Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Legal advice or a business discussion? This question is the key issue in most privilege disputes about in-house counsel. The Fifth Circuit, in a case involving ExxonMobil, addresses that question in a new opinion and offers practical guidance for in-house counsel.
Justices gave wide deference to trial judges in deciding when awarding fees are appropriate.
The Dallas Court of Appeals, in a case that exposes the influence of big money on local politics, has rejected a complex legal effort by real estate developer Henry Billingsley to shut down a residential air park community in Collin County so that he could turn the airport and its land into a shopping and office center.
When the U.S. Supreme Court conducted oral arguments this past week in a case that could potentially significantly restrict large class action securities lawsuits across the country, there was a very strong Texas flavor. The lead lawyer arguing the case was from Baker Botts in Houston and the lawyer who authored a legal brief that many experts predict will be decisive in the justices’ ultimate decision was from Vinson & Elkins in Austin.
The Fifth Circuit's chief judge has lived an extraordinary life and experienced discrimination that would make most people bitter and angry for life. Yet his colleagues on the federal appeals court and lawyers who know him best say he is one of the most kind-hearted, gentle and forgiving men they have ever met. This article takes an in-depth look at the life of Carl Stewart, widely regarded as one of the most powerful federal judges in the nation.
Chief Justice Nathan Hecht has served more than 9,157 days on the Texas Supreme Court, making him the longest serving justice in history.
Large Texas businesses scored a major legal victory Tuesday when a federal appeals court ruled that they can use employment contracts to ban class action arbitration proceedings in wage and work condition disputes with employees. The Fifth Circuit ruled that the National Labor Relations Board overstepped its authority when it told Fort Worth-based D.R. Horton that it could not require its employees to sign an agreement that prohibited them from joining together in an collective arbitration case.
The case involves an ex-school district police officer in Houston who claimed his whistleblower, due process and freedom of speech rights were violated by his former employer and the two police officers he worked under.
The debate over state versus federal court for the forum witnessed an uncharted new dimension at the Fifth Circuit last week. Make it “state, federal, or Indian tribal court.” The consequences could introduce multiple wild cards – including whether the Bill of Rights even applies – into a range of business cases.
This Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a $160,000 pay dispute between a Killeen-based subcontractor and a Virginia construction company building a child development center at Fort Hood. The issue is whether a company can incorporate into a contract a forum-selection clause requiring that disputes involving the contract are to be decided by a specific court in a particular city or state.
Nathan Hecht, who will be sworn in chief justice Tuesday, has been on the state's highest court for a quarter of a century. He's served with 32 other supreme court justices, authored more than 350 opinions and seen the court shift from being comprised largely of Democrats to its current all-Republican composition.
Jeff Brown, a judge on the Houston Court of Appeals, will be the newest justice to serve on the Supreme Court of Texas, Gov. Perry announced Thursday. “Jeff is a solid judge. He is a clear, lucid writer and his opinions are easy to follow. He explains what the problem is, what the answer is and how he got there,” former Texas Chief Justice Tom Phillips, now a partner at Baker Botts in Austin.
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