The defendants in a breach of contract dispute had argued that Dallas County District Court Judge Ashley Wysocki’s appointment of her campaign treasurer, James Stanton, as receiver in the case mandated her recusal. Judge Wysocki and Regional Presiding Judge Ray Wheless disagreed.
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Updated — Appeals Court Upholds Suspension of Dallas Lawyer David Finn Over Alcohol-Fueled Misconduct
An eight-page opinion by a Fifth Circuit panel cites “several instances of inappropriate behavior” by Finn, a former state district judge, including “twice failing to show up for a client’s sentencing hearing.”
Hey Claude, Evaluate This!
Last fall, ChatGPT took the world by storm, allowing millions to experiment with “generative artificial intelligence” through a simple and intuitive interface. ChatGPT’s success drew competitors, one of which is Claude, whose creators claim it can analyze long PDF documents. To see what Claude could do, I uploaded the petitioners’ and respondents’ briefs from Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the 2022 case that overruled Roe v. Wade.
CDT Roundup: 19 Deals, 13 Firms, 184 Lawyers, $9.7B
Of course, having noted the continued primacy of the energy industry in Texas dealmaking of late, we hit a week when there are none. Moreover, capital markets came roaring back last week with a dozen deals reported, the most reported for a single week in more than two years. Claire Poole takes a closer look at those deals and the lawyers behind them this week in the CDT Roundup.
Weil Poaches Energy Deal Lawyer from Skadden
Cody Carper, who focuses on complex energy and infrastructure transactions, has counseled Macpherson Energy, North Hudson Resources, Samson Energy, Contango Oil & Gas and Southwestern Energy on deals.
Litigation Roundup: A $1.2B ‘Revenge Porn’ Verdict, Texas’ Vision Care Law Draws Suit
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a Houston jury awards a woman $1.2B in a revenge porn case she brought against her ex-boyfriend, the state of Texas is facing another lawsuit over a new law set to go into effect Sept. 1, and McCathern teams up with civil rights lawyer Ben Crump in a suit against Harris County over its treatment of jailed individuals.
Who is Paying Allen Stanford’s $500 Appellate Filing Fees?
Lawyers for the court-appointed receiver in the R. Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme case have asked a federal judge to order Trustmark National Bank to fork over the $100 million it agreed to pay earlier this year in its settlement with victims of the fraud.
Trustmark, according to documents, has declined to pay the receiver the $100 million because Stanford, who is in federal prison serving a 110-year sentence, has objected to the settlement agreement claiming that his conviction was unconstitutional and that the receivership should be dissolved on subject matter jurisdictional issues.
Nonprofit Spotlight: Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center & its New COO
Tenants’ rights nonprofit Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center is in a period of growth, both in staff and operations. Its newest employee, Bill Holston, joined today and will focus primarily on growing operations as COO. The Lawbook talked with Holston about why he joined DEAC as well as Mark Melton, who provided the latest on the nonprofit that he founded in the height of the pandemic.
P.S. — A DBA Living Legend; A Planning Committee Invitation
This edition of P.S. features a Dallas attorney who has paved the way for female trial lawyers with her numerous courtroom wins and was recently named a living legend and a legal aid organization’s recruitment of lawyers to join the planning committee for its big fundraising event that honors lawyers and organizations for championing women and children.
Arbitrator’s ‘Undisclosed’ Christianity Prompts Motion to Vacate $603K Award
A Dallas-area pain management clinic, American Pain and Wellness, argues that the arbitrator of a dispute with a former employee over payment and reimbursement “intentionally” failed to disclose details about his education and religious preferences that amount to evident partiality and dooms the award. Fort Worth lawyer John Chalk of Whitaker Chalk served as the arbitrator.