Four UT Classmates Launch Litigation Boutique in Austin, Houston
A lifelong friendship is now the foundation of a new litigation boutique.
Life Partners Prevails in Hearing Against AG
The Texas Attorney General's office still faces trouble punishing a Waco-based insurance investment company that the state believes is violating the Texas Securities Act.
Managing a Crisis: Oil Spill Case Tests Sutherland’s Rachel Clingman
Hired by rig owner Transocean just days after the deadly Deepwater Horizon explosion, Rachel Giesber Clingman approached the case with her trademark relentless preparation. Her early work proved critical, as she faced a maze of complex litigation, Congressional hearings and the challenge of leading a team of independent trial lawyers. For Clingman, the case she is reluctant to discuss is the high point of a 20-year career, showcasing, and at times testing, the skills that have propelled her from a small Texas Hill Country town to her current position, at age 45, as the go-to defender of energy companies in trouble.
Longview Energy Wins $500 Million Land Transfer in Eagle Ford Case
For a small oil and gas company like Dallas-based Longview Energy, the chance to obtain a lease in the red-hot Eagle Ford Shale was an opportunity that doesn’t come along every day. So it was a huge disappointment in 2010 when a promising lease of 46,000 acres was rejected by two of the company’s directors, representatives of The Huff Energy Fund, a New Jersey private equity company that owns 39 percent of Longview. What Longview did not know is that three days earlier, the very same land had been secured by a portfolio group that was 99 percent owned by the equity fund. Now, a South Texas judge has awarded Longview Energy the rights to the land valued at more than $500 million. It is one of the largest judgments ever involving the Eagle Ford play.
Judge Orders Life Partners to Cease Selling Unregistered Securities
An Austin judge also issued a TRO instructing the Waco-based company to preserve all financial documentation, but declined Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's request to immediately appoint a receiver to take control of the corporation’s financial operations. Travis County District Judge Orlinda Naranjo ruled Friday that Life Partners has likely been violating the Texas Securities Act through its practice of buying life insurance death benefits from elderly and terminally ill policyholders, then reselling them to investors without disclosing the actual life expectancies of the insured.
Texas AG Asks That Life Partners Holdings Be Run By Receiver
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has sued Life Partners Holdings, Inc., and its subsidiary, Life Partners, Inc. for violating the Texas Securities Act by allegedly selling unregistered securities to investors and has asked an Austin judge to appoint a receiver to oversee the Waco-based company's financial operations immediately.
LBJ v. Coke Stevenson: Case Changed History and Defined “Lawyering”
During three furious weeks in September 1948, lawyers for LBJ and former governor Coke Stevenson waged a historic legal battle. They sought and obtained successive, trumping injunctions in state and federal courts until finally a U.S. Supreme Court justice ended the matter by entering an unusual stay that ensured Johnson’s victory. The story is intrinsically interesting with LBJ at the center. But the litigation provides a useful case study or illustration of “lawyering.”
America Invents Act Leads to Patent Litigation Spike
The number of new patent cases filed in the Northern District of Texas during the first half of 2012 more than doubled the number filed during the first six months of 2011. The Eastern District saw its new patent filings jump 63 percent. The Western and Southern districts witnessed significant increases, too. One likely reason, according to IP litigation Eric Findlay of Tyler, is the passage of the America Invents Act in September 2011.
Dallas Snags U.S. Patent Satellite Office
A Thompson & Knight secretary, the Facebook "like" button and hard work by Dallas IP lawyers leads to USPTO decision.
Texas Court Sets Early Hurdle for Age Discrimination Claims
Fired public employees who are replaced by older workers must present additional evidence for case to continue, says Texas Supremes in 6-3 ruling.
Breaking the Mold: Why Rusty Hardin Loves Being the Folksy Lawyer in the Seersucker Suit
On a break from the Roger Clemens trial, Hardin shares lessons from the living room about picking juries and connecting with witnesses.
Wal-Mart Hires Rob Walters in Mexican Bribery Scandal Litigation
Retailer faces shareholder and derivative lawsuits, as well as investigations by SEC and DOJ.