Texas Lawyer Blog

Special FOCUS Report: Women in Law

Pump up the pretty:  Some tools are critical to a lawyer's personal arsenal of skills -- strong analytical ability, a gift for crafting that perfect persuasive brief -- but should women add femininity to the list? Is it really OK to giggle on a conference call or put on those extra coats of mascara? Melissa Dubose (pictured) has some controversial and candid advice for women lawyers who don't want to play it safe by wearing navy suits or sensible shoes -- or by following men's rules.  

The Assistant-at-Law: Communication skills sometimes go out of the window between a female boss and her female assistant -- trying too hard to be friends in such a situation can become a minefield of simmering resentment on both sides. But it doesn't have to be that way. The Assistant-at-Law tells female lawyers who are bosses how to make the most of an assistant relationship without destroying it.

New way of doing things: Women are frequently trained from a young age to please others and work hard without complaint -- and women lawyers are no exception, especially when success comes at the price of a personal life. Can there truly be balance as women seek that cliche of "having it all"? Andrea “AJ” Johnson (pictured) offers tips for women lawyers who want to go from being good girls to good lawyers.

Surviving and thriving: Adrienne Randle Bond (pictured) thought she had moved beyond gender issues -- until she really reflected on disparities in the legal market. Here's her advice for the next generation of female lawyers.  

Virtual pro bono a hit at Vinson & Elkins

Using Skype, laptops and headsets, a handful of Vinson & Elkins lawyers were able to virtually meet with pro bono clients on Oct. 27 without leaving the firm’s Houston offices on the 25th floor of City Tower. Ellyn Josef (pictured), V&E’s pro bono counsel who worked with the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program (HVLP)  to set up the virtual clinic, says, “Between [pro bono] clients, our lawyers could field calls from partners and do other firm work. It was so cool.” Between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., she says, six V&E lawyers talked with two or three clients who were at the HVLP office on Main Street. When a client came in to the HVLP office, HVLP sent an email to the V&E lawyer with the client’s name and background, then the client would be seen on screen via Skype. The lawyer spent 20 minutes gathering information or counseling the client, then the lawyer could go back to handling firm business until the next sign in at HVLP, Josef says. “My lawyers were surprised at how easy it was to meet with two or three pro bono clients in an afternoon, without leaving their office,” she says. Josef notes the firm launched the program last Thursday during National Pro Bono Week to help create excitement within the firm about performing pro bono work. She says the Houston office will hold quarterly virtual clinics in 2012 and she hopes to expand the program to other V&E offices. “I think the opportunities are sort of endless,” she says. “To me, it’s all about trying to get those that have difficulty connecting with lawyers, connected. I’m hoping it really just catches on.”
-- Jeanne Graham

Hutchison and Cornyn recommend three people to fill Eastern District of Texas bench in Sherman

U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, R-Texas, have forwarded the names of three people to President Barack Obama to fill the U.S. District Court bench in Sherman. The federal bench in Sherman, which has the busiest docket in the Eastern District of Texas, has been vacant since 2006 when Senior U.S. District Court Judge Paul Brown retired. On Oct. 27, Hutchison and Cornyn notified the White House that they are recommending Judge Martin Hoffman of the 68th District Court in Dallas, Judge Jim Fallon of the 15th District Court in Sherman, and Clyde Siebman, a senior partner in Sherman’s Siebman, Reynolds, Burg, Phillips & Smith to fill the bench. “Their skill and work ethic have earned them the respect of their colleagues and praise from the Texas legal community. We believe their experience and record of service make them well-qualified to continue the proud tradition of Texas' federal bench being among the best in the nation,” the senators note in a joint press release. Hoffman and Siebman decline comment and Fallon did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Traditionally, the president's judicial nominees are members of his own political party. Hoffman is a Democrat while Fallon and Siebman are Republicans. Siebman previously served as chairman of the Grayson County Republican Party and as a member of the Texas Republican Executive Committee. In a May 13 letter to Hutchison and Cornyn, the Grayson County Bar Association (GCBA) asked the senators to help fill the open bench in the U.S. Courthouse in Sherman. "This Division handles more than half of the Eastern District's entire criminal docket, along with many complex intellectual property cases for which the Eastern District has become known," the GCBA wrote. "A platooning of visiting federal judges has tirelessly worked to cover the Sherman docket, with considerable attendant stresses on them and their staffs."
-- John Council

Morning docket

The AmLaw Daily, a Texas Lawyer affiliate, interviews Allan Diamond, the managing partner of Texas-based Diamond McCarthy, about the work he’s doing as “the government-appointed Chapter 11 trustee of defunct law firm Howrey.”

The Austin American-Statesman reports, “The racially charged battle over newly drawn political districts in Texas will heat up this week, with scheduled court hearings in San Antonio and Washington.”

KVUE Austin reports, “Austin police and Occupy Austin protesters clashed Saturday night at city hall, and it ended with dozens of arrests. APD confirmed the arrest of 37 Occupy Austin demonstrators.”

The ABA Journal reports, “A New York Times columnist is expressing outrage over Halloween costumes worn by some employees of a law firm previously in the news because of a probe into its foreclosure practices. The costumes appear to mock homeowners targeted in the law firm’s cases, showing an ‘appalling lack of compassion,’ according to New York Times columnist Joe Nocera.”

 -- Angela Morris

This week in Texas Lawyer

What “ales” him: Lawyer and brewer Michael Peticolas (pictured) speaks with senior reporter John Council about what’s brewing for beer law.

New associate hires drop 13 percent: But some firms are looking for laterals. Research editor Jeanne Graham has lots of interesting discoveries in the 2011 New Associate Survey.

Law of the streets: Reporter Miriam Rozen talks with attorneys working for Occupy protestors in Dallas and lawyers working for the city.

Approach the bench: Judge Donna Rayes (pictured) has helped bring a ghost town back from the dead. Reporter Angela Morris talks with Rayes about practicing in her courtroom.

Moving in: Research editor Jeanne Graham reports on a firm entering the Texas market via a merger.

 Discipline. Newsmakers. VerdictSearch. CaseSummaries.

TSU denies allegations: Thurgood Marshall School of Law Assistant Dean Patricia Garrison (pictured, left) alleges race discrimination and retaliation in a suit against Texas Southern University. Her lawyer, Katherine Louise Butler, (pictured, right) talks with Miriam Rozen about the case.

Special FOCUS report: Women in Law

More than survival: Women can thrive as lawyers. Adrienne Randle Bond (pictured) explains how.

New way of doing things: Andrea “AJ” Johnson helps women go from being good girls to good lawyers.

Pretty power: Melissa Dubose has some controversial and candid advice for women lawyers who don't want to confine themselves to navy suit and sensible shoes.  

Assistant-at-law: How female bosses and female assistants can work well together.

Associate life: Need help picking a practice? Take the “Jersey Shore” personality test, by Kip Mendrygal (pictured).

The lawyers’ coach: Coach and psychotherapist James Dolan helps lawyers recognize and handle clients with personality disorders.

 

Junior J.D.: Small-firm clerkships offer benefits for employer and employee, writes Raymond L. Panneton (pictured).

Morning docket

The Austin Chronicle reports on a debate between Rosemary Lehmberg and Charlie Baird, Democratic candidates for Travis County District Attorney.

Blog Grits for Breakfast examines interim charges for Texas House Committees and highlights those “potentially interesting from a criminal justice perspective.” The topics include appropriations, border and intergovernmental affairs, corrections, criminal jurisprudence and more.

The AmLaw Litigation Daily, a Texas Lawyer affiliate, discusses Monday’s jury verdict in Marshall “finding that Pier 1 [Imports] did not infringe Alexsam's patents on a method of conducting electronic transactions on pre-paid gift cards. The 8-0 verdict, delivered by an all-women jury in the notoriously plaintiffs-friendly district, is the first public setback in Alexsam's four-year litigation spree over the same patents.”

Wilson County commissioners next week plan to discuss structural problems with the county’s courthouse, reports the San Antonio Express-News. The story says, “The main section of the courthouse, built in 1884, was vacated by county workers and closed last month after cracks in its brick walls raised concerns that it could collapse.”

In an opinion piece, Ken Herman of the Austin American-Statesmanwrites that the Texas Constitution “is a big ol' mess, chock full of stuff that probably should be in statutes, not in a constitution. But Texans seem to like it that way.” Herman notes that Texas voters will decide the fate of 10 additional proposed amendments on Nov. 8. “Unless you are special, you have no idea how to vote on any of the 10. . . . The homework is available in the League of Women Voters of Texas' voters guide at http://bit.ly/oakfqC,” the article says.

-- Angela Morris

Vampires not welcome at DBA Halloween Blood Drive

Dallas lawyers can celebrate Halloween this year by taking part in an annual blood drive hosted by the Dallas Bar Association and Carter BloodCare. “This is one of several events during the year that the Dallas Bar Association hosts as part of its commitment to the community,” says Christina McCracken, senior counsel with Gordon & Rees in Dallas and co-chair of the DBA’s community involvement committee. Donors can walk in on Monday Oct. 31 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Belo Mansion, 2101 Ross Ave., or can schedule a donation time in advance. More information can be found on the DBA website at www.dallasbar.org. “We encourage people to come and bring their friends,” McCracken says.

-- Jeanne Graham

Tonight's Red Mass in San Antonio will feature 4th Court justice

Justice Rebecca Simmons (pictured) of the 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio says she’ll be facing a daunting audience today, when she makes remarks during San Antonio’s 59th annual Red Mass, which begins at 6 p.m. in San Fernando Cathedral. “This is a tough crowd,” says Simmons. “There will be the archbishop and priests and professors who know more about the law then I’ll ever know and lawyers who are great legal scholars and judges. This is about the toughest crowd I think I will ever speak to,” she says. The Red Mass is a Roman Catholic tradition highlighting the beginning of the judicial year. The San Antonio Red Mass brings the entire legal community together and includes the opportunity to seek a blessing “for guidance, for strength and for discernment in the job we do all year,” she says. Simmons says she will be the last speaker during the celebration in the cathedral. “I think I will focus on justice and the pursuit of justice,” she says. “I’ll keep it short. I’ll be standing in the way between the audience and a nice reception at the Plaza Club.”

— Jeanne Graham

Morning docket

The ABA Journal reports, “Seemingly on the verge of retaining counsel to follow the lead of another Texas county and file suit against a national electronic mortgage recording entity, officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, instead decided to look to the state attorney general to take a potential leading role.”

“The federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has refused to allow BP PLC to immediately appeal his ruling allowing a large number of plaintiffs to seek punitive damages,” reports The National Law Journal, a Texas Lawyer affiliate.

The Blog of LegalTimes, a Texas Lawyer affiliate, reports that Roger Clemens’ defense lawyers, including Houston’s Rusty Hardin, told a judge yesterday that the “government should be forced to pay fees and costs associated with the botched obstruction and perjury trial” of the former baseball pitcher. The story says, “William Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, declined to comment on Clemens’ request for compensation.”

Grits for Breakfast reports that the latest newsletter from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice indicates the agency is undergoing Sunset Review and invites people to submit feedback as part of the review process. The TDCJ newsletter says, “You can take part in this opportunity for improvement by letting us know what should be done to improve Texas' criminal justice agencies.”

The National Law Journal reports that big-firm lawyers “who for decades worked 60- and 70-hour weeks, but who retired with fundamental needs unfulfilled” are retiring and then joining nonprofits “with challenging cases and a desperate need for quality legal help.” The story says advocates of legal profession public service are “planting seeds among senior firm lawyers that pro bono work has numerous rewards -- and that they can continue on that path after they retire by starting new careers with nonprofits.”

-- Angela Morris

State Bar of Texas executive committee OKs proposed rules for extra resources in complex cases; high court action pending

The executive committee of the State Bar of Texas this morning approved a set of proposed rules that will create a process for lawyers and judges to request more resources for cases with unusual, complex circumstances.

Executive committee members “voted to accept the report and to forward it to the Supreme Court,” says Dickie Hile (pictured), chairman of the Bar’s Task Force on Additional Resources for Complex Cases, the group that created the proposed rules and issued the report.

The Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee already discussed the rules on Oct. 21. Allowing that committee to address the proposed rules in advance of the Bar executive committee’s vote allowed the proposal to move through the approval process more quickly, explains Hile, partner in Dies & Hile in Austin.

The rules meet the requirements of a 2011 judicial-system overhaul bill that included a provision calling for “rules for determining whether civil cases pending in trial courts require additional resources for efficient judicial management.”

Hile says he made a presentation about the proposed rules for both committees, and each group’s members asked questions about the process courts would follow to ask for more resources and the sources of funding for the program. In the absence of a Legislative appropriation, the money would come from grants, donations or available funds from other budgets, he says.

Marisa Secco, rules attorney for the Supreme Court, says she will present the Supreme Court advisory committee’s suggested changes to the nine justices. The high court then can either approve the rules or suggest more revisions. Then the rules “have to be published for public comment by the end of the year. That’s our goal,” she says.

According to the law, the new rules must become effective May 1.

-- Angela Morris