be needed this fall, start reductions in associate salaries and hold back partner draws. “It could get very bad and the Texas legal market will take an even bigger hit than others,” says an Altman Weil analyst. The Texas Lawbook provides an exclusive, in-depth report.
SCOTX Modifies COVID-19 Civil Case Filing Deadlines
The Texas Supreme Court issued a new emergency order Wednesday that officially stays or tolls “any statute-of-limitations deadlines for the filing or service of any civil case” between March 13 and June 1. The new order takes discretion away from trial judges.
Fed Circuit Gives Schlumberger, Latham Huge Win in Patent Dispute
A widely monitored and hotly contested patent dispute in the oil patch likely ended Tuesday when a federal appeals court ruled that energy giant Schlumberger did not infringe on the intellectual property of legendary Houston energy inventor and lawyer, Dr. Claude Cooke.