July 2011

In the law business, you really do see it all, eventually.  The City of Dallas sought an order closing a church.  The "church" apparently practiced swinging.  A church known as the Playground was closed because its outreach consisted of hosting swingers’ parties.  See Dallas Morning News report.  The owner, Wyakie Glenn Hudson claims to…

I forget where I first heard this sage advice: do not mess with teachers in the classroom, judges in the courtroom or police in the streets.  Now I am a lawyer and know all too well, do not disrespect judges in the courtroom.  It only leads to trouble.  One Houston lawyer with a large law…

A soldier from San Antonio was killed in Iraq.  SGT Steven Talamantez was killed by indirect fire (mortar) in Maysan province of Iraq, a normally less violent province.  He was assigned to the 1st Cavalary Division out of Ft. Hood, Texas.  A graduate of McCollum High School in 1995, he worked in construction before joining…

Law school professor, David Yamada, wrote a blog post saying essentially that many employer side lawyers in employment cases are "attack dogs" (my paraphrase) because many employers are "attack dogs" themselves.  Such abusive employers tend to seek out abusive lawyers, he writes.  See David Yamada’s blog post.  Law school profs are in a position…

A federal jury in Houston has returned a verdict against a former County Judge of $3.2 million.  James Blackstock, a former Brazoria County Court-at-Law Judge and former head of the Juvenile Probation Board was sued for sexual harassment by three female employees of the Juvenile Probation department.  The jury found the judge had created a…

In my recent post, I talked about Jamie Leigh Jones losing her trial.  Ms. Jones became a hero to many when she successfully opposed and overturned the mandatory arbitration agreement she allegedly signed with KBR.  Since then, I now understand that Ms. Jones’ mother was called to testify and was cross-examined by the defense…

 Jamie Leigh Jones, who claimed she was raped in Iraq when she served as a private contractor lost her case.  See news report.  She had sued her former employer, KBR.  A Houston jury rejected her claims of fraud and rape.  Ms. Jones acquired some fame when she testified in Congress opposing mandatory arbitration in…

Arbitration is not popular with many people.  Part of the problem with arbitration is a lack of accountability.  There is no appeal from an award by an arbitrator.  There is often a lack of information about the arbitrator.  In a recent case, we see what goes on behind some arbitrations.  The Fifth Court of Appeals…