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Up in the Air for Miles and Miles and …

Mark Twain wrote, “Travel has no longer any charm for me.” And presumably, the journalist-turned-author never took off his shoes for a TSA screening. Twain opined (a lot) about the travails of travel – not unlike the many Texas attorneys among the ranks of today’s frequent fliers. Some, in fact, sound almost Twain-esque.

Like Vinson & Elkins’ Jim Loftis: “There are two types of luggage – carry-on and lost.” Or his colleague and former V&E managing partner Joe Dilg on reward miles: “It’s a little like the pie-eating contest, and the award is more pie.”

Texas Recovers $1 Billion by Joining Whistleblowers in Medicaid Fraud Litigation – Update

Long known for its business-friendly litigation climate, Texas has quietly become the national leader in using the courthouse to punish one set of corporations, pharmaceutical companies that cheat government health programs.

Teaming up with company insiders and others who claim to know of wrongdoing by suppliers to the Texas Medicaid program, the state over the last decade has recovered more than $1 billion from suits accusing drug manufacturers and health care providers of overpricing and fraud.

Robert Dedman Ethics Award Goes to Mark Berg of Pioneer

Berg has handled some of the most complex legal transactions in the global energy sector during the past few years. The energy deals, which valued in the billions and completely transformed the large, independent oil and gas exploration and production company and its investments.

“We hire lawyers who know our company and want to partner with us. We still see this as a legal profession, not as a commodity and we treat it as such,” says Berg. “The law firms that will survive in this new environment are those who go back and look at how the practice of law used to be.”

Wal-Mart Seeks Dismissal of Texas Class Action

Lawyers for Wal-Mart asked U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Dallas to reject a class action employment discrimination lawsuit claiming to represent more than 50,000 women who have worked at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores in Texas. The suit by seven women who worked at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores during the past 14 years, claims that the company demonstrated gender bias by denying them promotions and paying them less than their male counterparts. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief as well as financial damages. Dallas employment and labor lawyer Hal Gillespie represents the plaintiffs, while Gibson Dunn partners Karl Nelson and Veronica Lewis are defending Wal-Mart.

No Lawyer has had a Bigger Impact on the North Texas Economy than Ray Hutchison

The senator’s husband and municipal bond lawyer has been intricately involved in the creation, development and construction of the most important economic drivers in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, including DFW Airport, DART, the Upper Trinity Regional Water District, the AT&T Performing Arts Center and every major professional sports facility built during the past 45 years.

“Ray is truly one of the great lawyers ever to practice in Texas – he’s an architect who takes the dreams of our local leaders and makes it come true,” says Judge Patrick Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Two weeks ago, Hutchison turned 80. But he shows few signs of slowing down. This is his story.

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