The Forest Park Surgeon & His Lawyer: Inside the Attorney-Client Relationship and the Anatomy of an Acquittal

Twenty-two medical professionals, including nine surgeons, were indicted by federal prosecutors in Texas in a bribery/kickback scheme that rocked the health care community. Nine went to trial. Only one person, Dr. Nick Nicholson, was found not guilty. On Monday, Texas Lawbook correspondent Bruce Tomaso gives readers an exclusive, in-depth look into the groundbreaking case and trial through the eyes of Dr. Nicholson and Tom Melsheimer, the lawyer who defended him. Click here for a video preview.

July 12, 2019 Bruce Tomaso

Woodland Resources Ordered to Stop Selling Oil and Gas Investments

The Texas Securities Commission issued an emergency cease-and-desist order late Wednesday against a Fort Worth oil executive for allegedly providing misleading and incomplete information to potential investors about so-called “offset wells.”

July 11, 2019 Mark Curriden

Feds Reach Plea Deal with Final Forest Park Defendant

Carli Adele Hempel, the former director of bariatric services at Forest Park Medical Center, has agreed to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to misapply property of a health care benefit program. Mark Curriden has the breaking details.

July 3, 2019 Mark Curriden

Fifth Circuit: Securities Offering Fraud Cases Require More SEC Fact-finding

When is an investor buying a security versus purchasing a partnership in a joint venture? It depends on some very specific but basic facts that usually are only available via a full trial, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

June 28, 2019 Mark Curriden

TechnipFMC Settles FCPA Case for $296M

Oil and gas services company TechnipFMC, co-headquartered in Houston and London, reached a settlement Tuesday with the DOJ and the SEC to resolve decade-old allegations that company officials violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in business dealings in Brazil and Iraq.

June 26, 2019 Mark Curriden

Texas Legislature has Productive Session, Thanks to Positive Revenue Picture and Bipartisanship

With a strong economy swelling state coffers and a surprising across-the-aisle consensus on policy priorities, the 86th Texas Legislature was able to tackle some of the state's most pressing needs while making investments in its future. Rafael Anchia and John Turner of Haynes and Boone highlight legislative actions of interest for the business community.

June 19, 2019 Reps. Rafael Anchia & John Turner

Lubbock Auto CFO Pleads Guilty on Fraud Scheme

The former CFO of Reagor Dykes Auto Group in Lubbock pleaded guilty Tuesday to masterminding a $50 million conspiracy that defrauded the company’s primary lender, Ford Motor Credit Co.

June 18, 2019 Mark Curriden

David Peavler: SEC – An Opportunity He Couldn’t Pass Up

HD Vest Financial GC David Peavler, a sleeper candidate to be the SEC's top corporate cop in Texas, tells The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview that tightened resources will be his biggest challenge when he starts as regional director in July. The objective, he said, is "to have as big an impact as possible with the resources we have.” Meanwhile, SEC insiders say Peavler is the perfect choice for the job.

June 7, 2019 Mark Curriden

SEC Names David Peavler as Fort Worth Regional Director

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has named its former associate director of enforcement, David Peavler, as the agency’s new regional director for its Fort Worth Regional Office.

June 6, 2019 Mark Curriden

SEC Names DFW’s Marshall Gandy Co-Head of Corporate Compliance Program

Gandy, associate regional director for examinations for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Fort Worth, will continue to lead examinations for the Fort Worth Regional Office.

June 4, 2019 Mark Curriden

Dangerous Lesson from Forest Park Trial Fallout: Defense Lawyers Proffer at their own Peril in the Northern District of Texas

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in North Texas is moving full steam ahead with a new proffer agreement policy effectively muzzling a defendant at trial. The new language binds both the defendant and her attorney and the Fifth Circuit seems poised to rule that proffer statements are admissible in the government’s case-in-chief. Only one strategy for defense attorneys is clear then – proffer at your peril.

May 28, 2019 Kelly R. Vickers, Mario H. Nguyen & Paul E. Coggins

A Billionaire’s Battle, Blow-By-Blow

If you missed out on attending the SEC's historic insider trading trial against Mark Cuban, a new book that's hit the stands is your next best bet on experiencing the litigation saga. In Securities and Exchange Commission v. Cuban, SMU law professor Marc Steinberg compresses thousands of court documents to provide an insightful commentary on nearly a decade of pivotal moments and decisions that made and unmade the case.

May 21, 2019 Natalie Posgate