Premium Subscriber Q&A: T.J. Campbell
‘I am Looking for a Partner, not a Vendor’ — Campbell discusses his biggest challenges and successes, his best day at HEP and what he seeks when hiring outside counsel.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Jonathan Ellis
The Texas Lawbook: What are the critical factors you consider when deciding about hiring outside counsel, and what are the biggest mistakes that outside counsel make in their relationship with
How an Unconventional Path Can Lead to a Perfect Fit in Practice
When I arrived at the office, my inbox was teeming with notifications for a new commercial real estate deal. Walking to the employee lounge, I ran into a corporate partner who placed me on a management buyout closing within the next two weeks. An hour later, a real estate partner approached me, asking about the tax consequences of a non-liquidating property distribution. As I finally settled in at my desk, I paused, asking myself a question that has guided my career path all along: How did my past, with all its unexpected turns, lead me to this exact moment? I concluded my successful clerkship convinced of the power of three guiding career principles.
My Five Favorite Books: Leigha Simonton (Member at Dykema and Former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas)
I have a secret hobby that only my close friends know: I advise high-school seniors (and younger students) about college admissions, including helping them create a list of schools that would be good fits for their interests and aspirations as well as their family’s pocketbooks. This unpaid side-gig started years ago, when my oldest daughter began high school and I decided to try to “hack” the college admissions game. I don’t mean that I plotted to get her into a U.S. News top 10 school — no, I defined “winning” as finding a school that would allow her to flourish in college, set her up for success after college (success as defined by her, not me), and be somewhere our family could afford on what was then two government salaries. Here are my Five Favorite Books: College Application Edition.
Alex Jones Expected to Pay $1.4B to Sandy Hook Families, SCOTUS Rejects Appeal
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay $1.4 billion for defamation to the Sandy Hook shooting victims’ family members a decade after the shooting. His second attempt to avoid paying has been denied by the U.S. Supreme Court.
DOJ Seeks Stay of EO Proceedings Involving Susman Godfrey
The U.S. Justice Department has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to issue a stay of all proceedings involving the litigation between the Trump administration and four law firms, including Susman Godfrey, until the government shutdown is over.
My Five Favorite Books: Barry Pound (Director of Public Relations, Androvett Legal Media & Marketing)
It’s really disappointing to realize the number of people who read for pleasure is continuing to decline – one recent study found by as much as 40% in the past 20 years – and despite research showing the positive effects of discretionary reading on our mental health, social capabilities and overall well-being. Those results may vary, but I still read 100 or more books annually and have for most of my adult life. In developing this list, which was much harder than I anticipated, I was struck by the fact that all are novels that were published more than 40 years ago -- while I generally read current mysteries, thrillers and non-fiction. Perhaps that only means that in my case a “favorite” made an impression as a young adult or even a child, and has stood that test of time.
Federal Judiciary Has 2 Weeks Until Pressure From Shutdown Increases
The federal government has shut down for lack of funding for the first time in seven years. With lawmakers in a deadlock, it is uncertain when the shutdown will end. Federal workers will continue to be paid for two weeks.