Texas

Julia Roberts Character Doesn’t Cuss So Much, Thanks to Houston Lawyer

Houston lawyer Dick DeGuerin had a hand in making some script changes in the movie Charlie Wilson’s War—and was a guest at the premiere. The movie (video), which opens in theaters Dec. 21, is based on the true story of a Texas congressman who helped secure funds for the mujahedeen…

Dec 18, 2007 7:07 PM CST

K&L Gates Merges with Dallas Firm

After months of talks, New York-based Kilpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis voted today to merge with one of the largest firms in Dallas, Hughes & Luce. The combined firm will have more than 1,500 lawyers and 23 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia, according to a news…

Dec 17, 2007 8:06 PM CST

Suit Against PI Lawyer Disputes Fen-Phen Expenses

A class action lawsuit by former clients of Houston personal injury lawyer George Fleming and his law firm alleges the lawyers overcharged for expenses in a $29 million fen-phen settlement. The suit says Fleming & Associates improperly charged the fen-phen settlement plaintiffs for echocardiograms performed on clients that turned out…

Dec 17, 2007 11:34 AM CST

Case of Texas Man Who Killed Next-Door Burglars Goes to Grand Jury

A grand jury will decide next week whether to issue a homicide indictment for a Texas man who confronted and fatally shot two burglars breaking into a neighbor’s home. The case has set off protests for and against the man, 61-year-old Joe Horn of suburban Houston, who called 911 and…

Dec 13, 2007 7:25 PM CST

Texas Lawyer Starts Trial as Counsel, Finishes Up as Defendant

When Carlos Correa arrived in court on Monday, the 63-year-old criminal defense attorney was ready to go to trial. Instead, he quickly found himself in handcuffs, and, as of that evening, remained in jail awaiting his own trial, in lieu of $50,000 bail, reports the Houston Chronicle. Correa is charged…

Dec 11, 2007 9:01 PM CST

25th Birthday for Lethal Injections

Exactly 25 years ago today, strapped to a gurney in a Texas death chamber, 40-year-old Charlie Brooks Jr. became the first person in the U.S. to be executed by lethal injection. Since then, the method has been adopted by many states throughout the country, which considered it a humane alternative…

Dec 7, 2007 11:20 PM CST

Price Tag Is $100K-Plus for Texas Firms’ Lavish Holiday Bashes

Houston law firms have booked some of the city’s ritziest venues for holiday parties that can cost $100,000 or more. Some clients have criticized the big bashes, including some who complained last year about Baker Botts’ tab for overhead acrobats at the firm’s client appreciation party. As a result, many…

Dec 6, 2007 11:56 AM CST

Bar Group Sues Texas Lawyers Who Practiced With Businessman

A committee of the Supreme Court of Texas has filed suit in state court against five lawyers and a politically connected businessman, contending that they collaborated in the unlicensed practice of law. Because the businessman, Mauricio Celis, is not a lawyer and operated a law firm in Corpus Christi, the…

Dec 5, 2007 1:26 AM CST

New Law School in Texas?

A Texas judge with a history of promoting legal education to minorities is calling on the state university system and Texas legislators to establish a new law school in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, a predominantly Hispanic area. Judge Susan Criss, a former prosecutor who is now seeking a seat…

Dec 4, 2007 5:54 PM CST

Jenner & Block to Close Dallas Office

Jenner & Block has decided to close its four-lawyer Dallas office rather than renew its lease. The office opened in 2000 to house lawyers hired from McKenna & Cuneo who didn’t want to move, said Jenner’s managing partner Gregory Gallopoulos. Two government contracts lawyers there, William Stoughton and Kathy Weinberg,…

Dec 4, 2007 12:27 PM CST

Regent 2L Sues Over Suspension for Robertson Web Post

A Regent University law student has sued the school for suspending him after he posted an online photo of school president Pat Robertson with his middle finger extended. Robertson was scratching his face with his middle finger in the photo, posted on student Adam Key’s Facebook page, but the gesture…

Nov 30, 2007 7:41 PM CST

Judge: Explosion Victims Can Voice Objections to BP Settlement

Victims of a deadly BP PLC plant explosion two years ago south of Houston will have a chance to complain about a plea agreement, a judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal says victims of the 2005 disaster that killed 15 and injured another 170 can submit additional information…

Nov 29, 2007 6:44 PM CST

Seventh-Day Adventist Gets $55K, Job Back

A Seventh-day Adventist who was fired by the City of Dallas because she refused to work on her Sabbath day, Saturday, is getting her job back. Marilyn Ford, a code inspector for the city, also will get $55,000 and a shift that accommodates her beliefs in a settlement with the…

Nov 28, 2007 11:52 PM CST

Ford Agrees to 4-State Rollover Settlement

Ford Motor Co. has struck a rollover settlement deal that applies to some 1 million people in four states. The litigation involved Ford Explorers that plaintiffs in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas, claimed were prone to rollovers, the Associated Press reports. The AP reports that vehicle owners will be allowed…

Nov 28, 2007 11:45 PM CST

Female Partners Strike Out on Own, Cite BigLaw Rate Hikes as Reason

Two former partners at a large San Antonio firm who left to strike out on their own report they’ve been able to retain 90 percent of their clients. Janet L. King and Eileen E. Sommer left Jackson Walker to start King & Sommer to focus on their business and real…

Nov 28, 2007 7:13 PM CST