As a third-year associate at Norton Rose Fulbright, Christian Menefee attended an election night watch party in November 2016 that ended in a way no one in attendance expected. But it also was the night that changed his life and career path. Exactly four years later, Menefee became the youngest lawyer and the first African American to be elected county attorney of Harris County. In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Menefee discusses his first two years as Harris County’s top legal officer, the current Texas legislative session, how he hires outside counsel and his plans for reelection. Photo credit: Marie D. De Jesús/Houston Chronicle
Lauren Brogdon: A Crisis Manager and Survivor Helping Other Survivors
Lauren Brogdon is adept at putting out fires. At her day job in Haynes and Boone’s Houston office, Brogdon specializes in energy litigation and serves as chair of Haynes and Boone’s crisis management practice group. In her free time, she helps put out other fires ignited by the wrath of domestic violence. She works with domestic violence victims through her pro bono work with Houston Volunteer Lawyers, the Houston Area Women’s Center and AVDA.
But something many billable and pro bono clients alike may not know about Brogdon is that she is a domestic violence survivor herself. Natalie Posgate recently talked with Brogdon about her pro bono work, her own experience and how it shaped her into the lawyer she is today.
Lawmakers Advance 15th Court of Appeals Bill
In the face of varied and robust opposition to the proposal to create a new, statewide appellate court with exclusive jurisdiction over disputes involving the state or a state agency, lawmakers last week voted to send the bill to the full senate for a vote. Texas for Lawsuit Reform has championed the bill as an opportunity to establish a court with specialized expertise to hear matters of statewide importance.
Litigation Roundup: Wins for Baylor, A&M in Immunity Rulings, Cinemark Loses Covid Biz Interruption Fight with Insurer
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Supreme Court upholds Texas A&M’s governmental immunity in a crash suit, and Cinemark loses a Covid business interruption claim against an insurer while Baylor University beats back a Covid-related breach of contract claim brought by two students.
These Four Women Helped Shape My Legal Career
I was recently asked about which women in my life helped to shape my career. It was an idea I was drawn to because it is something naturally prevalent in most women lawyers’ lives, but it really doesn’t come to mind until someone sits down to take note of it. From these four women I learned resiliency, how to balance relationships in the workplace and politics, client service and the power of your personal brand.
Texas Justices Mull TCPA’s Reach in Winstead Malpractice Suit
The state’s high court will have to decide if the filing of an allegedly deficient motion for default judgment is a “communication” as Winstead argues, which would end USA Lending’s lawsuit, or if USA Lending is correct that the basis of its suit is the failure to communicate. The case implicates the Texas Citizens Participation Act and asks whether it applies in legal malpractice suits.
San Antonio City Attorney Andrew Segovia Aims to be ‘Client-Driven’
When Andy Segovia was voted to be San Antonio’s chief legal officer in 2016, Councilman Joe Krier told him he was about to “take up the business of professional cat herding.” The Lawbook interviewed Segovia, a former in-house lawyer for GM, about how it’s going, the current Texas legislative session and his establishment of the city’s department of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Photo credit: John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News
Austin Startup Battles Toy Giant Hasbro Over Water Guns
In late August 2021, several top executives for toy giant Hasbro flew from the company’s headquarters in Rhode Island to Austin to attend a backyard party that erupted into a water-gun battle. The weapons involved would become one of the hottest new toys to hit the market since the Super Soaker. The good times, however, didn’t last. A year later, the backyard fun had become a full-fledged David-versus-Goliath legal battle.
Litigation Roundup: ‘Well Past Time for [Fifth Circuit] to be Dragged Screaming into the 21st Century’
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a Fifth Circuit judge urges the court to join the 21st Century, a Houston college sues a business partner in a recruiting spat and a one-time candidate for president of Mexico goes to prison.
Updated – Texas Court Rules PUC Price-Setting During Winter Storm Uri Unlawful
The Texas Public Utility Commission emergency rules in February 2021 that increased electric rates to $9,000 per megawatt-hour in response to the demand for power because of Winter Storm Uri were “invalid” and must be reexamined, a Texas appeals court ruled Friday. The Austin Court of Appeals ruled that PUC board members issued two unlawful rules — an “operation of executive fiat” — that allowed ERCOT to increase the emergency price of electricity 650 percent for five days. The decision, according to legal experts, could be a multibillion-dollar victory for some retail power companies.