Texas Lawyer Blog

Texas Ethics Commission assesses against Sharon Keller its largest penalty ever

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller (pictured) faces a hit to the pocketbook. In an order signed April 28, the Texas Ethics Commission levied a $100,000 civil penalty against Keller for multiple omissions on her 2007 and 2008 personal financial statements. Tim Sorrells, TEC’s deputy general counsel, says, “It is the largest penalty.” According to the TEC’s final order in In the Matter of Sharon Keller, Respondent, posted today on the commission’s website, Keller failed to disclose an interest in eight properties, valued on appraisal district rolls at more than $2.4 million in 2006 and at almost $2.9 million in 2007. As noted on the order, on April 28, 2009, after Keller received notice of the complaint filed against her at the TEC, she filed corrected financial statements for 2007 and 2008. Her corrected statements included the following statement: “My father, Jack Keller, over a number of years, has acquired and managed, without input from me, all of these properties.” The TEC’s order also notes that, among other things, Keller omitted from the financial statement she filed in 2008 nine sources of income totaling at least $121,500 and failed in the statements she filed in 2007 and 2008 to disclose 100 to 499 shares in a business. Neither Keller nor her attorney, Austin solo Ed Shack, immediately returned telephone calls seeking comment. Sorrells says Keller has 30 business days from receipt of the TEC’s order to file an appeal in a state district court. The TEC order isn’t Keller’s only problem; she is still dealing with fallout from the execution of Michael Richard. She faces a June 18 hearing before the State Commission on Judicial Conduct on objections to a special master’s findings of fact in Inquiry Concerning Judge No. 96. The special master, 37th District Judge David Berchelmann Jr. of San Antonio, wrote in his Jan. 19 findings of fact filed with the judicial conduct commission that Keller should not be removed from office or be reprimanded for events on Sept. 25, 2007, the day the state executed Richard. But Berchelmann found that Keller’s decision not to keep the CCA’s office open past 5 p.m. on that day to receive a motion for stay of execution and writ of prohibition for Richard was “questionable.” The commission’s examiner and Keller filed objections to Berchelmann’s findings.
-- Mary Alice Robbins

UPDATE: Ed Shack, Keller’s attorney in the TEC proceeding, has issued the following statement, which reads in part: “Judge Keller is very disappointed at the excessive penalty assessed against her by the Texas Ethics Commission. . . . She plans to appeal the decision. As the commission found, Judge Keller voluntarily amended her financial disclosures shortly after she was made aware of the matter.” The statement further notes that Keller’s conduct “was not intentional, but rather the product of her father’s acquisition and management of properties without any input from the judge.”

Brent Coon & Associates seeks TRO and temporary injunction in wake of Gulf Coast rig explosion

Brent Coon & Associates of Beaumont, which gained a national reputation representing plaintiffs in the 2005 explosion of a BP refinery in Texas City, wasted little time in getting involved in litigation stemming from the April 20 explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. This morning, two clients of the firm filed a petition in state district court in Harris County seeking a temporary restraining order and a temporary injunctionto prevent five companies that they claim are connected to the rig’s operation or construction from destroying documents or physical evidence “related to or involved in the incident.” Brent Coon (pictured)  told reporters during a conference call this morning that his clients seek a TRO “to prevent them from doing anything to the rig itself” and from destroying any documentary evidence. Plaintiff Stephen Stone, who was injured in the explosion, and his wife Sara filedStephen Stone, et al. v. Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., et al. as an intervention in Tracy Kleppinger v. Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., et al., which was filed in the 234th District Court on April 22. Arthur Gonzalez, the managing attorney for one of the Houston offices of Brent Coon & Associates, told reporters this morning during the conference call that 157th District Judge Randy Wilson, the judge in Harris County on duty this week to hear emergency matters, said he would hear the request for the TRO this afternoon, after Gonzalez contacts in-house lawyers at each of the defendant companies. The defendants, all based in Houston or with operations in Houston, include Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., BP Products North America Inc., Halliburton Energy Services, Cameron International Corp., and Mi Swaco. The Stones bring negligence causes of action against the five companies, and Sara Stone brings intentional infliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium causes of action against the defendants. A spokesman for Transocean did not respond to an e-mail. Mike Abendhoff, a spokesman for BP, says he was not aware of the request for the TRO but says, “We don’t destroy documents. We are focused right now on the response [to the spill] period. That’s our top priority.” Cathy Mann, director of corporate affairs for Halliburton, did not immediately respond to an e-mail. Scott Amann, vice president investor relations for Cameron International Corp., says, “Our policy is not to comment on litigation.” Rich Cook, a spokesman for M-I Swaco, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.
-- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

UPDATE: This afternoon, 157th District Judge Randy Wilson signed an order granting the plaintiffs a temporary restraining order. The order prevents the defendants from changing, altering or destroying any documents related to the explosion, including electronic information, and from doing the same to “any and all tools, instrumentalities and/or devices” that may have been used by workers. The order recognizes the “ongoing rescue, recovery, well control, remedial and investigation efforts” and does not restrict any activities in connection with government investigations, recovery, well control, remedial or rescue operations. Gonzalez says, while he’s aware of about 10 other suits filed as a result of the explosion in Harris County or other jurisdictions, he believes this is the first TRO. In response to a question about the TRO, Transocean provided this statement: “At this point, our focus remains centered on meeting the needs of family members during this difficult time — as demonstrated by the efforts of our family response team members — and in providing support to BP and the unified command." The other defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Big-Tex firms make The AmLaw 100 list

Seven Big-Tex firms made The AmLaw 100 list this year, with Bracewell & Giuliani of Houston vaulting onto the list with a 98th-place ranking to join six Texas firms making repeat appearances. The ranking, compiled by Texas Lawyer affiliate The American Lawyer, is based on the firms’ 2009 gross revenue, rounded to the nearest $500,000. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld of Dallas was 31st on the list of the highest-grossing firms in the country, maintaining the same place as last year, with $719 million in revenue. Fulbright & Jaworski of Houston was next on the list at 40th, down from 36th last year, with $642.5 million in revenue. Houston’s Baker Botts was 45th with $575 million in revenue, down from 43rd. Vinson & Elkins, also of Houston, was close behind at 47th, down from 45th place last year, with $562 million in revenue. Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell of Dallas kept its 69th spot on the list, with $399 million in revenue for 2009, while Dallas firm Haynes and Boone advanced to 87th on the list, up from 94th last year, with $306.5 million in revenue. Bracewell cracked the AmLaw 100 with $277 million in revenue, slotting the firm at 98th place, up from 101 last year (and a position on the AmLaw 200 list.) The AmLaw 100 is published in the May issue of The American Lawyer, and the AmLaw 200, which reports on the gross revenue of the next 100 highest-grossing firms, is published in the June issue.

-- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

OMG, TMZ! Sandra Bullock celeb news with a connection to Texas law

The word that Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock filed for divorce from her husband of five years, television personality Jesse James, was big celebrity news today. There’s a Texas connection: a divorce petition filed in Travis County on April 23 reportedly is the petition filed by Bullock, at least according to a report on the celebrity gossip website TMZ. The petition is In The Matter of The Marriage Of B.A.S. and J.J.G., with TMZ identifying B.A.S. as Bullock’s initials in reverse order, and J.J.G. as James, whose middle name is Gregory. The attorney listed as representing B.A.S., Walter F. Becker Jr, who practices in the Houston and New Orleans offices of Chaffe McCall of Louisiana, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment. It’s not unheard-of for divorce attorneys with wealthy clients to file divorce petitions using initials instead of full names to identify the parties, says Donn Fullenweider, a partner in Fullenweider Wilhite in Houston who has handled many high-profile divorces since he was licensed in 1958. He notes, however, that the parties are usually publicly identified during proceedings, but by then what might have been “hot gossip” becomes stale news. According to the Travis County petition, B.A.S. alleges the parties were married in 2005 and have ceased to live together as husband and wife. B.A.S. seeks a divorce on the grounds the marriage has become “insupportable because of discord or conflict or personalities that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and prevents any reasonable expectations of reconciliation.” B.A.S. alleges the parties will enter into an agreement to divide their assets and alleges there are no children born or adopted in the marriage. However, in an interview in People magazine today, Bullock announced she has filed for divorce and has adopted an infant boy named Louis Bardo Bullock, who was born in Louisiana three-and-a-half months ago. In The Matter of The Marriage of B.A.S. and J.J.G.is filed in 261st  District Judge Lora Livingston’s court.

-- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

Public defender network could expand in Texas

The impact of public defender programs in Texas would increase significantly in 2011 if a state agency approves two grant applications currently in the hopper. On May 24, a Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense subcommittee will review Lubbock County’s application for $7.65 million; the money would expand the West Texas Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases, which currently serves 71 counties, to 240 counties, says Jim Bethke (pictured), TTFID’s director. TTFID distributes state funding for indigent defense programs and oversees how counties are carrying out the Fair Defense Act, which sets standards for indigent defense. Also on May 24, the TTFID subcommittee will consider Harris County’s application for a $4.4 million grant to start a public defender office in the state’s largest county. Bethke says the TTFID board will vote on both applications June 9, and, if approved, the funding would start Sept. 1. Bethke says both proposals are “hugely significant” in the state and nation. Harris County is the largest jurisdiction in the country that does not have a public defender office, Bethke says. “National eyes are upon us,” he says. “We need to get it right.” Bethke says, earlier this year, the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants awarded Harris County $20,000 for technical assistance and planning in connection with the public defender office. Bethke says in June 2009 the Lubbock-based program received an award from the National Association of Counties based on the efficiency of that program. “Bringing that system to other jurisdictions will benefit the citizenry of those communities,” he says. David Slayton, Lubbock County’s director of court administration, says the county commissioners court authorized the grant application April 26. Slayton says the grant funds would pay for expanding the Lubbock-headquartered West Texas regional public defender office, which receives court appointments to represent defendants in capital cases, to all counties with a population of less than 300,000. The West Texas program accepts court appointments in counties with which it has reached agreements to represent indigent capital defendants. Trying to expand the office to cover the state’s larger counties would require a $25 million grant, Slayton says. Jack Stoffregen, chief public defender in Lubbock, says the regional office has disposed of 17 cases since it started in January 2008, and only one of those defendants received a death sentence. Stoffregen says the regional office currently has an 11-member staff, including five lawyers. As proposed, Stoffregen says, the expanded office would have a staff of 88, including 29 attorneys, the chief public defender and an assistant chief public defender. If the Lubbock office administers the 240-county program, the system would have 10 satellite offices, he says. Caprice Cosper, director of the Office of Criminal Justice Coordination in Harris County, says the county commissioners court authorized the $4.4 million grant application on April 27. As proposed, the office would have a staff of 68, including 37 attorneys, when fully operational, says Cosper, whose office supports the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council that developed the plan. Cosper says the office initially would accept court appointments for misdemeanor offenders with mental health issues and felony cases on appeal. The plan is to phase in trial representations in criminal district and juvenile courts, Cosper says. If TTFID awards a grant to Harris County, the county plans to hire the chief public defender by Sept. 1, she says.
-- Mary Alice Robbins

Five McGlinchey Stafford health-care lawyers move to Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr in Houston

Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr just added a group of five health-care lawyers to its Houston office, a practice the Dallas-based firm has eyed for some time because it’s such a big industry in Houston. The health-care group includes shareholders Dwight W. Scott Jr. (pictured, left), Daniel Patton, Chris DeMeo and Lisa Lepow Turboff and associate Carolyn Capoccia Smith. They joined Munsch Hardt Monday, after leaving McGlinchey Stafford’s Houston office. Scott, who heads the health-care group, says the group represents “most, if not a large majority, of health-care providers in the greater Houston area.” He says clients include hospitals, doctors, nurses and physical therapists but declines to name specific clients. He says he was attracted to Munsch Hardt’s culture. “It really is a client-focused, client-centered law firm,” he says. Shareholder Steven Harr (pictured, right), who heads the 19-lawyer Houston office, says the firm had been looking to hire health-care lawyers for a number of years, in part because the firm already does some non-health-care work for companies in the health-care industry. He says he’s “just thoroughly impressed” with each of the new lawyers. The new group boosts Munsch Hardt to 107 lawyers. Jennifer Davis, the managing member for McGlinchey Stafford in Houston, says the 20-lawyer office retains a number of health-care lawyers led by member Richard Law.
--Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

Texans for Public Justice files complaint with Texas Ethics Commission regarding Debra Lehrmann

A complaint filed April 27 with the Texas Ethics Commission alleges Debra Lehrmann accepted campaign donations from her mother-in-law that exceedlegal limits. Lehrmann is judge of the 360th District Court in Fort Worth and winner of the April 13 Republican primary runoff for Place 3 on the Texas Supreme Court. Lehrmann “appears to have accepted approximately $15,100 in political contributions that exceed the contribution limits for the office in violation of the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act Section 253.155 of the Texas Election Code,” according to the complaint filed by the Texans for Public Justice, an Austin-based campaign-finance watchdog group. Although Texas laws limit political contributions from individuals to candidates for state office to $5,000, Lehrmann received $20,000 from Norma J. Talley, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges Lehrmann identified Talley to a newspaper reporter as her mother in law. Lehrmann did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

-- Miriam Rozen

UPDATE: Lehrmann says she was surprised by the complaint because she has always been extremely careful to follow the rules regarding campaign finance and reporting requirements. She says a team of lawyers and staff members are looking into the allegations, but she initially believes that since the money came from a family member it may not violate TEC rules.

Steve Susman, meet Steve Susman

In legal circles, Steve Susman — who founded Houston’s Susman Godfrey and pioneered contingency-fee, plaintiffs-side work for corporate clients — has a well-recognized name. But in the wider world, he may be confused with the Steve Susman vying to represent the 22nd Congressional District, which includes Houston. That Susman identifies himself in an interview as a Libertarian Party candidate and as affiliated with the Liberty-Candidates organization. A caption for a video posted on his campaign website describes him as speaking “about the evils of the FED, IRS, and all of the useless extorsionists that steal ruthlessly from ALL AMERICANS.” Susman the candidate jokingly describes Susman the lawyer as "my doppelgänger." He says when his own father ran a Google Internet search for his name, he discovered Susman the lawyer. In an e-mail responding to an inquiry about their names, Susman the lawyer writes, “[W]e aren't related.” He adds: “I have [not] gotten any of his calls or emails, but I have a service that tells me each morning where my name shows up on the web and when I think I have become much more famous, I get disappointed when I open the link and find out it really ain't about me after all.”

-- Miriam Rozen

TEC issues opinion on direct campaign spending by corporations, labor unions

It’s official. The Texas Ethics Commission cannot enforce Election Code §253.094 or §253.002 to prohibit corporations or labor organizations from making direct expenditures in political campaigns, according to an opinion the commission issued April 21. As noted in Advisory Opinion 489, the TEC cannot enforce Election Code §253.002 to prohibit a person from making or authorizing a direct campaign expenditure by a corporation. Section 253.094 prohibits a corporation or labor union from making a political contribution or political expenditure that is not authorized. The opinion is a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jan. 21 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In its 5-4 decision in Citizens United, the high court held that direct corporate expenditures on candidates’ campaigns cannot be limited under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The TEC noted in its advisory opinion that the Supreme Court’s decision does not impede the commission from enforcing the state’s political advertising disclosure requirements under Chapter 255 of the Election Code. Advertisements, even those for which corporations pay, must disclose who paid for them. The TEC further noted in the opinion that corporations now must report any direct expenditures they make for a political campaign, as required of individuals under Election Code §253.062. Referring to the new reporting requirement corporations face, TEC deputy general counsel Tim Sorrells says, “It was just something that wasn’t in the law, because there was a prohibition on corporate expenditures.” Tom Phillips, a former chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court who is now a partner in Baker Botts in Austin, says it is too early to tell whether lifting the prohibition against direct corporate spending on campaigns will have much of an impact. Phillips says that among smaller corporate entities there may be more political activity through the parent corporation. It will be simpler to do it that way, Phillips says.
-- Mary Alice Robbins

This Week in Texas Lawyer

Firm Finance: There’s a big difference in how firms performed in the economic slowdown. Not everyone's numbers were down. How did they do it? Find out who made what in Texas Lawyer's Annual Report on Firm Finance. Also, check out the five top-grossing out-of-state firms, the profitability index and the Millionaires’ Club.

Breaking up is hard to do: A packed courtroom hears arguments in a same-sex divorce case. Reporter Miriam Rozen is there.

Disqualified: Two courts knock two firms out of the ring. Senior reporter John Council looks at one decision involving a legal assistant who changed jobs and another decision involving a judge who left the bench and joined a firm.

Bones: Senior reporter Mary Alice Robbins finds out how a Munsch Hardt lawyer unearthed dead men who really can tell tales. (Image: Chip Clark, courtesy of Doug Owsley.) 

This week in Texas Lawyer history: In 2006, UH Law Center Dean Nancy Rapoport resigned amidst student anger over standing in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Where is she – and the school – now? Senior reporter Mary Alice Robbins looks back into the not-too-distant past.

Striking back: Former GC Pauline Higgins brings defamation, whistle-blower suit against Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, and its CEO.

Time to redline: It's take two on the rewritten rules. Senior reporter Mary Alice Robbins looks at revisions to the proposed changes to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.

Newsmakers. Discipline. VerdictSearch. Inadmissible.

On the run: Senior reporter Mary Alice Robbins hears from the contenders in the race to lead the State Bar of Texas.

Appellate advocacy: Martin Siegel examines the importance of starting and finishing strong.

Leading by example: Pauline Higgins remembers Pete Riley, who hired her as Thompson & Knight’s chief diversity officer.