Texas prides itself on its rugged, independent spirit. Often, that’s a good thing. However, there is an aspect of insurance law in which Texas stands gloomily distant from the other 49 states. They are united, and Texas is a stuck-in-the-mud outlier rather than a paragon in its isolation. Ironically, it’s an area in which the Texas jurisprudence is distinctly detrimental to Texas businesses.
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Jurors Have Case Against FW Pharma Boss
Deliberations, which began Wednesday afternoon, are to continue Thursday morning in the federal fraud trial. The defendant, Richard Hall, is accused of running a bogus-prescription scam that cost U.S. taxpayers $55 million.
Schlumberger Cleared in Female Field Engineer’s Harassment, Retaliation Suit
The jury of five women and three men heard six days of testimony before beginning deliberations around 1 p.m. Wednesday. About three hours later they determined Schlumberger had not discriminated against Jessica Cheatham based on her sex, had not subjected her to a hostile work environment, had not retaliated against her and had not constructively discharged its former field engineer.
DOJ Guidance May Put Executives at Risk — WhatsApp with That?
This article highlights U.S. Department of Justice guidelines regarding employee conversations on encrypted chat applications such as WhatsApp and offers guidance for companies to mitigate risk.
CDT Roundup: 18 Deals, 14 Firms, 130 Lawyers, $4B
Texas dealmakers don’t do pessimism. There’s no point. Downtimes provoke creativity. Uptimes demand energy. And even during times of lean money markets, Texas seems to maintain an ample supply of both. As we move past a mediocre first half in 2023, the CDT Roundup looks at sources of optimism for what’s coming — with the assistance of a new report from Intralinks. And, course, there are the names of the Texas lawyers behind 18 deals reported last week.
Q&A: Carolyn Benton Aiman at Sempra Infrastructure
During her three decade career, Carolyn Aiman practiced litigation at a national corporate law firm, handled employment law at former oil giant Texaco, served as managing counsel over corporate governance
Sempra Infrastructure CLO Carolyn Aiman: A Leader in ‘Extraordinary Times’
During her three decade career, Carolyn Aiman practiced litigation at a national corporate law firm, handled employment law at former oil giant Texaco, served as managing counsel over corporate governance and capital markets at global energy titan Shell and is now chief legal officer at Sempra Infrastructure. Along the way, Aiman has shepherded some groundbreaking energy initiatives, including Sempra Infrastructure’s $13 billion joint venture to develop, build and operate a project that would supply liquified natural gas to Europe. In addition, Aiman has pioneered innovative and highly successful diversity and inclusion efforts at Shell and Sempra.
In May, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook recognized Aiman’s successes by honoring her with the 2023 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement. This is her story.
Litigation Roundup: Waco Jury Slams Google in Patent Case, American Airlines Taps O’Melveny for Class Action Defense
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, closing arguments are coming soon in a $55 million pharmacy fraud trial, Porter Hedges gets $15.35 million for a developer client in an eminent domain fight and a jury in Waco on Friday unanimously determined Google owes $339 million for patent infringement.
Blank Rome Expands to Dallas with Corporate Group
The Philadelphia-founded law firm announced the opening of its second Texas office on Monday with seven attorneys from four firms.
Judgment & Mercy: The Turbulent Life and Times of the Judge Who Condemned the Rosenbergs
In 1951, Judge Irving R. Kaufman wrangled to get the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, charged with stealing the “secret” of the atomic bomb and handing it to the monstrous Joseph Stalin. Judge Kaufman was 40, one of the youngest federal judges in America and only sixteen months in office. During the trial, he often intervened in ways that helped the government. Upstairs in his chambers, he conducted secret, ex parte meetings with prosecutors, including the infamous Roy Cohn. No one knows what they discussed. Once jurors convicted, he deftly advertised his anguish over the sentence and alluded to solitary soul-searching in his empty, dimly lit synagogue. Now the hour for judgment had come.
The Texas Lawbook is pleased to publish an excerpt of Houston lawyer Martin Siegel’s new book about the judge he clerked for decades ago.