Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan enlisted David Baay, a partner and co-head of the energy litigation section of the firm’s Houston office, to develop a mobile app specific to Texas.
The app, called Texas openCourts, launched in late 2015 and allows users to locate state and federal courts, learn about the background of judges and access local federal court rules.
“I wanted something that would be the most useful,” Baay said. “Quickly, court information came to mind.”
Lubbock District Judge Ruben Reyes sanctioned Dallas trial lawyer Bill Brewer $133,000 for alleged improper conduct committed misconduct for using a so-called push poll to improperly influence potential jurors in a West Texas wrongful death case that was weeks away from trial in 2014. Brewer denies it was a push poll and argues he has done nothing unethical.
“Mr. Brewer’s explanation that he bears clean hands because the poll was a blind study conducted by a third party vendor is insulting to this court,” the judge wrote.
While those damages in the patent infringement litigation may sound great, the Plano firm’s real goal could be to land a permanent injunction to get competing technology off the market.
Bracewell Managing Partner Mark Evans says that the firm made “a wonderful decision” a decade ago to hire former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani as a partner and add his name to the front door. Firm leadership decided to drop Giuliani’s name from its letterhead last year as part of a re-branding effort, Evans said Wednesday in an interview with The Texas Lawbook. He also said Giuliani’s departure was completely the former presidential candidate’s decision.
California-based Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe announced Tuesday that it is opening an outpost in Houston with about 20 partners and additional associates and staffing. Orrick has leased 48,000 square feet on the 41st and 42nd floors in the Fulbright Tower on McKinney Ave. in downtown Houston. The firm declined to identify any of the lawyers who will work in the new operation, but says those announcements will come later.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Houston-based Bracewell & Giuliani announced Tuesday they are ending their decade-long partnership. Bracewell says that split is “by amicable agreement” and is effective today. The firm’s statement says that its new name is simply “Bracewell.” Giuliani is joining Greenberg Traurig, where he will lead the firm’s cybersecurity and crisis management practice.
Prominent Dallas litigation boutique Lynn Tillotson Pinker Cox is trimming its name. The firm announced Monday that trial lawyer Jeff Tillotson is leaving to temporarily start his own firm, but it is expected that he will join Reese Gordon Marketos as a partner later this year. The Texas Lawbook has exclusive comments from Tillotson, Mike Lynn and Joel Reese.
Two Houston trial lawyers – David Gerger and Joel Androphy – spent 23 hours over the weekend at the federal prison in downtown Houston waiting for word from the White House on whether their clients, who are Iranian businessmen accused of violating the ban on doing with Iran, would get presidential pardons. Gerger and Androphy gave exclusive interviews to The Texas Lawbook.
The vibrant Texas economy drives business disputes into federal court and ultimately, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This article identifies ten recent cases from the Fifth Circuit that will likely influence commercial litigation in the year ahead. The specific areas of law include forum selection, federal jurisdiction over class actions, arbitration, civil procedure, and the substantive fields of antitrust and trademark.
There are many things I recall about beginning my legal career in Dallas. But one thing I remember clearly, from the very first day on the job, was the pervasive sentiment that an indispensable part of being a lawyer – a real lawyer committed to the craft and the profession – is helping those who need access to our courts. It reminds us of why we became lawyers, and it underscores the importance of serving others as zealously as we support our clients.
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