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Harry Potter is breaking his silence. No single individual knows more secrets and behind-the-scenes details of the historic $17 billion Texas tobacco litigation and the evidence that sent his boss, Texas Attorney General Dan Morales, to jail.

For two decades, Potter refused to talk. Until now. He says a call from livid Wall Street corporate lawyer Arthur Golden in 1998 led Potter to quietly snoop into the computer files of Morales’ secretary, where he found three previously secret, backdated contracts. “That phone call led to Dan going to prison,” Potters says.

Royal Brin’s first job as a lawyer was at the U.S. base in Guadalcanal during World War II. After the war ended, he started working at Strasburger & Price in Dallas. The firm had less than 10 lawyers.

Last month, Brin celebrated his 70th year at Strasburger. He’s advanced from being a courthouse runner to defending insurance companies in personal injury and death cases to developing a specialty in appellate law. Today, he is considered by many as one of the deans of the state’s appellate bar.

The 96-year-old Dallas native still shows up to work every day and regularly attends the appellate group’s meetings. But there is another craft that Brin has mastered and practiced longer than the law – magic.

Two decades ago, Texas AG Dan Morales launched the single largest and most important public health lawsuit in history when he sued Big Tobacco for reimbursement of smoking-related medical costs. He said the case would force cigarette makers to seller safer products, prohibit tobacco companies from marketing to teenagers and require the industry to fund anti-smoking programs.

Was the litigation a success? The Texas Lawbook examines the historic $17.6 billion settlement and follows the money. Did Texas politicians piss away billions on booze and cigarettes? How much have the Big Five Texas trial lawyers received? And why Harry Potter may be the most important person in the entire litigation.

By Robert Grattan of the Houston Chronicle (April 11) – Halliburton Co. is potentially on the hook to pay one of the largest breakup fees in U.S. corporate history now