Texas

Lawyer, 71, Awaits Trial in Record Alleged $2M Theft as Guardian for Disabled Veterans

Some disabled veterans reportedly have been shorted on living expenses, as a result of a claimed record-breaking guardianship theft by a Texas lawyer. Responsible for overseeing funds of some veterans for decades, attorney Joe Phillips, 71, allegedly evaded detection for years with the help of doctored records even though his…

Nov 10, 2010 1:13 AM CST

Ex-Baron & Budd Attorney Who Became an $8.8M Man Has Settled Suit Against the Law Firm

After winning an $8.8 million jury verdict against his former law firm earlier this year, an ex-lawyer of Baron & Budd has settled the suit. Plaintiff Gary Cruciani and defendants Baron & Budd and Russell Budd have concluded the contentious litigation with an agreed motion for a new trial, which…

Nov 5, 2010 5:22 PM CDT

Judge Sues Lawyer for Defamation, Says Ethics Complaint E-Mailed to Over 100, Then Wins Re-election

An already-contentious relationship between a Texas judge and a number of his colleagues on the bench likely has not improved since yesterday’s general election. According to unofficial election results for Dallas County (see page 9), incumbent Judge Carlos Cortez of the 44th Judicial District has edged out his Republican challenger,…

Nov 3, 2010 8:24 PM CDT

Prosecutors Blast Ex-DA in ‘Nightmare’ Case of Innocent Man Jailed 18 Years

Freed yesterday after spending 18 years in prison for a capital crime he did not commit, Anthony Graves was initially convicted because of a “nightmare” of prosecutorial misconduct that included withholding evidence and threatening witnesses, Texas prosecutors said in a press conference today. DA Bill Parham of Washington and Burleson…

Oct 28, 2010 9:07 PM CDT

Dallas Lawyer Wins Continuance for ‘Very Important Baseball Matters’

Updated: Dallas lawyer Darrell Cook obliged when a city attorney asked him to explain in writing why he needs a continuance in a code enforcement case. “To put in bluntly, Darrell must be in San Francisco to attend to Very Important Baseball matters,” namely Game 1 of the World Series…

Oct 27, 2010 5:50 PM CDT

Contract Lawyer Says He Quit His Job to Watch the Rangers in World Series Bid

Updated: A Rangers fan says he quit his contract lawyer job in Los Angeles to watch his team attempt to win the World Series. Boris Briskin grew up in Plano, Texas, and is a longtime Rangers fan, according to the Yahoo blog The Big League Stew and MyFoxDFW.com. He has…

Oct 27, 2010 3:33 PM CDT

Watchdog Still Seeks to Sanction Top Texas Criminal Judge re Execution-Eve ‘We Close at 5’ Ruling

An attorney for the top criminal court judge in Texas hailed the elimination of a public warning earlier this month as a conclusive win for his client in a legal ethics case over the court’s refusal to accept a late appeal on the eve of the defendant’s execution. But the…

Oct 26, 2010 5:54 PM CDT

Malpractice Plaintiff Wins $103M Verdict Against Baker & McKenzie

A former client has won a $103 million malpractice verdict against Baker & McKenzie and one of its Dallas lawyers. S. Lavon Evans Jr. had claimed in his Mississippi lawsuit that the law firm had represented him at the same time it represented his partner in an oil-rig drilling business,…

Oct 26, 2010 12:12 PM CDT

Ex-Legal Aid Lawyers Claim Their Conversation Was Illegally Wiretapped

Two former legal aid lawyers in Dallas claim in a lawsuit that their one-time employer illegally recorded one of their phone conversations with a co-worker. The suit against Legal Aid of Northwest Texas and two of its executives doesn’t disclose the nature of the conversation, but alleges it was used…

Oct 20, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Lawyers Show Up in Court to Support Indicted Texas Judge

More than 30 lawyers showed up at the Collin County Courthouse on Monday to demonstrate support for a judge indicted on bribery charges. The lawyers stood and applauded State District Judge Suzanne Wooten as she entered the courtroom, the Dallas Morning News reports. An indictment accuses two people of giving…

Oct 19, 2010 2:21 PM CDT

Lloyd’s $100M D&O Policy Doesn’t Cover Stanford’s Legal Defense Bill in Ponzi Case, Judge Rules

Lloyd’s of London doesn’t have any obligation to cover onetime billionaire R. Allen Stanford’s criminal defense costs under a $100 million policy of directors and officers insurance for his company, a federal judge has ruled. In a four-day trial in August the insurer proved, under a preponderance standard, that Stanford…

Oct 13, 2010 6:01 PM CDT

Public Warning Tossed Against ‘We Close at 5’ Texas Judge

A three-judge special court of review has dismissed a “public warning” against the Texas judge who refused to keep the state’s top criminal court open late for an execution-eve appeal. The decision means the case is over for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller, according to her…

Oct 12, 2010 12:16 PM CDT

Proposed Texas Ban on Sex with Clients Is Subject of Hot Debate

An ethics rule that would bar lawyers from having sex with clients is raising controversy in Texas, one of a minority of states that don’t have such a ban. The Dallas Morning News calls the failure to ban such relationships “one of Texas’ longest-running legal dramas.” It took lawyers acting…

Oct 5, 2010 1:18 PM CDT

Apple Seeks Stay of $625.5M Infringement Verdict, Cites ‘Triple Dipping’

Apple has filed an emergency motion seeking a stay of a jury verdict that is one of the nation’s largest-ever awards for patent infringement. On Friday, a jury in Tyler, Texas, awarded technology company Mirror Worlds $625.5 million for Apple’s willful infringement of three patents related to how files are…

Oct 5, 2010 12:04 PM CDT

Flight of Fancy: Dallas PI Lawyer Publishes Butterfly Book

For three years in a row, Dallas plaintiffs lawyer Windle Turley followed one of his passions to Mexico and photographed the results. Turley photographs monarch butterflies, according to stories by the Dallas Business Journal and the Tex Parte Blog. He followed their winter trek to Mexico for three years beginning…

Sep 30, 2010 11:00 AM CDT