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lawyerVolume 47 – Number 6 May/June 2010

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Local Heroes

Time to Step Up for Equal Access to Justice

From Adversity to Service: Houston Attorneys Find Ways to Turn Grief into Good

2nd Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono Awards

25th John J. Eikenburg Law Week Fun Run Raises Nearly $65,000 for The Center

Law Week Celebrates 21st Century Challenges

The Power of VolunteersHBA Law Week Winning Poster

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Local Heroes

Time to Step Up for Equal Access to JusticeBy Glenn A. BAllArd, Jr.

From Adversity to Service:Houston Attorneys Find Ways to Turn Grief into Good

Bracewell & Giuliani Hosts Minute Mentoring Program By CArrin F. PAtmAn and CAtherine OzdOGAn

2nd Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono Awards

25th John J. Eikenburg Law Week Fun Run Raises Nearly $65,000 for The Center

Law Week Celebrates 21st Century Challenges

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may/June 2010 Volume 47 number 6

FeAtURes

The Houston Lawyer (ISSN 0439-660X) is published bimonthly by The Houston Bar Association, 1300 First City Tower, 1001 Fannin St., Houston, TX 77002-6715. Periodical postage paid at Houston, Texas. Subscription rate: $12 for members. $25.00 non-members. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Houston Lawyer, 1300 First City Tower, 1001 Fannin, Houston, TX 77002. Telephone: 713-759-1133. All editorial inquiries should be addressed to The Houston Lawyer at the above address. All advertising inquiries should be addressed to: Quantum/SUR, 12818 Willow Centre Dr., Ste. B, Houston, TX 77066, 281-955-2449, www.thehoustonlawyer.com, e-mail: [email protected] Views expressed in The Houston Lawyer are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the Houston Bar Association. Publishing of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of any product or service offered. For article REPRINTS, please contact Wright’s Reprints: 1-877-652-5295. ©The Houston Bar Association, 2010. All rights reserved.

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8President’s messageBy BArrett h. reAsOner

From the editorBy Ann d. zeiGler

media reviewsCommercial Fraud Manual reviewed by Ann zeiGler

The Lawyer’s Guide to Finding Success in Any Job Market reviewed by niCOle sAin

Fame 101: Powerful Personal Branding & Publicity For Amazing Successreviewed by n. Jill YAziJi

Black Water Rising reviewed by JudY l. neY

legal trendsU.S. Supreme Court Rejects Most “Constructive” Claims Under the PMPA By dAVid m. rOdi

On Credit Card Cons Beware By n. Jill YAziJi

A Profile in Professionalism:THE HONORABLE FRANk B. RyNdJudge, 309th district Court

Off the recordLawyer by day, Singer & Flautist on Weekends

Elaine McAnelly By Ann d. zeiGler

At the Bar

Placement service

litigation marketPlace

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Cover Photo: This Law Day poster was created by Aylin Gonzalez, a 7th grader at Woodland Acres Middle School. The poster won first place in the 4th-8th grade category in the HBA Law Day Poster Contest and first place in the 6th-8th grade category in the State Bar of Texas Law Day Poster Contest.

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This is the last column I have the honor to write in The Houston Lawyer and by the time you read this, I will have handed the reins over to my suc-

cessor, Mark Kelly. As a result, this is obviously a time of great change in my life. My partners understandably expect a renewed focus on my law practice. My family quite rightly expects fewer ab-sences from their activities. My partners and family have been extremely support-ive of my efforts this year, and for that I will forever be grateful. I understand and welcome the changes they expect after a wonderful, but exhausting, year.

As I look at the changes going on in the profession more generally, however, the feeling is more one of uncertainty and trepidation. Jobs for new lawyers are harder to come by than they have ever been. Moreover, the nature of the prac-tice is changing dramatically, and one can only speculate about how things will look twenty years from now. Beyond the prac-tice of law, at the national and global lev-els, we are undoubtedly living in what the old Chinese curse would refer to as “inter-esting times.” Disasters (both natural and man made), financial crises, and increas-ingly uncivil political dialogue from both ends of the spectrum leave you wonder-ing where the world is headed.

One thing I can say with certainty amid all of this is that the Houston Bar Asso-ciation (HBA) will continue to be there to help with many of the problems and chal-lenges facing our profession and our soci-

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By Barrett H. reasonerGibbs & Bruns LLP

ety. I am not naïve enough to believe that our bar is the cure all for any of these is-sues; no single organization can be. What I do know is that, for 140 years, this bar has been there, helping those less fortu-nate and upholding the standards of our profession. Great institutions have two critical things: a structure and culture that sustains them as different officers come and go and a strong volunteer base. We obviously have Kay Sim as our cor-nerstone, but through the work of Kay and others, we also have that critical structure and culture. More importantly, we have you. I have been amazed this year to see the many areas in which Houston law-yers give their time and money to help those less fortunate, often with little or no fanfare. I have also been delighted to see how many lawyers and judges make ef-forts large and small to make our profes-sion better.

This year, I am proud to say that the bar achieved a great deal. Thanks to the efforts of many, our partnership with Communities in Schools has achieved extraordinary momentum. We are on pace to place in the range of sixty students from at risk schools in Houston in legal internship positions this

summer. Similarly, our Consumer Task Force added a needed dimension in these times to our existing legal advice clinics. The group added specialists in bankrupt-cy, consumer law, real estate, and tax to our base of volunteers and partnered with non-profit credit counseling organiza-tions. The result was that approximately 120 people received advice and counsel on consumer-related issues at our clinics, and the plan going forward is to incorpo-rate these services at some of our clinics

on a regular basis. My hope is that both pro-grams will continue to enrich the bar’s already extraordinary array of services in the future.

I look back with great appreciation for the opportunity to have served as Presi-dent of the HBA. That service only increased my respect for the in-stitution and its dedi-cated volunteers. We have an organization to be very proud of, and one that is more needed than ever.

Mark Kelly will be an outstanding leader as we move forward in these challenging times. The HBA’s good works have been going on for 140 years and, with your help, the organization is well positioned to continue them many years into the future.

The More Things Change...

“One thing I can say

with certainty amid

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Houston Bar Association

will continue to be

there to help with many

of the problems and

challenges facing

our profession and

our society.”


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thehoustonlawyer.com may/June 2010 7

You may have noticed that another per-fectly good bar year is wrapping up. This is the moment when hard-working HBA members briefly come up for air and look around. So, what have we actually ac-complished by all this running around—

practice section CLE lunches, service committee plan-ning meetings and activities, fund raising for another Habitat home, rolling up our sleeves for the blood drive. Is it just me, or are the rest of you running into yourselves in the hallways, too? Tell yourself that be-ing active in the HBA is good training (so that in your next life you’ll be a train—or not).

Really, this organized form of giving back to our community through bar service is more impor-tant than we individually would think. Each activ-ity by each of us may not seem important or signifi-cant, viewed in isolation. But we aren’t isolated. We are members of a community. I would like to take this final opportunity as editor of The Houston Lawyer to look back a little (okay, a lot) further than the traditional editorial farewell.

First off, my thanks to Carolyn Aiman, guest edi-tor of this special volunteerism issue. Her hard work makes my point for me. In this year, I have not only worked with many wonderful editorial board members and authors, I have had moments to think about this group, this magazine, and this organization as a living organism. Last spring I received the traditional Red Pen of Office from my dear friend and mentor, my predeces-sor Fred Simpson. As I hand the Pen on to John Gray, I pass on to him Fred’s advice about this position: this isn’t a leadership position, it’s a cat-herding experience.

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By ann D. ZeiGLerthird Coast Consultants

AssOCiAteeditOrs

Mark A. CorreroAttorney at Law

Tamara Stiner Toomer Attorney at Law

Building on Editorial Boards Past

Don Rogers Harris County District Attorney’s Office

John S. Gray Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP

Robert W. Painter The Painter Law Firm

I have had plenty of opportunities to tell Fred under my breath how right he was. We don’t lead people who are already leaders. We point out the goal, and perhaps make a few observations about suggested paths before our troops stop listening and start doing. Go for it!

As I was walking around the HBA’s offices the other evening during my Legaline shift, I had another oppor-tunity to look at the HBA membership’s group photos

from years past, when the group was small enough for everyone to fit in the same photo. I see the styles in hair, beards, and col-lars come and go. But I see the same determination to get done what needs to be done, and to do it in the best possible way.

You know the expres-sion about accomplishing new goals by standing on the shoulders of giants. If you are over six feet tall, you have no idea what that

means to those of us who are under five feet tall. But it also means that I didn’t get here all by myself. The maga-zine you are holding is shiny, up-to-the-minute, and full of great ideas about improving us as practitioners and as humans. It is the product of a year’s worth of work by my departing board. It is also the product of many years of work by many other dedicated editorial boards.

So, I leave you with my thanks for the opportuni-ty to serve the Houston legal community as editor of The Houston Lawyer. And I salute all my predecessors, some of whom you know, some of whom you remem-ber, some of whom you may have heard of, some of whom have vanished into the back stacks of the Great Law Library. They have all contributed greatly to what this magazine and this organization have become, and I honor all of them.

My thanks to them and to you. It’s been fun.

the 2009-2010 editorial Board of the houston lawyer: first row, from left, Judy l. ney, hannah sibiski, Al harrison, editor in Chief Ann zeigler, Jill Yaziji and Keri Brown. Back row, from left, mark trachtenberg, Associate editor John Gray, Angela dixon, Carolyn Benton Aiman, Associate editor tamara stiner toomer, Associate editor don rogers. not pictured: Associate editor mark Correro, Associate editor robert Painter, shawn Bates, Patrice Childress, nelson s. ebaugh, don d. Ford iii, dori Kornfeld Goldman, misty hataway-Coné, Catherine le, Farrah martinez, robert Keith morris iii, linhuyen t. Pham, nicole sain, mark schuck, William r. stukenberg.


Building on Editorial Boards Past BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DIRECTORS (2008-2010) Benny Agosto, Jr. Todd M. Frankfort Laura Gibson Warren W. Harris.

DIRECTORS (2009-2011) Alistair B. Dawson Hon. David O. Fraga Jennifer A. Hasley Daniella D. Landers

EDITORIAl STAFFeditor in Chief

Ann D. Zeigler

Associate editors Mark A. Correro John S. Gray Robert W. Painter Don W. Rogers Tamara D. Stiner

editorial Board Carolyn Benton Aiman Shawn M. Bates Keri D. Brown Patrice B. Childress Angela L. Dixon Nelson S. Ebaugh Don D. Ford III Dori Kornfeld Goldman Al Harrison Misty Hataway-Coné Catherine Anh Thi Le Farrah Martinez Robert K. Morris III Judy L. Ney Linhuyen T. Pham Nicole Sain Mark Schuck Hannah Sibiski Fred A. Simpson William R. Stukenberg Mark R. Trachtenberg Nejd Jill Yaziji

managing editorTara Shockley

HBA OFFICE STAFF

ADvERTISINg SAlESDESIgN & PRODuCTION

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PublisherLeonel E. Mejía

Production managerMarta M. Mejía

AdvertisingMary Chavoustie

executive directorKay Sim

Administrative AssistantAshley G. Steininger

Administrative AssistantKaren D. Ramsey

director of educationLucy Fisher

Community education CoordinatorMelissa Lang

receptionist/resource secretaryLucia Valdez

Continuing legal educationCoordinatorKelly Farrell

membership and technology services director Ronald Riojas

membership AssistantBilly Salinas

Communications directorTara Shockley

Communications Assistant/Web designerBrooke Eshleman

PresidentBarrett H. Reasoner

President-electT. Mark Kelly

First Vice PresidentDavid A. Chaumette

second Vice PresidentBrent A. Benoit

secretary M. Carter Crow

treasurer Denise Scofield Past PresidentTravis J. Sales

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Local heroes

denise BradleyCultivating Values, self-esteem through special Olympics and Girl scouts

By don rogers

Denise Bradley is an assistant district attorney with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. She start-

ed working at the DA’s office as an intern while attending South Texas College of Law, and became a prosecutor in 1987 after obtaining her law degree. Since becoming a prosecutor, she has been as-signed to various trial-level divisions, including the Major Offenders Division and the Gangs and Narcotics Division, and has tried over 100 felony cases, in-cluding 12 death penalty cases, numer-ous serial offender cases, and many other high profile cases. She has served as a District Court Chief Prosecutor, Chief of the Misdemeanor Division, Chief of Fel-ony Division C, and was recently chosen to be the first Chief of the newly-formed Capital Trial Division.

On a professional level, Denise volun-teers on a weekly basis to work in the Harris County STAR Court program, short for “Success Through Addiction Recovery,” which works closely with drug addicts who are on community su-pervision for non-violent felonies. It pro-vides them with drug treatment, transi-tional housing, and career counseling in an effort to keep them from returning to jail.

While attending college, Denise be-

Each year, Houston Bar Association members

donate over 45,000 volunteer hours to HBA programs

alone. They also volunteer for countless other programs

and community services. With the demands of billable

hours, trials and research at the office, along with family

responsibilities at home, how and why do they do it? The

answers are as diverse as the HBA membership itself.

The HBA members profiled here are representative of the

committed, caring volunteers who are part of the HBA

culture of commitment. They improve the profession,

and they improve our communities.

lOCAl herOes

designed to cultivate values, social con-science, and self-esteem in young girls. She also currently serves as Cookie Man-ager for 18 Girl Scout troops within the Tall Pines Service Unit.

As to her volunteer activities with Girl Scouts, Denise says, “I was lucky enough to participate in scouting as a child and am happy that I have the opportunity to participate with my daughters. My fifth grade troop represents everything that Girl Scouts is about. The girls are resourceful and responsible. I have had the opportunity to see these girls devel-op into leaders and volunteers. I look at the girls in my troop and can’t wait to see the amazing things they will accom-plish as strong and self-assured young women.”

Don Rogers is an assistant district attor-ney with the Harris County District Attor-ney’s Office and a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

Francis Chin and sameera mahendruBashing trash and Beautifying houston, One Park at a time

By hannah sibiski

T his year marked the twelfth annual Trash Bash, a park delittering and improvement project organized

and run by Lawyers Against Waste, an HBA committee, in partnership with the City of Houston. Trash Bash commemo-

came involved with Special Olympics, a charitable organization sponsoring year-round sports training and competition for children and adults challenged with intellectual disabilities, with the goal of improving the quality of their lives. After becoming a Houston Bar Associa-tion member several years ago, she vol-unteered to serve on and became active with the HBA Special Olympics Com-mittee, which coordinates and recruits volunteers to support many of the Texas Special Olympics’ 22 sports activities. She now spends a substantial amount of her time serving as a volunteer coordina-tor for the committee and, in that capac-ity, serves as a volunteer for the Special Olympics sports events with which the committee is involved, as well as recruit-ing and overseeing other volunteers from the Houston area to work as escorts, tim-ers, scorekeepers, and cheerleaders at those events.

Concerning her volunteer work with Special Olympics, Denise said, “I am con-stantly amazed by the things that Special Olympics athletes overcome to be suc-cessful competitors. I have the utmost respect for them, and the hard work and dedication they give to their respective sports. I am proud that the majority of volunteers I have recruited work at the DA’s office, and I honestly believe that, in light of the tragic situations we en-counter every day as prosecutors, doing something as rewarding as Special Olym-pics benefits the volunteers as much as it does the athletes.”

Denise, who is married to Robert Brad-ley, a Houston police officer, and has two daughters, also spends a considerable amount of her time as a volunteer with Girl Scouts of America. She currently serves as Troop Leader of the San Jacinto Council’s Troop 18041, which includes her daughter Marron and 27 other fifth graders attending Duchesne Academy. Her scout troop participates in assorted activities, such as camping, canoeing, sailing, and service projects, which are

rates Earth Day and Law Day by offering Houston area attorneys and their fami-lies an opportunity to come help make Houston greener.

Trash Bash Co-Chairs, Sameera Kapa-si Mahendru from the City of Houston and Francis Chin from Waste Manage-ment, had fun cleaning and clearing and enjoyed seeing the large turnout of col-leagues and their families come to help make Houston a better place. Sameera is a long-time volunteer on the committee; Francis is new to the Lawyers Against Waste Committee, but has been active on other HBA committees. Both feel the Trash Bash is a project close to their in-terests and their hearts.

This year was a record-breaker in both bashing and beautification. Over 180 volunteers arrived at Mason Park at eight o’clock Saturday morning, May 8, 2010. For the next four hours, those volunteers cleared trash and brush from this 104-acre park located near the confluence of Brays Bayou and Buffalo Bayou. While about 90 volunteers picked up litter, the other half cleared a large section of over-grown vegetation, shrubs, and trees.

Thanks to the hard work of Sameera, Francis and other committee members, there were 45 door prizes awarded to lucky volunteers, ranging from a cook-ing lesson with Monica Pope to a happy hour at the Social.

The volunteers were rewarded by more than snacks and prizes. They helped im-prove and protect one of Houston’s most important green spaces. Mason Park of-fers Houstonians recreation, relaxation, conservation, and flood protection. In addition to tennis courts, an ADA-com-pliant playground, a bike trial, a swim-ming pool, and a community center, the park also hosts three and a half acres of wetland environment that has been de-veloped to clean pollutants from storm water before the water enters the bayou, to create an environment for animal and plant life, and to help prevent flooding and protect Houston homes and busi-


nesses. With the help of Sameera, Francis and

the Lawyers Against Waste Trash Bash volunteers, Mason Park continues to serve Houstonians.

Hannah Sibiski is a senior associate at Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. and a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

Justice Kem thompson Frostthe Gift of Giving unconditionally

By Jill Yaziji

F or a justice with impeccable creden-tials, top-notch firm background, and ten-year-plus tenure on the

14th Court of Appeals, Justice Kem Frost sounds the opposite of a legal wonk when talking about the impact of volunteer work on her life. Volunteer work has ren-dered “[me] transformed, tenderized … by forming relationships with those who have been called ‘the least of these,’” she said. When she is not delivering opin-ions for the 14th Court of Appeals (she authored 158 civil and criminal opinions during the 2008-2009 court term, mak-ing her the most prolific justice on that Court), being a wife of an equally-com-mitted professional, and a mother of four school-aged sons, she is volunteering her time in and around the City of Houston.

Justice Frost manages to find time to serve on the board of the local American Inns of Court, co-chair the Law Week Committee of the HBA, advise school boards and her church, and give public talks to school kids—to the tune of more than 1,000 young students this year—to mention only a few of her volunteer

activities. As co-chair of the Law Week Committee this year, she organized the first team poster competition for special needs students, giving them the oppor-tunity to compete in the Poster Contest in a new category. Along with co-chair Warren Harris, she also helped organize a poster workshop for Hispanic youth in Houston’s East End, in conjunction with the Hispanic Bar Association and Mexi-can-American Bar Association of Hous-ton. She and other judges and attorneys spent three hours talking to students, who ranged from kindergarten through eighth grade, about Law Day and helping them create entries to the poster contest, along with providing all the materials.

Where do the time and energy come from, given all of her personal and pro-fessional duties? Quite simply, from the belief that volunteerism is not only an ex-tension of her professional background, but also a projection of her passion and obligation to give back. Volunteer work is not about personal empowerment or financial gain, but personal growth is cer-tainly a powerful byproduct of it: “Follow your heart in choosing a volunteer activ-ity,” she said, because that will give you the opportunity to excel.”

Such is her zest for life and for giving to others that she believes volunteering is the fruit of her faith, an expression of something bigger than herself, grown out of a commitment to help a wide sector of our society that is in need for help. Justice Frost readily admits that juggling person-al, professional, and volunteer commit-ments is a challenge. Her advice to those who want to volunteer is to choose care-fully, stick to regularly scheduled times, and commit one season at a time.

A quick view of the hundreds of thank-you cards she received from school kids she talked to about our laws and justice system is testimony that her vol-unteer spirit touched them at a profound level.

N. Jill Yaziji is the principal of The Yaziji Law Firm and a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

mitch reidlegalline: A life line for those with legal Questions

By nicole sain

Mitch Reid is an attorney at Andrews Kurth LLP, doing commercial liti-gation, including life, health and

disability insurance litigation, and busi-ness torts. Despite the demands of his busy practice, Mitch finds time to volun-teer with both LegalLine and the Special Olympics. As a lawyer at a firm that is committed to volunteering and service, Mitch started out as an HBA LegalLine volunteer, manning the phones frequent-ly. His interest in and commitment to Le-galLine led Mitch to seek an appointment as a co-chair for the HBA LegalLine Com-mittee, a position in which he has served for the past five years. He also serves as Andrews Kurth’s firm representative for the program. As an HBA co-chair and firm representative, Mitch works to en-sure that there will be enough volunteers to staff the phone lines on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Mitch looks to his colleagues, lawyers at other firms, and attorneys at legal departments of corporations to serve the community by answering the LegalLine calls. He also offers them the chance to donate their time to the Special Olympics by staffing the fall and spring events on behalf of the HBA Special Olympics Committee.

When working the LegalLine phones, Mitch and the other volunteers spend time answering simple questions for peo-ple that cannot afford to pay an attorney for consultation, or directing the caller to the appropriate resources when their question is one that cannot be answered simply. The questions are wide in range,


including family law, landlord tenant and property issues, basic consumer com-plaints and probate issues. Any legal situ-ation that an individual might be faced with is fair game.

Mitch’s volunteer work comes with a great perspective; he feels lucky to be where he is in life and realizes that not everyone is as fortunate as he is, and thus likes to give back. This is especially true for LegalLine, where the help being given must be supplied by a licensed at-torney since not everyone is qualified to serve in this capacity. Mitch enjoys being able to use his education and knowledge to help the Houston community and in-spires other attorneys to put their talent to similar use. “Nothing feels better than helping someone when they are in need – people should feel fortunate to have made it through law school and be a licensed at-torney. To have that ability to help some-one in a specific area is a great feeling, and a great service to the community.”

Nicole Sain is a partner at OSTROM/Sain, LLP, a boutique focusing on probate litiga-tion and estate planning. She is a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

Belinda smithCombining a Passion for Pets in her Personal and Professional lives

By don rogers

B elinda Smith, an assistant district attorney with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, has a

life-long passion for animal welfare. Af-ter obtaining degrees in psychology and geology from the University of Houston, she was awarded the Dean’s Diversity

Scholarship and obtained her law de-gree from South Texas College of Law in 1996. Belinda became a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in 1997, and for several years was assigned to the Environmental Crimes Division, where she prosecuted a num-ber of environmental criminal cases and cases arising from cruel treatment of animals.

In 2009, Harris County District At-torney Pat Lykos created a new Animal

Cruelty Section in the Special Pros-ecutions Bureau, and chose Belinda to be that sections’ first chief prosecu-tor, a position she currently holds. In her capacity as chief of that section, Belinda is responsible for the prosecu-tion of all animal cruelty cases in Harris County, and supervision of all the DA’s office personnel assigned to the sec-tion. She also works closely with law enforcement agencies and other orga-nizations, including Crime Stoppers,

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the Houston Humane Society, the Hous-ton SPCA, Citizens for Animal Protec-tion (CAP), the City of Houston’s Bu-reau of Animal Regulation and Control (BARC), and the Harris County animal shelter (PHES), to deter animal cruelty and prosecute those responsible for it.

Belinda is a frequent speaker on the subject of animal abuse and cruelty at programs, seminars, or classes spon-sored by various institutions, includ-ing the Texas A & M University College of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Texas Law School, the University of Houston Law Center, South Texas Col-lege of Law, and assorted elementary schools, as well as at conferences or seminars sponsored by law enforcement agencies and other groups concerned with problems associated with animal welfare and abuse. She has appeared on several television episodes about animal cruelty broadcast on Animal Planet.

Belinda volunteers some of her per-sonal time and generously contributes some of her money each year to the

Houston Humane Society, a non-profit animal shelter dedicated to eliminating cruelty, abuse, and the overpopulation of animals. She and District Attorney Pat Lykos were honorees at the Humane Society’s 2009 annual gala, “The Fur Ball,” for their work in the area of ani-mal cruelty and abuse.

In addition, Belinda volunteered for and is currently chair of the HBA Ani-mal Law Section, which was created in 2007 after she and two other HBA members suggested its formation to ad-dress legal issues in the emerging field of animal law. The Animal Law Section educates the legal community about is-sues affecting animals and their welfare through continuing legal education pre-sentations, networking opportunities, and distribution of materials concern-ing laws, regulations, and court deci-sions dealing with animals. Past CLE programs sponsored by the section have included topics such as equine law, ani-mal cruelty prosecution, and animals in entertainment.

The Animal Law Section hosts an an-nual holiday party at which someone who has made a significant contribu-tion to the animal welfare community is honored. It also sponsors or participates in activities such as (1) “Paw and Order SDU,” short for Special Dog Unit, which provides therapy dogs to visit with adults and children who are victims of domestic violence at the offices of the district attorney’s Family Criminal Law Division and at the Children’s Assess-ment Center; and (2) the Annual Crime Stoppers Anti-Dog Fighting Campaign, which raises awareness and educates the public on certain aspects of animal cruelty.

Belinda says she feels fortunate to be chief of the DA’s Animal Cruelty Section and able to volunteer her time as chair of the HBA Animal Law Section, saying, “Now, with the support of District At-torney Pat Lykos, I have my dream job and I am able to promote animal welfare issues through my involvement in the HBA Animal Law Section. Volunteer-ing with the HBA Animal Law Section is a natural extension of my duties with the DA’s office. As a prosecutor, I have a unique opportunity to promote animal welfare issues through the Animal Law Section. Sometimes my roles as Chief of the DA’s Animal Cruelty Section and Chair of the HBA Animal Law Section overlap, but the end result is twice as good because both animals and ulti-mately our community benefit from the programs.”

Belinda, who is married and has two children, is also a member of and currently serves as Chair of the HBA Environmental Law Section, which of-fers monthly CLE presentations on subjects relevant to environmental laws and regulation, conservation, and law enforcement.

Don Rogers is an assistant district attorney with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

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Connie simmons taylorhelping Women Become dressed for success

By Keri d. Brown

“It’s an awesome feeling to know

that I’ve helped change someone’s life.”

D onating a business suit may be a routine task for many, seen as an easy way to clear out the closet

to make room for a new wardrobe. But Connie Simmons Taylor knows that a donated suit often means the difference between having a job (and food to put on the table) or continuing to struggle to get by.

As a partner at Baker Botts L.L.P., Con-nie spends her days as a real estate lawyer. As a board member and active volunteer for Dress for Success Houston, Connie spends her free time changing lives.

Dress for Success began in New York in 1996, and the Hous-ton affiliate took root in 1998. Dress for Success now has more than 80 affili-ates worldwide, all dedicated to improv-ing women’s lives by providing them with professional cloth-ing, employment programs, and con-tinuing support.

Connie’s involvement in Dress for Suc-cess began in 2002, when she donated a couple of suits to the annual Dress for Success “Send One Suit” drive at Baker Botts. The volunteer heading up the pro-

gram at the firm told Connie that the president and founder of Dress for Suc-cess Houston, Nancy Levicki, was look-ing for an attorney to join their board.

After visiting the lo-cal Dress for Success store and seeing the effect that a suit can have on a woman who needs to go on a job interview but literally has nothing appropriate to wear, Connie was hooked.

Connie first served on the board of Dress for Success Houston from 2002 through 2008, spending two of those years as board chair. After six

years on the board, she moved on to the organization’s advisory board for a year in 2009.

This year, she was reappointed to the board and serves on the Projects Com-

“Connie became involved

in Dress for Success

because she wanted to

help the community and had

the ability to give back.

She remembered being

a law student and how

important it was to have

the perfect suit for the

many job interviews.”

Connie simmons taylor, left.


mittee, where her real estate expertise comes in handy as she considers alterna-tives for Dress for Success Houston’s fu-ture growth. She also spearheads the an-nual Send One Suit drive at Baker Botts.

Connie became involved in Dress for Success because she wanted to help the community and had the ability to give back. She remembered being a law stu-dent and how important it was to have the perfect suit for the many job inter-views. She felt strongly about advocating for Dress for Success, and her role was a good fit for Baker Botts, with more than 100 women lawyers and numerous other female professionals who needed to do something with those gently-used suits that were no longer needed.

As Connie says, serving Dress for Suc-cess shows her that “what we do makes a difference. In talking to the Dress for Success clients, I learn how much of a difference having a suit makes. Women will say to me, ‘this organization literally saved my life.’ That’s what matters.”

Connie volunteers because she be-

lieves that everyone has something they can give back to their community. “If you don’t volunteer, you cheat yourself as well as the community,” Connie says. “Everyone should experience volunteer-ing at least once, if only for the selfish reason that you feel good for doing it.”

In addition to her work for Dress for Success, Connie serves on the advisory board for KIPP Houston, a charter school that develops successful academic skills, intellectual habits, and character quali-ties in underserved students, and she also serves with the Row House Commu-nity Development Corporation (a sister organization to Project Row Houses), an organization that assists low- and mod-erate-income Houstonians in obtaining housing, develops green space, and pre-serves historic sites.

For more information on Dress for Success Houston’s work, visit www. dressforsuccess.org/houston

Keri Brown is an attorney in the Private Clients Services section of Baker Botts

L.L.P. and a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

mark Wegelaw Week Fun run a Year-round Commitment

By Ann d. zeigler

D id you notice the thousand or so runners making their early-morn-ing way from downtown’s Sam

Houston Park over to South Shepherd and back on a Saturday morning in late March? That was the 25th Annual John J. Eikenburg Law Week Fun Run, one of the longest tenured running events in Houston, which this year raised nearly $65,000 for The Center, which makes in-dependent lives possible for people with developmental disabilities. Mark Wege, a partner in King & Spalding’s bankruptcy section, has been an active HBA volun-teer for many years. His big, continuing commitment is to the Fun Run, which he chaired in 2006.

As with other large-scale activities, it isn’t a one-day commitment for Mark and the other Fun Run committee members. The race occurs in late March (the date is set as part of the schedule for HARRA, the Houston area runner’s organization which includes many runners as part of its competitive annual program). But the committee works year-round. In late September the committee begins fund-raising in earnest, especially looking for the sponsors whose names and logos will go on the race shirts and brochures. Then in December the committee begins solic-iting door prizes, as well as arranging for the T-shirt design and printing and

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mark Wege, third from left.


then in January the organization of the event itself, including numerous volun-teer efforts. Mark gives special thanks to Constable Abercia and the Harris County constables who keep the racers safe and block off traffic during the event, to the HARRA organization which sanctions the race and includes many competitive runners, and to the HBA office, which arranges for many of the critical compo-nents of the Fun Run including the sup-port of the City of Houston.

The last two days before the race are full-time work for much of the race-day crew, getting registration check-in mate-rials ready, issuing the race packets with the electronic strips that runners place on their shoes to monitor their race times.

On race day the physical set-up crew begins their day at 5:00 a.m., with the materials from a warehouse on the ship channel, moving the start and finish line structures and other support materials to Sam Houston Park and the race course. Then the numerous race volunteers help the thousand runners, including

not only HBA members but competi-tive runners as well as many residents of The Center who participate in the fam-ily walk which fol-lows the runners on the course. By 11:00 they’re ready to take it all back down and haul it back to the HARRA warehouse. About a month lat-er, the accounting is complete and the committee finds out the amount raised for The Center. At the HBA’s annual spring meeting in May, the fund-raising results are announced and the HBA president presents the check to The Center. In June, the new committee organizes itself for the new bar year, and away Mark goes again.

Mark’s other HBA volunteer activities include participating in several Habitat home “builds” and the HBA Consumer

Task Force. He is also a past chair of the HBA Bankruptcy Section, and infor-mally assists the mis-sion of the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program in develop-ing mentoring and training opportuni-ties for lawyers vol-unteering to provide some assistance to consumer debtors in bankruptcy.

Busy? You bet. Loving it? No

doubt.

Ann D. Zeigler is a senior consultant with Third Coast Con-sultants. She is the editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer.

“Mark gives special thanks

to Constable Abercia and

the Harris County constables

who keep the racers safe

and block off traffic during

the event, to the HARRA

organization which sanctions

the race and includes many

competitive runners, and to the

HBA office, which arranges

for many of the critical

components of the Fun Run...”

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EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE

Time To Step Up For

It’s almost time to

step up again for

Equal Access to

Justice here in

Harris County.

By working together, we have achieved phenomenal success by doubling the number of pro bono cases handled here in the last five years and by winning national awards in the process. We can now build on this suc-cess.

As some may recall, I first announced my Equal Access to Justice Program on June 12, 2006 during my year as HBA president. The program was designed to increase the number of cases handled by the Houston Volunteer Lawyers program by increasing the number of cases that Houston law firms would take depend-ing upon their size. We had categories for Solo’s (1-4 attorneys taking 1 case each), Boutiques (5-14 attorneys taking 3 cases each), Small Firms (15-34 attorneys tak-ing 6 cases each), Midsize Firms (35-74 attorneys taking 12 cases each), Interme-diate Firms (75-125 attorneys taking 25 cases each) and Large Firms (125 plus attorneys taking 50 cases each). We also established categories for corporations. Forty-five law firms, thirty-five solos and eleven corporations answered the call to become Equal Access to Justice Cham-pions. All of the six largest firms signed on, and I remember Jack Balagia at Exxon Mobil and Cathy Lamboley at Shell lead-ing the way on the corporate side.

Prior to initiation of the Equal Access to Justice Program, the HVLP had never topped 1,000 cases handled in a year, but we topped that plateau in the first fiscal year of the program. The pro bono cases handled by HVLP in Harris County have

By Glenn A. BAllArd, Jr.

also increased every year since the pro-gram’s first year in 2006, as the following chart reflects:

2005 991 cases handled

2006 1,042 cases handled



2009 2,280 cases handled1

In 2010, the number of cases handled is

projected to top 2,400. During the course of the Equal Access to Justice Program, the pro bono cli-ents served have increased from 5,840 in 2005 to 13,280 in 2009. The volunteer hours have also increased from 19,241 in 2005 to 26,586 in 2009. Again, these are extraordinary in-creases in these important num-bers, and they are the result, at least in part, of the increased p a r t i c ip a t ion generated by the Equal Access to Justice Program. This is due to the hard work and extra effort of our Equal Access to Justice Champions. Some lawyers and law firms have also become Grand Cham-pions by handling twice the number of cases that they committed to take. For example, Fulbright & Jaworski has been a Grand Champion several times.

The Houston Bar Association has also been recognized on a national level for the Equal Access to Justice program by winning the Harrison Tweed Award, giv-en by the American Bar Association each year for the best pro bono program in the

country. The HBA had never won it be-fore. It was great to receive this kind of recognition for a pro bono program here in Houston.

This June 2010, the Equal Access to Jus-tice Program will begin its fifth year. All of our Equal Access to Justice Champions committed to a five-year term. I hope that everyone will step up again in 2010 and sign up for another five years. I would

also like to see p a r t i c ip a t ion in the program grow and ex-pand so that we can continue the upward trend in cases handled, hours spent and pro bono clients served by the HVLP.

Many thanks to all of those who have helped make the dream of Equal Ac-cess to Justice a reality here in Harris County. As lawyers, the most precious thing we can give is our time, and I greatly ap-preciate the time

that so many have devoted to our Equal Access to Justice effort. Although we fre-quently advertise the wonderful contri-butions made by our Equal Access to Jus-tice Champions, a list of those champions is again published on page 29 of this issue.

Glenn A. Ballard, Jr is head of the trial section at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP. He served as president of the Houston Bar Association in 2006-2007.

1. The statistics in this article were graciously provided by the director of HVLP, David Mandell.

EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE

Glenn Ballard, right, and 2008-2009 hBA president, travis sales, accepting the 2008 harrison tweed Award from texas supreme Court Justice deborah G. hankinson, chair of the ABA standing Committee on legal Aid and indigent defense.

Volunteer attorneys counsel with a client seeking assistance through the houston Volunteer lawyers Program, which has been able to more than double the cases it handles through the equal Access initiative.


From Adversity

to service

Houston Attorneys

Find Ways to Turn

Grief into Good

successfully thinking Pink

By Cisselon nichols hurd

On October 6, over 500 women will gather at River Oaks Country Club for the 7th Annual Think Pink!

Zeta Tau Alpha Breast Cancer Luncheon. It may come as a surprise to some that this event was initially organized by T. Lynne Eckels, a partner at Shook Hardy & Bacon with an active litigation prac-tice. The first luncheon was held in Oc-tober 2004 with a small group of women in the Tea Room of the Junior League. The luncheon has since blossomed into a sold-out event in the Ballroom of the River Oaks Country Club that has donat-ed more than $140,000 for Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) research.

What motivated a successful trial law-yer with a busy schedule to create such an event? Lynne sums it up in just two words, her “personal connection,” and adds that she loves the practice of law, but her practice really didn’t give her the op-portunity to give back to the community.

This changed in 2003 when a very close friend and sorority sister, Jenee Bobbora, was diagnosed with IBC, an ag-gressive and deadly form of breast cancer that is fast growing and often mistaken for a rash or an infection. At that time, Lynne had never even heard of this form of cancer, which typically strikes young women in their 20s and 30s and fre-quently does not show up on mammo-grams. Lynne and other members of Zeta Tau Alpha wanted desperately to help

From Adversity

to service

their friend Jenee, who had told them that she could not find much informa-tion about IBC, even on the internet.

Upon learning of the dearth of infor-mation regarding IBC, they reached out to M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, which is home to the largest clinic in the world dedicated to the disease. However, in 2003 the clinic was still in need of an outside funding source. Through Lynne’s efforts, Zeta Tau Alpha has become a ma-jor funding source for the IBC Clinic. She co-chaired the luncheon in 2004 and served as chair in 2005 and 2006. By 2005, the lun-cheon had doubled in size, and with its success Zeta Tau Alpha founded the Think Pink! Founda-tion, which donated $50,000 for the Jenee Bobbora Examina-tion Room at the IBC Clinic.

In January 2007, Lynne’s personal connection with IBC became even stron-ger when her sister-in-law, Katherine Howard, was diagnosed with the disease. Three months’ prior to Katherine’s diag-nosis, she had received a negative mam-mogram and only became aware of her cancer because her chest became red and swollen. Although Katherine lost her battle with the disease in 2008, Lynne is very grateful for the care that Katherine received at M. D. Anderson and cannot say enough about the wonderful staff.

Lynne has received tremendous sup-port from her law firm, and she offers the following advice for lawyers who want to get their employer’s support for similar volunteer projects. First, have a goal in mind and create a proposal that you are comfortable presenting to the firm. She says Shook Hardy & Bacon has been very generous to the Think Pink! Foundation with its time, talent and money. This is

likely a direct result of Lynne having a personal connection to IBC and being able to convey how devastating the dis-ease can be. Second, take advantage of your employer’s desire to give back to the community. Like many firms, Shook Hardy & Bacon encourages its attorneys to get involved in the community, so her proposal was an easy sell. Still, Lynne says has been overwhelmed by the strong support she has received from the firm.

Having achieved its initial fund-rais-ing goal for the ex-amination room, The Think Pink! Foun-dation is in the midst of another campaign that began in 2009. The campaign’s goal is to establish an en-dowed IBC Fellow-ship for a physician to devote full-time to research for a cure and research for treatment options for the disease. The IBC Fellowship will en-courage outstanding

young men and women to focus on all aspects of IBC, so Lynne is very excited about these efforts.

She is also excited about the tremen-dous support that the Foundation con-tinues to receive from members of the community and businesses. Survivors who attend the luncheon will receive a beautiful “Think Pink! Scarf” de-signed by Chloe Dao (winner of “Proj-ect Runway”). This is the third year that survivors will be honored with the scarf and that is one of the things that makes this event so special. For more information about the 2010 Think Pink! Luncheon, visit their website, www. ZTAHouston.org.

Cisselon Nichols Hurd is senior litigation counsel at Shell Oil Company in the Liti-gation Group where she handles environ-mental litigation for the Downstream busi-

Houston Attorneys

Find Ways to Turn

Grief into Good

“Lynne has received

tremendous support from

her law firm, and she offers

the following advice for

lawyers who want to get

their employer’s support for

similar volunteer projects.

First, have a goal in mind

and create a proposal

that you are comfortable

presenting to the firm.”

Cisselon nichols hurd, left, and lynne eckels


nesses. Cisselon has been an avid supporter of the Annual Think Pink! Zeta Tau Alpha Breast Cancer Luncheon since losing one of her closest friends, Drenaye L. Houston, to breast cancer four years ago.

turning tragedy into Force for Good

By Pauline e. higgins

I t was a summer night in June 1993 that I will never forget. We lost our twelve-year old son, Nicholas Alexander Hig-

gins. And what’s so special about that? Our family turned our tragedy, the death of our son, into a force for good. When Nicholas died from cardiomyopathy, we grieved endlessly. However, we decided that we could use our experiences from his death to effectively, and indelibly, benefit other children and their families who are experiencing heart disease. Yes, children do die from heart disease, too.

On June 27, 1993, at 3:15 a.m., at home alone, I received a phone call in-forming me that Nicholas had died in his sleep while on summer vacation visiting my family in Toronto, Canada. The cause of Nicholas’ death was cardiomyopathy, a serious disease in which the heart mus-cle becomes inflamed and does not work as well as it should. There may be mul-tiple causes, including viral infections. Cardiomyopathy is often a silent killer. Nicholas was asymptomatic. Essentially, with this heart condition, the heart liter-ally beats itself to death. The condition usually is not detected until it becomes fatal. Cardiomyopathy has taken the life

of many athletes, such as Hank Gathers and Reginald Lewis of the Boston Celt-ics. For some unknown reason athletes, and minority athletes in particular, are prone to this disorder.

Since golf was a sport that Nicholas loved and played by participating in the city’s Lone Star Junior Golf Program at Hermann Park, our family and friends created the Nicholas Alexander Higgins Memorial Golf Tournament, benefiting Texas Children’s Hospital (“TCH”) Pe-diatric Cardiology. Each year our goal is to raise $100,000. Tournament proceeds primarily support TCH’s pediatric cardi-ology and charity care for Heart Center patients, research at Texas Children’s Hospital, and a summer fellowship pro-gram for minority pre-medical students from the Houston area. We, through our loss, are helping to make a difference in the lives of young people and families who seek vital and life-saving care at Texas Children’s Hospital. Additionally, our proceeds have benefited Covenant House, providing healthcare for home-

the nicholas Alexander higgins memorial Golf tournament funds education for future cardiologists and research on pediatric heart disease.


less children, and St. James School in Third Ward.

We could have simply made a personal donation, but we desired an active par-ticipation in educating the public and an ongoing contribution to encourage minority students to pursue cardiology, since minority representation in cardiol-ogy is very low. The cardiology intern-ships, for which we provide the stipend, are given to inner city and minority pre-med students to perform research in car-diology toward, hopefully, careers in car-diology medicine. We raise the funds; we have not interfered in the process, and we leave the administration of proceeds and program to TCH.

Dr. Antonio R. Mott, former associ-ate in pediatric cardiology at TCH, ex-pressed his gratitude to our family for the “unique opportunity they have given to this very gifted and talented group of people.”

“This opportunity would not have hap-pened if it had not been for your kind-ness and generosity,” Dr. Mott said in a letter addressed to our family. “People choose to honor the lives of loved ones in different ways. We are fortunate that you have chosen to honor Nicholas’ life by investing in dreams. What an incred-ible and honorable investment. Thanks so much for your support and vision. You have made an incredible difference in the lives of others.”

Our sincere and deep thanks to our volunteers and friends who have jour-neyed with us over these twelve years of the Annual Nicholas Alexander Higgins Memorial Golf Tournament - together we have made a difference and we have planted “trees” under which we may never sit -- thanks from our hearts for your help in saving many little hearts!

Our family has done its share of griev-ing for the loss of Nicholas. But we turned our grief into action to ensure the continuation of research on the “si-lent killer.” In turning our tragedy into a force for good, we honor Nicholas by using our loss to positively impact the lives of others.

For details about the 2010 Nicholas Al-exander Higgins’ Memorial Golf Tourna-ment, contact Junior Higgins at 281-704- 4855 or [email protected]

Pauline E. Higgins is a graduate of Tulane University School of Law. She has practiced in Houston law firms and corporate legal departments, was Associ-ate General Counsel of JPMorgan Chase; Senior Partner and Chief Diversity Officer of Thompson & Knight LLP; and former

Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County. She has chaired numerous committees and programs for the Houston Bar Association, including the Minority Opportunities in the Legal Profession Committee, where she was instrumental in developing the IL Summer Clerkship Program, and she founded the Transportation Law Section.

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Confronting a disease to support research for a Cure

By John s. Gray

F or a few moments, consider how you would feel after you just found out that you have multiple sclero-

sis (MS); a dreaded disease that is un-predictable. For most of us, we would experience shock. Some may simply not

be able to confront or accept it, experienc-ing denial and per-haps even anger that it happened to them — “Why me?” Whatever other emo-tions a per-son recently diagnosed with such a serious condit ion

may experience, it will likely include fear—fear of an unfamiliar medical con-dition and fear of the unknown. Few of us would know what to expect—except

for perhaps a realization of our worst fears. One thing we would know for cer-tain, however, is that our life was about to change. Illness creates change. Multiple sclerosis creates change. What defines us as individuals is how we adapt to change once the shock and fear wear off.

Some would accept their fate, resigning themselves to a disease that will slowly destroy their central nervous system. Others will take on the challenge of their disease, doing everything in their power to confront it and overcome it; leading as an example for all of us—those who have MS and those who don’t. John Pearson’s story and experience is that of a man who accepted his own MS challenge and turned his adversity into an opportunity for community service.

John Pearson, an attorney with Gar-dere Wynne Sewell LLP, was diagnosed with MS in the early 1990s. Upon receiv-ing the bad news, John did what many good litigators with years of experience would do—he set out to learn about his disease and to create a plan to minimize

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team Gardere in the 2010 BP ms 150


the damage it was doing to his body. With excellent doctors and strong family support, John learned to manage his dis-ease such that for the last 20 years he has been consistently able to function both at home and at work.

For most of us, that would be enough. But, John Pearson did more. He became very involved with Houston’s Lone Star Chapter of the National MS Society where he served for ten years as a board member and for two years as chairman of the board. It was during John’s tenure on the board that the Chapter’s main fund-raising event—the BP MS 150 annual two-day spring bicycle ride from Hous-ton to Austin—grew to become the pre-mier event of its kind in North America.

John Pearson first got involved in the BP MS 150 in 1999 as both a fundraiser and a rider. While John’s MS keeps him from competing with the fast riders, each of the last 11 years has seen him finish at least part of the 180-mile ride sur-rounded by friends and family. Although John sets no speed records, he definitely sets an example of what is possible for all who are afflicted with MS. He is also an example and inspiration for the at-torneys who work with him. John was a founding member of Team Gardere, the firm’s BP MS 150 bicycle team and one of the team’s top fundraisers.

John Pearson’s involvement with the MS Society did not end when he stepped down as chair. He recently joined the MS Society’s Fast Forward Cabinet respon-sible for trying to raise $30 million to support critical MS research initiatives. In addition to his own time, the Pear-son family has also dedicated time to the National MS Society. His son, Dunagan Pearson, is a ride ambassador for the Northern California Chapter’s Bike MS

event. Recently the National MS Society inducted John into its National Fund-Raising Hall of Fame, recognizing the dedication he has displayed in the mis-sion to create a world free of MS.

While this is just one man’s story about how an HBA lawyer has dealt with adver-sity, it is a reminder for all of us how we can turn adversities into opportunities for community service.

For information on the BP MS 150, visit http://www.ms150.org/. For infor-

mation on the Lone Star Chapter of the National MS Society, visit http://www. nationalmssociety.org/chapters/TXH/ index.aspx.

John S. Gray is a partner in Gardere Wynne Sewell’s environmental practice group, where he co-chairs the firm’s Climate Change Task Force, and he is active as a council member for the HBA’s Environmental Law Section. He is an associate editor for The Houston Lawyer.

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Bracewell & Giuliani Hosts

Minute Mentoring Program

Future

women

leaders

from

around

Hous-

ton gained unique

perspectives and

advice from some of

the country’s most

successful women

in business, law,

journalism and politics

at a Minute Mentoring

event, organized and

hosted by Bracewell

& Giuliani LLP at its

downtown Houston

office on February 5,

2010. Attendees of this unique workshop

benefited from the knowledge and career advice of women such as event co-found-

Bracewell & Giuliani Hosts

Minute Mentoring Program

By CArrin F. PAtmAn and CAtherine OzdOGAn

ers Dana Perino, former white house spokesperson for president George W. Bush; Dee Martin, partner, Bracewell & Giuliani; and former U.S. Con-gresswoman Susan Molinari, now a se-nior principal with Bracewell & Giu-liani. Perino teamed up with Martin and Molinari to create Minute Mentoring, a round robin-style forum in which ac-complished female professionals share their experiences with their young pro-fessional counterparts during rapid-fire meetings.

“Mentoring opportunities for young women are too few and far between,” said Perino. “Supply can’t keep up with demand. Minute Mentoring is a pro-gram that brings together women of ex-ceptional accomplishment with younger women anxious to follow in their foot-steps.”

“We’ve come a long way in the work-force, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still have to overcome more hurdles—lots of them,” said Molinari. “The mentors par-ticipating today have broken barriers to be successful, and they’re anxious to share their experiences with those who will benefit,” added Molinari.

The Houston event builds on the suc-cess of the first Minute Mentoring event,

held at Bracewell & Giuliani’s Washing-ton, DC office in November 2009. The firm plans to host a similar event at its New York office and to expand the pro-gram to other cities across the country. In her opening remarks to the assembly, Perino noted that through the program Web site, www.minutementoring.com, she has received inquiries from all over the world about hosting similar events.

In addition to Perino, Martin and Mo-linari, Houston mentors included po-

litical leaders U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, 18th District of Texas and An-nise Parker, mayor, City of Houston; as well as business leaders Caro-lyn Benton Aiman, se-nior corporate counsel, Shell Oil Company; Jean Becker, chief of staff to Former President George H.W. Bush; Mi-chelle Bleiberg, director, Burson-Marsteller Pub-

lic Affairs; Deborah M. Cannon, presi-dent and CEO, Houston Zoo; Kimberly Allen Dang, chief financial officer and vice president, investor relations, Kind-er Morgan; Mary Flood, legal reporter, Houston Chronicle; Victoria M. Garcia, partner, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP; Lau-ra Goldberg, business editor, Houston

mark evans, managing partner, Bracewell & Giuliani; mrs. Barbara Bush; and dana Perino (mentor), co-founder, minute mentoring

deborah Cannon (mentor), president and CeO, houston zoo; elana robciuc (mentee), societe Generale; and stephanie song, partner, Bracewell & Giuliani


Chronicle; Melody Meyer, president, Chevron Energy Technology Company; Roberta Ness, president, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Roxann S. Neumann, senior vice president corporate affairs, Sil-ver Eagle Distribu-tors, L.P.; Cisselon Nichols Hurd, senior litigation counsel, Shell Oil Company; Carrin F. Patman, partner, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP; Char-lene A. Ripley, senior vice president and corporate counsel, Linn Energy, LLC; Jennifer L. Vogel, se-nior vice president, general counsel, sec-retary and chief com-pliance officer, Continental Airlines; and Jennifer M. Weston, partner, Brace-well & Giuliani LLP.

The event began with an address by former first lady Barbara Bush, and in-cluded her 10 rules to live by, includ-ing: “Don’t take yourself too seriously

or anything too per-sonally,” and “Don’t be afraid to take chances—you never know where they’ll take you.” In re-marks interlaced with a wry humor, Bush spoke elo-quently of finding one’s passion and showing kindness to others. The sim-ple truths that stand the test of time took on a whole new reso-nance when spoken by a woman who has seen and lived

an extraordinary life in her 84 years. This is the goal of Minute Mentoring—women helping women by sharing in-

formation, life experiences and advice, with the hope that the knowledge will continue to be passed along to friends and colleagues.

After opening remarks, mentees and mentors convened in small groups in designated meeting rooms, where they shared experiences and best practices regarding career and leadership goals. Mentees were allowed to rotate to new mentors every ten minutes. Mentees were provided with pre-printed books of mentor biographies with space on each page for the purpose of writing down the tips passed along in the sessions.

At the conclusion of the speed rounds, mentees and mentors gathered together again for cocktails and continued net-working. Perhaps today’s mentees will become tomorrow’s mentors. In any case, for those in attendance, it felt like the beginning of something big.

Carrin F. Patman and Catherine Ozdogan are partners in the Houston office of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.

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“The event began

with an address by

former first lady

Barbara Bush, and

included her 10 rules to

live by, including:

“Don’t take yourself too

seriously or anything too

personally,” and “Don’t be

afraid to take chances—

you never know where

they’ll take you...”


Equal Access ChampionsWhat does it take to become an “Equal Access Champion”? The firms and corporations listed below have signed 5-year commitment forms that indicate they will uphold a pledge to provide representation in a certain number of cases each year, based on the number of attorneys in the firm or legal department. The goal is to provide pro bono representation in at least 1,500 cases through the Houston Volunteer Lawyers

Program each year, and to increase that goal each year. For more information contact kay Sim at (713) 759-1133.

large Firm ChampionsAndrews kurth LLPBaker Botts L.L.P.Bracewell & Giuliani LLPFulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLPVinson & Elkins L.L.P. Corporate ChampionsAnadarko Petroleum CorporationBaker Hughes IncorporatedBPCenterPoint Energy, Inc.ConocoPhillipsContinental Airlines, Inc.ExxonMobil CorporationMarathon Oil CompanyPort of Houston AuthorityRosetta Resources Inc.Shell Oil CompanyWaste Management, Inc. intermediate Firm ChampionsAkin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLPBeirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P.Gardere Wynne Sewell LLPHaynes and Boone, L.L.P.king & SpaldingThompson & knight LLP mid-size Firm ChampionsAdams & Reese LLPBaker & Hostetler LLPChamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & MartinGreenberg Traurig, LLPHowrey LLPJackson Walker L.L.P.Jones dayMorgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Porter & Hedges, L.L.P. Strasburger & Price, L.L.P.Susman Godfrey LLPWeil, Gotshal & MangesWinstead PC small Firm ChampionsAbraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto and FriendBeck, Redden & Secrest, L.L.P.doyle, Restrepo, Harvin & Robbins, L.L.P.Gibbs & Bruns LLPHays, McConn, Rice & Pickering, P.C.Hirsch & Westheimer, P.C.Hughes Watters Askanase LLPJohnson deLuca kennedy & kurisky, P.C.kroger FrisbySchwartz, Junell, Greenberg & Oathout, L.L.PShook Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P.Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLPWeycer, kaplan, Pulaski & Zuber, P.C.yetter Warden & Coleman LLP

Boutique Firm ChampionsAbrams Scott & Bickley, L.L.P.Coane & AssociatesConnelly • Baker • Wotring LLPEdison, Mcdowell & Hetherington LLPFullenweider Wilhite PCFunderburk & Funderburk, L.L.P.Hicks Thomas LLPJenkins & kamin, L.L.P.Legge, Farrow, kimmitt, McGrath & Brown, L.L.P.Ogden, Gibson, Broocks, Longoria & Hall, L.L.P.Squire, Sanders & dempsey L.L.P.Strong Pipkin Bissell & Ledyard, L.L.P.Wilson, Cribbs & Goren, P.C.

solo ChampionsLaw Office of O. Elaine ArchieBasilio & AssociatesPeter J. BennettBernard Bolanos PCFatima BrelandLaw Office of Fran BrochsteinLaw Office of Barbara CalderonLaw Office of Robbie Gail Charettede la Rosa & Chaumette Papa dieyeFrye & Cantu, PLLCFuqua & AssociatesLaw Office of david R. GarverTerry L. HartLaw Offices of James and Stagg, PLLCkatine & Nechman L.L.P.The keaton Law Firm, PLLCLaw Office of kelly G. kintoClinton F. LawsonGregory S. LindleyLaw Office of Maria S. LowryMartin R. G. Marasigan Law OfficesThe Law Office of Evangeline Mitchell, PLLCThe Montalvo Law FirmMorley & Morley, P.C.Bertrand C. MoserPilgrim Law OfficeRobert E. PriceW. Thomas (Tommy) ProctorGwen E. RichardLaw Offices of Judy RittsCindi L. RobisonScardino & FazelShortt & Nguyen, P.C.Sadler Law FirmJeff SkardaTeal & AssociatesTindall & England, P.C.diane C. TreichNorma Levine Trusch

The Harris

County

judiciary,

in con-

junction

with the Harris County

bar, presented the

second annual Harris

County Bench Bar Pro

Bono Awards to law

firms, corporate legal

departments and an

individual in a special

ceremony on May 10

at the Harris County

Civil Courthouse. The

keynote speaker was

Justice Jane Bland of the

First Court of Appeals. The awards program was established

to recognize outstanding pro bono ser-vice through local legal service provid-ers, and to encourage law firms, corpo-rate legal departments and individual at-torneys to volunteer direct legal services to low-income Harris County residents. A committee of seven judges and five at-

2nd Harris County

Bench Bar Pro Bono Awards Presented May 10

2nd hArris COuntY BenCh BAr PrO BOnO AWArds

torneys selected the recipients in five self-nominated cat-egories. This year, the selection com-mittee added a new category for small corporate legal de-partments.

Judges presented the following awards for outstanding ser-vice:

• Large Firm – Bracewell &

Giuliani LLP• Mid-size Firm – Gibbs & Bruns LLP• Small Firm – Jackson Gilmour &

Dobbs, PC• Large Corporation – Marathon Oil

Company• Small Corporation – Rosetta

Resources, Inc.• Individual – Judith Ann Ritts of

the Law Office of Judy RittsEach year, the award winners names

will be featured on permanent plaques in the lobbies of the Civil Courthouse, Criminal Justice Center, Family Law Center and Juvenile Justice Center in downtown Houston.

In a Weak MomentRemarks of Justice Jane Bland Keynote Speaker, Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono AwardsIn a weak moment, you said, “yes.” The call came on a Friday afternoon, on a beautiful spring day, and you were feel-ing harmonious with the world. Or the person on the other end of the line was someone that you just could not say “no” to—after all, he does so much for our profession himself. As happens all too often with the people gathered here, your heart simply overruled your head, and you found yourself nodding. Yes, you will take the case. Yes, you will take it “for the good,” which in Latin is “pro bono.” And all of you thought it meant “for free.” It does not. Nothing in life is free. No, you took that call, and you said “yes,” and you did it “for good.”

Then comes Monday morning. There is a feeling of “What have I done?” You run a law department at a big company. Like all companies right now, manage-ment is not feeling flush. The powers that be want your department to do more work with fewer people, and cost-cutting is in the air. Or you work at a law firm. Goodness knows, now is not the time to commit your lawyers to more unbillable work when everyone is scrambling to find work that pays. Or you are a solo, and everyone from your paralegal to the light company depends on you to pay the bills at the end of the month. You rue-fully walk into a colleague’s office and explain what you have done. He wryly looks up and says, “Well, good luck with that.” But underneath the humor, he un-derstands that he has just become part of your team.

You meet your client. She needs you. Not a website, not an unending menu of voicemails to nowhere. She needs a listener. An expert. One who entertains office visits, and even makes house calls. She has a problem, and she is looking to you to settle her affairs, to make sense of the legal trouble that the messy business of life has thrust her into. You can help. The fact that you have a bar card unique-ly qualifies you to offer this kind of help. You are not an expert in family law, or in veteran’s affairs, or in elder care law, so it is going to involve some work and some phone calls to other lawyers to seek their counsel. She is worth it.

The matter is not without its frustra-

tions. With a free lawyer, the law of sup-ply and demand does not operate, and some days you field far too many phone calls, and she is looking for answers that have no legal solution. Her worries be-come yours, and her sleepless nights are occasionally contagious. As Stan Sch-neider recently described it, you feel the “pain of caring.” And the crush of your paying work and that little league coach-ing job you took on are stress enough.

But there is the inspiration you find in working for her, and, through her, for the common good. Your work is life-af-fecting: it addresses basic human needs. Shelter. Marital relationships. Parenting. Children. Liberty. The relationship is personal, and it is intense. This makes it deeply satisfying. With this legal work more than any other kind, you recognize the dignity of the human person. Inside, you cannot feel more alive. The giver’s high is like a runner’s high: potent, and overcoming any aches or bumps in the road that hit you along the way.

The people in this room know this feeling. It crept up on you, and filled you with the energy and the determination you needed to put your effort on the line for these most important of clients. You, in turn, invigorate our profession. This we need. You are the Duke Blue Devils this year. Your weak moment was really one shining moment. On behalf of my colleagues in the judiciary, I thank you for what you have done. May your future legal career be filled with more weak moments.

From left: Karen lukin of marathon Oil Corporation, large Corporation Winner; Glenn Ballard and marcy Kurtz of Bracewell & Giuliani llP, large Firm Winner; Judith Ann ritts, individual Attorney Winner; norman ewart of rosetta resources, inc., small Corporation Winner; hBA President Barrett reasoner; Administrative Judge tad halbach; Keynote speaker Justice Jane Bland; Bill Jackson of Jackson Gilmour & dobbs, PC, small Firm Winner; and Kathy Patrick of Gibbs & Bruns llP, mid-size Firm Winner.


The 25th John J. Eikenburg Law Week Fun Run, he ld M a rc h 27th in Sam Houston Park, raised a record $64,815.61 for The Center, a nonprofit agen-

cy that provides opportunities that pro-mote individual choice, personal growth and community involvement for persons with developmental disabilities and those needing similar services, so they may reach their maximum potential. This milestone 25-year event brings the total to nearly $881,000 in contributions to The Center over the life of the race. Over 1,000 walkers and runners partici-pated in the event.

Named after the late former HBA pres-ident who founded the race in 1985, the John J. Eikenburg Law Week Fun Run is truly a team effort that involves many months of planning and coordination.

Race directors were Kara Stauffer Philbin of KBR and Wesley R. Ward of Watt, Beckworth, Thompson & Hen-neman, L.L.P. Honorary co-chairs were Marcy Kurtz of Bracewell & Giuliani and Richard McGee of Duke Energy Corporation, both longtime support-ers and former chairs of the Fun Run. The 2009-2010 Fun Run Committee in-cluded Antroy Arreola, Marissa Arrecia, Eduardo Aviles, Brian Ayson, Janet Beck, Elizabeth Vinluan Bernal, John Black, Peter Blomquist, Hon. Jeff Brown, Blair Burnside, Tonja De Sloover, Clark Edge-comb, Evelin Molina, Danielle Harsany, Robert Jacobson, Todd Lonergan, Dora Martinez, Scott Michelman, David Mon-cure, Joshua Nix, John Shepperd, Kath-rine Silver, Iain Simpson, Tom Stilwell, Ryan Tarkington, Sue Ann Tompkins, Caitlin Tucker, Christopher Watt, Mark Wege, Marshall White, Cheryl Worley and Kirk Worley.

25th John J. Eikenburg

Law Week Fun Run Raises Nearly

$65,000 for The Center

to commemorate the 25th year, the hBA invited all former race chairs and co-chairs to participate. Pictured at the race are: front row, from left, Wesley Ward, Kara Philbin and richard mcGee. second row from left: mark Wege, tom stilwell, scott michelman, dora martinez, shayne newell, Kirk Worley, Phillip sampson and Justice Jeff Brown. top row: david ratchford, lori Aylett and John shepperd.

25th JOhn J. eiKenBurGlAW WeeK Fun run


Platinum sponsorSouth Texas College of Law

Gold sponsorsBaker Botts L.L.P.Exxon Mobil CorporationFulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Houston Bar Association Auxiliaryking & Spalding LLPShook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P.Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP

silver sponsors3BAllen & Oldham, LLPAmicus Search GroupBench ReportingBracewell & Giuliani LLPCd Language SolutionsCourt Room Conceptsdaegisde la Rosa & Chaumettedonovan & Watkinsdoug & Hon. Jane BlandHaynes and Boone, LLPHouston Lawyer Referral ServiceHughes Watters AskanaseJackson Walker LLPJohnson, Trent, West & Taylor, L.L.P.Legal directories Publishing Co.Nell McCallum & Associates, Inc.Reynolds, Frizzell, Black, doyle, Allen & Oldham LLPShannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller, LLPSmith, Murdaugh, Little & Bonham L.L.P.Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, LLPUS Legal Support Watt Beckworth Thompson & Henneman, L.L.P.

Bronze sponsorsHon. Jeff BrownEquivalent datadon Fizerdanielle HarsanyHBA AdR Section keais, Inc.Todd Lonergan

runners take off in the 8K race

Clients from the Center enjoyed participating in the

one-mile family walk

several special Olympics athletes joined the race to show their support for residents of the Center.

members of the eikenburg Family are out in full force every year to support the race.

tony lopez, winner of the male 80+ divisionhBA President Barrett reasoner welcomes runners to the post-race festivities

continue...


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25 for 25Those listed below comprise a special category of contributors who registered at least 25 people for the 25th John J. Eikenburg Law Week Fun Run.Benny Agosto, Jr.david A. ChaumetteTonja de Sloover and kara PhilbinHasley Scarano, L.L.P.Rosa HerstHouston Lawyer Referral Servicedavid MoncureMorgan, Lewis & Bockius LLPBarrett H. Reasonerkay Simkirk L. Worley Brian Cohen, president of the Center’s Board of Governors, thanked participants for their contributions. Behind him is lee Jolly,

longtime emcee for the Fun run.

The Texas Lawyers’ AssistanceProgram (TLAP) is a confidential

crisis counseling and referral programthat helps Texas lawyers, law studentsand judges who are challenged bysubstance use and other mental healthdisorders, including clinical depression,anxiety, and stress related concerns.

TLAP has teamed up with HoustonLawyers Concerned for Lawyers (LCL)to offer a support group for lawyers withsubstance use issues that meetsTuesday at noon at 303 Jackson HillStreet, Houston, Texas.

TLAP and local volunteers have alsojoined together to form the HoustonLawyers’ Forum on Depression, whichmeets on the first Monday of everymonth from 6-8 pm. This groupprovides participants with a light dinner,presentations by local mental healthprofessionals and peer support.

For more information, please call TLAP at

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Other imPOrtAnt suPPOrtersPrinting of race BrochuresBowne of Houston

securityConstable Jack Abercia and the staff from Precinct 1

master of CeremoniesLee Jolly

refreshmentsFaust distributingCoca-ColaNew york Bagel ShopOak Farm dairyWatermill ExpressWhole Foods Market – Bellaire

Grand PrizeThe Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas

door PrizesAlley Theatre

Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino, BiloxiBikram Hot yogaBistro Le CepCarmelo’s RistoranteChildren’s Museum of HoustonCookies By designCynthia Woods Mitchell Paviliondoubletree HotelFinish Strong SportsFit Athletic ClubHouston AerosHouston dynamoJames Coney IslandMain Street TheatreThe Museum of Fine Arts, HoustonPete’s Fine Meatskay SimTable 7 BistroTaste of TexasTheatre Under the StarsTreebeard’sMark WegeCheryl Worley sabra harvey, 61, Overall Female Veteran Winner


Law Week Celebrates 21st Century

Challenges

nearly 2,000 new citizens were naturalized at a ceremony on April 7 at m.O. Campbell Center. u.s. district Judge lynn n. hughes, right, presided, and hBA President Barrett reasoner welcomed the new citizens. A number of members of the Armed Forces became naturalized citizens during the ceremony.

In 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower proclaimed the first Law Day, May 1, as “a day of national dedication to the principle of government under law.” Since then, the Ameri-can Bar Association has established an annual theme for Law Day and encouraged bar associations and other orga-nizations across the nation to develop programs that edu-

cate people about the importance of the rule of law.The theme for Law Day 2010 was “Law in the 21st Century:

Enduring Traditions and Emerging Challenges.” The theme fo-cused on the legal profession at a transformative stage in its his-tory. Lawyers live and work in a borderless world. Technologies used by lawyers and their clients, and the cross-nature of to-day’s business, fuel globalization and challenge our place-based system of ethics and professional regulation. This year’s Law

Day theme provided an opportunity to reflect on transforma-tions in the legal profession and the greater society in which lawyers practice.

Each year the HBA Law Week Committee plans numerous educational and public service events that celebrate Law Day and its theme. The HBA Law Week Committee was co-chaired by Justice Kem Frost of the 14th Court of Appeals and War-ren W. Harris of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP. Committee mem-bers were Lauren Farr Barker, Josh Nathaniel Bowlin, Gregory V. Brown, J. Shannon Cavers, James Patrick Cohoon, Kristen A. Davenport, Mark Edward Harrington, Melissa L. Hotze, Billy Bruce Johnson, Jr., Jeffrey L. Oldham, Brendetta A. Scott, Ruth Ellen Shapiro, Anastassios Triantaphyllis and Caitlin M. Tucker.


Law Week Celebrates 21st Century

Challenges

hBA volunteers read the book, O Say, Can You See?: America’s Symbols, Landmarks and Inspiring Words, to 196 classes in nearly 100 in elementary schools throughout the area, then donated the books to the schools. dana Karni-ilouz of the Karni law Firm reads to students at robert Beren Academy.

the winners of the hBA law day Poster and essay contests were honored at the hYlA law day luncheon, along with their parents and teachers. Pictured from left, Blake Pratz and Jo simmons of the Pratz simmons Group at morgan stanley smith Barney, who sponsored cash prizes for the contest winners; Amy Champagne, teacher at st. Anne’s school; mr. and mrs. ruffeno; ramsey ruffeno, a student at st. Anne’s who won first place in the K-3rd Grade Poster Contest; law Week Co-chair Justice Kem Frost; William Beresford, a student at Cypress lakes high school, who won first place in the essay Contest; marsha molden, teacher at Cypress lakes high school; and mr. and mrs. Beresford. they are pictured with the winning poster from the 4th-8th Grade Poster Contest created by Aylin Gonzales of Woodland Acres middle school, who was unable to attend.

hBA law Week Co-chairs Warren harris of Bracewell & Giuliani llP and Justice Kem thompson Frost of the 14th Court of Appeals.

to commemorate law day, on April 27, Administrative Judge tad halbach, district Clerk loren Jackson and hBA President Barrett reasoner distributed copies of the Constitution to everyone who reported for jury duty at the harris County Jury Assembly room.

the hBA sponsored “dialogues on law in the 21st Century” in ten high schools in the houston area. teams of attorneys and judges gave interactive presentations on one of three topics: how would you reform our government?; music downloading and copyright issues; and piracy and the law. [top] u.s. district Judge Vanessa Gilmore and Gordon Quan of Foster Quan at Austin high school. [bottom] Judge mike engelhart of the 151st district Court, left, and Brent Benoit of locke lord Bissell & liddell at Worthing high school.


First Place: Houston Bar Association Law day Essay Contest

law in the 21st Century: new media, new Challenges for teensBy WilliAm BeresFOrd, CYPress lAKes hiGh sChOOl

“Ding!” Another new text message emerges on Drew’s phone like sharp fangs gnawing out of a venomous snake’s gums; a sin seemingly harmless, but growing to become poisonous and life altering. It takes awhile to load because it is not an everyday text message, but a picture message. And not just any regular picture message either. Drew has been harassing girls to send him pic-tures of themselves in inappropriate ways and antagonizing them to talk sexually to him. “It can’t hurt anything,” Drew things to himself. “It’s just a text message.” In fact, Drew is very wrong. Boys and girls all over the world are getting fined for a new issue known as “sexting.”

Excitement and hormones run through the teenage Drew’s body like a drug running through an addict’s veins as the picture loads on the little, bright screen.

“Promise me u will delete it…” Another text message appears on Drew’s phone from the harassed, helpless girl.

“Of course i will!! u dont trust me?” Drew’s lies consume and poison the young girl’s mind as she trusts him with her body. The power of lust and “teenage-boy-ism” overwhelm Drew while he sits in his bedroom digitally, sexually harassing the girl. This is the beginning of a long night of “fun” for Drew, but will eventually lead to a life-changing mistake.

Drew wakes up the next morning feeling like a million dollars from his “successful” night. With a grin the size of Texas on his face, he drives to school with his esteem at its highest. He did not delete any of the things the girl had sent him since he wanted to save them and show them to his friends. The school slowly comes into view as Drew races to his friends. The excitement in his heart is still pumping from the pictures and messages on his phone as he walks past familiar girls in the hallway at school. The

diana Perez Gomez, left, and Justice Kem Frost work with elementary and middle school students during a law Week Poster Workshop, co-sponsored with the mexican American Bar Association of houston and the hispanic Bar Association.

the hYlA liberty Bell Award, given to a non-attorney, was presented to Kay sim, executive director of the hBA, for her outstanding contributions to legal education and legal services in the community. she is pictured at the hYlA luncheon with her daughter, stacey sim Walker of dallas.

the hYlA honored two members with the Woodrow seals Outstanding Young lawyer of houston Award – Julie Baumgarten Pradel, left, of the Williams Companies, and Gindi Vincent eckel of Pilsbury Winthrop shaw Pittman llP, right, shown here with tanya Garrison, immediate past president of hYlA.


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girls give him a look of disgust as he winks and whistles at them as he walks to the group of guys at the end of the walkway.

“How many did you get last night Drew?! Drew’s friend Blake stands almost impatiently, bouncing on his toes and waving him over to the group of guys. “Cause I got four from Christine.” Blake’s evil smile grows across his face like a deadly cancer.

As Drew walks over to the guys, he passes a little pink sign on the wall with a cell phone on it. The paper says “NO ELECTRONICS ALLOWED. IF SEEN, IT WILL BE CONFISCATED. IF CONFISCATED, THE AUTHORITY WHO HAS TAKEN THE PHONE HAS THE RIGHT TO GO THROUGH THE PHONE SINCE NOW IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THEIR POSSESSION. AVOID THE RISK AND PUT IT AWAY.”

Drew laughs at the sign and continues on his march to his friends. “I got a couple from Jessica,” Drew whispers to the guys. A loud roar of cheers thunders from the gang of boys. Drew pulls out his phone to show his friends the pictures Jessica sent him the night before. As soon as he flips his phone open, a large hand grabs the phone with a voice saying, “I’ll take that.” Mr. Woods was standing there with Drew’s phone in his hand. Drew’s heart stops in its tracks as he remembered he didn’t delete any of his collection he collected last night. “Mr. Drew! Why this should be entertaining to see what you’ve got in here!” shouts Mr. Woods as he taps the little pink sign that Drew laughed at earlier. Sweat breaks on Drew’s face as his hair turns into a wet mop. Regret and guilt swell throughout Drew’s head like a bee sting. All Drew can do now is wait…

“Andrew Brian, please report to Mr. Woods’ office immediately.” The voice of the AP Mrs. Parkinson booms into Drew’s fourth period algebra class. Drew’s heart races as he gets out of his chair and makes his way to Mr. Woods’ office. Drew looks through the window to see his mom and dad standing there with terror across their faces.

The next day, a letter comes from the courthouse telling Drew that he will be spending eight weeks in juvenile detention and he will be paying a very high fine. Drew’s full academic and baseball scholarships have been turned away also. These are consequences that Drew never knew he would come close to facing, but reality finally has caught up with him. Sexting, a seemingly innocent flirtation tool, now comes out to face the truth.

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reviewed By Ann d. zeigler

Of course you already knew this: Section 1702 of the Texas Occupations Code re-quires anyone conducting evidence collections, digital

forensics, evidence analysis, and related activities for use before a court, board, of-ficer, or investigating committee to be li-censed. This does not mean a law license. It means a forensic investigator’s license. Your nearby document copy service prob-ably does not meet this requirement, re-gardless of what their sales rep tells you. There are both misdemeanor and felony penalties for the unlicensed collection ser-vice, and for the person who hires it. So, what are you going to do about those hard drives you know are full of good evidence showing that your client’s employee com-mitted fraud?

This compact guide to fraud investiga-tion is written for lawyers and other pro-fessionals to assist their clients in discov-ering and controlling fraud within a busi-ness—and doing it in a way that results in admissible evidence.

The manual’s first chapter is a grand tour of fraud schemes and how to spot them. Chapter 2 is the how-to of foren-sic investigation, including how to avoid making great evidence inadmissible by violating Section 1702 and other similar laws. Chapter 3 is a detailed discussion of computer forensics, including how to ap-proach many different sources of electron-ic data, and what “metadata” should mean

to you even if you never get near a com-mercial fraud in your entire career. Chap-ter 4 is a detailed discussion of organizing the various interested parties in response to indications of fraud, including use of bankruptcy trustees and receiverships. Chapter 5 discusses cross-border fraud schemes and how to approach recovery of transferred assets from various favored off-shore jurisdictions. This is where you learn what you need to know about inter-national evidence gathering, Mareva in-junctions, and other actions. Chapter 6 is a summary of four of 2009’s great frauds—Madoff, Stanford, Dreier and Petters—and the actions that have been taken to deal with each of them.

This small volume is your quick re-source when you get the call from your corporate client, the one that starts, “I think something screwy is going on here.” Don’t be without it.

Ann D. Zeigler is a senior consultant with Third Coast Consultants. She is the editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer.

THE LAWYER’S GUIDE TO FINDING SUCCESS IN ANY JOB MARKET By richard l. hermannKaplan Publishing, 2009www.kaplanpublishing.com

reviewed By nicole sain

The Lawyer’s Guide to Finding Success in Any Job Market is an aptly named guide book. It is straightforward in its ap-proach, logically laid out, and

full of information as well as directions for finding additional information. Hermann

focuses on areas of law that he believes are either up and coming or ripe with oppor-tunity for growth due to the recent eco-nomic turmoil experienced in the United States. He takes into account social, politi-cal, and economic factors in his suggested areas of exploration. His suggestions make both logical and intuitive sense, and for an attorney who is not absolutely wedded to his or her current practice, they seem to be worth investigating.

The advice also seems valuable for an attorney who has a wide practice range and is looking to expand, or an attorney just out of law school. The book, however, does not well address the problems that an experienced practitioner might face if he or she has recently lost a job due to the economy or similar reason because such a person may not be in a position to learn a new area of law in order to take advantage of the opportunities that Hermann sees and sets out in this book.

While the book is not specifically geared toward them, beginning lawyers, who have fewer socioeconomic constraints imped-ing exploration and change, may have an easier time taking advantage of Hermann’s advice. Nonetheless, the book is helpful for anyone wanting to expand into a new area of law.

Nicole Sain is a partner at OSTROM/Sain, LLP, a boutique focusing on probate litiga-tion and estate planning. She is a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

FAME 101: POWERFUL PERSONAL BRANDING & PUBLICITY


mediA Reviews

FOR AMAZING SUCCESSBy Jay Jessup & maggie Jessupsutton hart Press, 2010www.suttonhart.com

reviewed By n. Jill Yaziji

“Remember... that every fame seeker needs a story because to the public and in the media it’s the story that sells; not the person.”

Does this mantra by Jay Jessup and Maggie Jessup, authors of Fame 101, sound famil-iar to lawyers? The answer is most likely a “yes.” Indeed, it is remarkably similar to Jim Perdue’s message in his bestseller on effective advocacy: Winning with Stories: Using the Narrative to Persuade in Trials. Perdue states that “a trial is not a debate; it’s a contest of stories. The strongest … most persuasive, most inspiring story will win. Juries pick the story they want to win; they don’t pick the stack of facts they want to win….” Perdue’s mention is apro-pos in this context: as a lawyer with not just astounding professional and financial success, but also bestselling books, media presence, a professional following, and Texas Super Lawyers accolades to spare, he is the definition of a famed professional with a powerful personal brand the au-thors advocate.

Fame 101 is not about the professionally famous having extraordinary talents and striking it big with serendipity. Quite the opposite: The authors, both publicists and marketing strategists with A-list clients, argue that fame is a formula anchored in the know-how of personal branding, fu-eled by publicity, disseminated by a plat-form of synergy, and enhanced by personal evolution. Since fame is a formula, we all are equally able to learn it and reap the benefits. Most importantly for a young, driven lawyer, this formula can yield tan-

gible results within a year and with “little or no money.”

A skeptical reader, as lawyers mostly are, is tempted to quickly set aside such claims to fame and bury herself in an im-minent discovery battle or approaching trial date. But the authors convincingly chronicle how famous professionals have built financial empires on the power of their brand by following these steps. From Mother Teresa to Joel Osteen, and from Martha Stewart to the gardener with best-selling books and a TV show, this formula works every time.

To achieve fame, one must reach a wide audience and do so with a well-thought out message about what makes one’s brand special, authentic, stand out. Publicity is the catalyst for fame and it’s “what makes everything else work to its maximum ef-fect.” The good news is that to achieve it one does not have to spend six figures monthly on advertising. Widely available social media is the vehicle. One must also participate in social media, over an ex-tended period of time, to understand its power and build a following in it. Hence, a brief bio and contact info on LinkedIn by itself won’t do for lawyers. Likewise, while professional websites are omnipres-ent, understanding Internet geography and search engines can make the differ-ence between prominence and mediocrity by simply enhancing the footprint of one’s website, and hence one’s brand.

How to accomplish all this and still meet the discovery deadline? By syner-gizing your brand efforts: A well-written speech for a Texas Bar seminar can turn into a publication and, with a link on your website, also develop into a blog. More-over, a powerful personal brand translates into material gains for the lawyer’s clients as well, since powerful branding lends im-mediate credibility to one’s message.

At a time when economic realities have made it hard for young, talented lawyers to find employment and for seasoned ones to keep it, Fame 101 both inspires read-

ers and offers practical tips for the driven, persistent professional.

N. Jill Yaziji is the principal of Yaziji Law Firm, specializing in business litigation and personal injury. She is a member of the The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

BLACK WATER RISINGBy Attica lockeharperCollins, 2009www.authortracker.com

reviewed Judy l. ney

Suspense, legal action, civil rights, and Houston, Texas – this thrill-er combines all the elements that appeal to all readers of fic-tion. Author Locke balances

the struggles and ambitions of a young African-American attorney, Jay Porter, a solo practitioner trying to provide a home and financial security to his wife and baby, against the reality he faces upon becom-ing intertwined in the legal system after his Good Samaritan act of coming to the aid of a drowning woman develops into a high-profile murder case. The resulting interplay between all of those factors will cause readers to question their everyday decisions.

Author Attica Locke, a native of Hous-ton, brings the city to life during the 1980’s. Places Houstonians recognize, such as Buffalo Bayou, the Fifth Ward, the University of Houston, Gilley’s, the Ship Channel, Market Street, Clinton Boule-vard, and Memorial Drive, all come to life through her descriptions of Houston at a time of growth when oil was king and urban plight was only a neighborhood away. All Houstonians will enjoy the col-orful images of the city as the setting of this novel.


Even more challenging than being an at-torney are the obstacles of racial discrimi-nation that have to be overcome when Porter tries to practice his profession in a growing Texas metropolis with a deep so-cietal divide based on community stand-ing, religion, color, and work status. The plight of racial divide is exemplified with a distinctively modern twist through an ac-count of one of Porter’s cases showing the struggles of the working longshoreman versus the ultra rich petrochemical and oil industries. Strikes, scabs, and beatings are all described as part of the hero’s circle of family acquaintances, and challenges.

Author Locke takes us on a rollercoaster ride of life, showing how the dreams of freedom can easily become confused with the quest for money, power, and politics. Ms. Locke is an entertainer in that each page is filled with illusions and pageantry so that the reader does not want the story to stop. Bravo to this new author on her blend of Houston heritage with the ordi-nary goals of a man who happens to be a lawyer.

Judy L. Ney is a judge for the TDI-Division of Workers Compensation. She is a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

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U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Most “Constructive” Claims Under the PMPABy david m. rodi

In March, the United States Supreme Court issued its first-ever decision con-struing the Petroleum Marketing Prac-tices Act (“PMPA”), which was enacted in 1978. Mac’s Shell Serv., Inc. v. Shell

Oil Prods. Co., 130 S. Ct. 1251 (2010). In a unanimous ruling, the Court rejected most claims for “constructive termination” and “constructive nonrenewal” under the PMPA. This decision will benefit refin-ers and marketers who distribute gasoline through franchised dealers by adding cer-tainty to the contract renewal process and limiting franchisees’ ability to assert claims for wrongful termination.

the scope of the PmPA and the dealers’ “Constructive” ClaimsThe PMPA regulates the termination and nonrenewal of motor fuel franchise agree-ments. Under the Act, a franchisor may only “terminate” a franchise agreement during its term or “fail to renew” a fran-chise relationship at the end of the term based on statutorily approved grounds. Franchisees may bring suit in federal court when a franchisor violates the PMPA, and the Act empowers courts to award injunc-tive relief, actual and punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.

Although the language of the PMPA in-dicates that Congress intended only to reg-ulate actual terminations and nonrenewals of service station franchises, over the last 30 years some courts have allowed franchi-sees to pursue claims for “constructive ter-mination” or “constructive nonrenewal.”

In Mac’s Shell, a group of Shell-branded service station dealers asserted such con-structive claims against Shell Oil Com-pany and Motiva Enterprises LLC, a joint venture company to which Shell assigned the dealers’ franchise agreement in 1998. The plaintiffs asserted that their franchise

agreements had been “constructively terminated” when Motiva ended a long-standing, voluntary rent rebate program that had enabled dealers to reduce their effective monthly rents by increasing their sales of gasoline. The plaintiffs alleged that termination of the rebate program had the effect of raising their actual rent each month—even though their written leases contained a provision setting forth the maximum rent.

The plaintiffs also asserted that Motiva had “constructively nonrenewed” their franchise relationships as each dealer’s contract came up for renewal. The plain-tiffs argued that Motiva had used bad faith in adopting a new formula for calculating rent, and that the change in formulas was intended to drive the dealers out of busi-ness. Testimony at trial indicated that Motiva’s new formula was consistent with prevailing industry practice at the time. Moreover, all of the plaintiffs had signed renewal contracts based on the new for-mula, although some plaintiffs signed “un-der protest.”

A federal jury in Boston found for the plaintiffs on both the constructive termina-tion and constructive nonrenewal theories. The First Circuit affirmed the judgment on constructive termination, but reversed on the dealers’ constructive nonrenewal claim.

“Constructive” termination requires an Actual end to One of the Franchise elementsOverturning the judgment with respect to constructive termination, the Supreme Court held that, at the very least, “a fran-chisee cannot recover for constructive ter-mination under the [PMPA] if the franchi-sor’s allegedly wrongful conduct did not compel the franchisee to abandon its fran-chise.” Id. at 1253. Considering both the ordinary and the technical meaning of the word “terminate” in the PMPA, the Court concluded that the “Act is violated only if an agreement for the use of a trademark, purchase of motor fuel, or a lease of prem-

LegAL tRends


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ises is ‘put to an end.’” Id. at 1257. By con-trast, “[c]onduct that does not force an end to the franchise... is not prohibited by the Act’s plain terms.” Id. at 1257–58.

All of the plaintiffs in Mac’s Shell re-mained in business through the end of the franchise term or abandoned the franchise for other reasons. Accordingly, the Court concluded that none had been “terminat-ed” within the meaning of the PMPA. Id. at 1262 & n.10. Because that principle was sufficient to resolve the issues before it, the Court reserved for another day Shell and Motiva’s argument that the PMPA does not create a cause of action for “constructive termination” under any circumstances. Id. at 1257 n.4, 1260 n.8.

The Court’s holding effectively destroys the ability of franchisees to pursue a claim for constructive termination while remain-ing in operation of their service stations, as has become increasingly common in some circuits. Moreover, because the Court re-served the issue of whether “constructive” termination claims exist at all, franchisors remain free to advance the argument that no such claim exists under the PMPA.

A Franchisee Who signs renewal Paper Cannot Claim “Constructive” nonrenewalOn the constructive nonrenewal claim, the Court adopted a bright-line rule that “a franchisee that chooses to accept a re-newal agreement cannot thereafter assert a claim for unlawful nonrenewal” under the PMPA, even if the franchisee signs the renewal agreement “under protest.” Id. at 1262, 1263. Where a franchisee signs “un-der protest,” the Court reasoned, there has been no “failure to renew” the franchise relationship on the part of the franchisor. Therefore, no claim will lie under these cir-cumstances. Id. at 1263–64.

This bright-line holding will eliminate a great deal of the confusion that was created by Pro Sales, Inc. v. Texaco USA, 792 F.2d 1394 (9th Cir. 1986) and similar cases, which had allowed dealers to sign renewal agreements “under protest” and thereafter

file suit alleging “constructive” nonrenewal while continuing to operate their stations.

The Court’s ruling will reduce franchi-sees’ ability to manipulate the renewal pro-cess by trying to have things both ways, simultaneously challenging renewal terms in court while proceeding to operate un-der them. Franchisors will benefit greatly from this increased certainty in the statu-tory renewal process.

David M. Rodi is a partner at Baker Botts L.L.P., who practices in the areas of antitrust and energy litigation. Along with co-counsel, Baker Botts represented Shell and Motiva in the appeal of the Mac’s Shell case.

On Credit Card Cons Beware: Your Sentence May Be Based on What Could Have Been Fraudulently Charged, Not What Was Actually Charged

By n. Jill Yaziji

In U.S. v. Harris, _____ F.3d _____, No. 08-11121, and U.S. v. William, _____ F.3d _____, No. 08-11151, Harris and Williams pled guilty to bank fraud and conspiracy to use unauthorized

access devices, respectively. Both defen-dants, however, challenged their sentences claiming the district courts wrongly in-terpreted the Sentencing Guidelines. The Guidelines base the offense level of a crime involving fraud on the amount of loss inflicted by a defendant—the bigger that loss, the longer the sentence. “Loss,” in turn, is defined as “the greater of actual or intended loss.” Therefore, how a court interprets “intended loss” is highly con-sequential. Indeed, both district courts interpreted the “intended loss” as the ag-gregate limits of the credit cards compro-mised instead of the aggregate amounts fraudulently charged to these cards.1

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals af-firmed the district courts’ decisions,2 hold-ing Harris and Williams accountable for the aggregate limits of the compromised

credit cards. However, it provided impor-tant caveats on the use of aggregate limits as a measure of intended loss.

First, the Court considered whether the “intended loss” calculation by the district courts was a question of law subject to de novo review, or one of fact accorded far more deference by the Court of Appeals. Naturally, both defendants argued it was the former; the Fifth Circuit agreed. It held that while the amount of loss incurred by the victims of fraud was a factual issue, the method of determining that amount involved a question of law. Second, while the Court ultimately agreed with the dis-trict courts’ method of determining the amount of intended loss in this instance, it cautioned against using the aggregate limit calculation as a bright-line formula and a misapplication of the holding in U.S. v. Sowels, 998 F.2d 249 (5th Cir. 1993) and other precedents.

The inquiry must be specific: Did the defendant control the fraudulently ac-cessed credit cards or did he transfer it to a third party whom he did not control, hence potentially jeopardizing the entire face value of the card? Was the offense complete when he was apprehended, or did he intend to charge the compromised cards further? Since both Harris and Wil-liams transferred the cards to third parties whom they did not control, the Court of Appeals held that the district courts may infer the defendants intended the loss to be the entire aggregate limits of the credit cards and determine their sentences ac-cordingly.

N. Jill Yaziji is the Principal of Yaziji Law Firm, a downtown firm specializing in business litigation and personal injury, and a member of the editorial board of The Houston Lawyer.

endnotes1. In both cases, the difference between the aggregate limits and the aggregate amounts was substantial. In Harris, for instance, the total amount fraudulently charged was less than $12,000, while the total credit limit of all cards fraudulently accessed was almost $90,000. 2. The Court of Appeals affirmed Harris’ sentence in its entirety and affirmed the district court’s determination that Williams should be held accountable for the entire aggregate limit of the credit cards he compromised but reversed his sentencing on procedural grounds.


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Practicing law is a profession in which we have the privilege of using our mind and our education in our life’s work. Notwithstanding the numer-ous jokes that poke fun at attorneys,

it is my belief that most attorneys are responding to a call to serve others.

The word “profession” has its roots in the Latin word professio, which means “public declaration.” When men and women enter religious communi-ties as monks or sisters, the act of taking their vows is referred to as “professing vows.” They are con-sidered professed members of their religious com-munity once they have taken the vows that com-mit them to their vocation.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines profes-sion as “(a) a calling requiring specialized knowl-

A Profilein pRoFessionALism

the hOnOrABle FrAnK B. rYndJudge, 309th district Court

edge and often long and intensive academic prepa-ration; (b) a principal calling, vocation, or employ-ment; and (c) the whole body of persons engaged in a calling.”

Certainly any attorney reading this article recalls the rigorous academic preparation we engaged in in order to become members of this profession. I think the mark of professionalism in an attorney is the knowledge that he or she became an attor-ney in response to a calling coupled with a desire to serve others. This does not mean that attorneys have professed a vow of poverty! Certainly we can earn good incomes practicing law, but we should not forget that the profession exists to serve others. The beauty of being an attorney is that the profes-sion gives us so many ways to do so while practic-ing law.


By Ann zeigler

When Elaine McAnelly’s youngest daughter, Jaci, was an infant, Elaine resumed flute lessons she had set aside since 7th grade. Soon after, Elaine enrolled at Houston Community College for a chamber en-semble class. The class was challenging

but fun, and it got Elaine out of the house and away from her law firm desk.

Jaci is now an MBA/JD candidate at University of Houston. And pianist Mar-cia Reed, whom Elaine first met in that HCC chamber ensemble class, has been her accompanist on both flute and sing-ing since 1989.

Diligent lawyer by day, first in private practice, now in the litigation group at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., she is a flautist and singer on nights and week-ends. Elaine notes with some bemuse-ment that she has now been singing and playing the flute in public for more than 20 years.

She has sung concerts with the Bayou City Women’s Chorus, sister group to the Gay Men’s Chorus of Houston—Bayou City Performing Arts. She sang the role of Annina in La Traviata in 1999 for Opera in the Heights. In addition, Elaine has served for six years on the Board of the Houston Chamber Choir.

And she has performed variously as character, singer and musi-cian with “Night Court,” the Houston Bar Association’s raucous annual fundraiser, which is now in its 20th year. Elaine fondly remembers Night Court’s earliest days at Rice University’s Ham-man Hall, when every voice and instrument was necessary. Night Court aficionados may recall Elaine crossing the stage in the re-curring role of Magenta from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, as well as her flute-playing with the early Night Court Orchestra.

Elaine also found the time during 2003-2004 to chair the HBA Bankruptcy Section and to co-found The Honorable Arthur L. Moller/David M. Foltz, Jr., American Inn of Court, an organiza-tion of more than 100 seasoned lawyers that provides monthly CLE presentations and mentors young lawyers practicing bank-ruptcy law.

Elaine currently serves on the HBA Senior Lawyers Committee as well as the HBA AIDS Outreach Committee, and she volunteers at Omega House AIDS Hospice. She has also served for the last four

years as the Executive Sponsor for the Chase Houston Pride Team, one of the diversity programs of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

Elaine sang for 18 years with the Chase Employee Holiday Choir, founded in 1946. Although that choir no longer pres-ents daily concerts during the holiday season, the tradition of holiday singing in Chase’s historic bank lobby continues through the Chase Holiday Choir Showcase, with Elaine serving on the

bank committee that brings area choirs such as the HSPVA Madrigal Group and Houston Children’s Chorus to sing in the lobby during the holidays.

Of all of her musical commitments, Elaine cherishes most her regular Sun-day evening gig at Clarewood House, a retirement facility. Elaine began per-forming at Clarewood House after a dear neighbor moved there in 1992. Each Sunday, Elaine leads a very lively group through hymns, spirituals and other in-

spirational music, including some singers in their 90’s and 100’s. She has an average of 50-60 residents attending most Sundays. Elaine occasionally finds herself crooning with one or both of her favorite male soloists, ages 94 and 90, or her young “mentee,” boy soprano Alex Jaya.

Elaine met Alex at Clarewood House in 2008 when he was per-forming there with Houston Young Artists Concerts. Elaine, want-ing to encourage Alex’s developing talent, began taking Alex along with her in May 2009 to lessons with voice teacher Carla Ham-mock. Now they both go for vocal coaching on Sundays followed by showing his talent at the Sunday night gathering.

In November 2009, Elaine teamed up with Alex and accompa-nist Marcia, to perform at the UH Law Center 1974 Class Reunion. As a member of the UHLC Law Alumni Board, Elaine founded the UHLC Reunions Committee, which she now co-chairs.

In addition to the Sunday night hymn singing, for 18 years Elaine and Marcia have assembled small groups of vocalists (now including Alex) and instrumentalists three to four times per year to play and sing show tunes, opera, classical and other musical favorites at Clarewood House on Saturday afternoons.

It doesn’t get any better.

Ann Zeigler is a senior consultant with Third Coast Consultants. She is the editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer.

oFF the RecoRd

elaine mcAnelly, left, with longtime accompanist marcia reed and young singer Alex Jaya.

Elaine McAnellyLawyer by Day, Singer & Flautist on Weekends


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e commercial and personal injury background. Competi-tive compensation package.

5092 Prominent Houston personal injury law firm seeks litigation attorney. Ex-perience required. Board cer-tification a plus.

5094 PROBATE lAWYER. Sugar land estate planning/probate firm with Houston-galleria office seeking attor-ney with extensive experi-ence in TX probate and trust administration, Form 706 preparation, estate and gift tax planning.

5098 Seeking litigation at-torney with good academic credentials and prior firm ex-perience of 3-6 years. Require first chair jury trial experi-ence and ability to handle a number of files.

2062 very Experienced Trial Attorney intimately familiar with the mechanics and opera-tion of the Commercial Mort-gage Backed Securities (CMBS) industry, including the securi-tization process of commercial loans and the duties and re-sponsibilities of Mortgage loan Originators/Depositors, un-derwriters of REMIC Trusts, Rating Agencies, Trustees, Ser-vicers and Special Servicers. looking for in-house position.

2064 Attorney with exten-sive experience in collections and enforcement of judgments will take cases on a fee-for-ser-vice or – if meritorious – on a contingency basis.

2086 Over ten years experience in corporate, employment, and consumer law. Seeking contract or of counsel work. Will take or

PlACement POliCYThe Houston Bar Association Lawyer Place-ment Service will assist members by coor-dinating placement between attorneys and law firms. The service is available to HBA members and provides a convenient pro-cess for locating or filling positions.

1. In order to place an ad, attorneys and law firms must complete a registration re-cord. Once registration is complete, your po-sition wanted or available will be registered with the placement service for six months. If at the end of the six-month period you have not found or filled your position, it will be your responsibility to re-register with the service in writing.

2. If you are registered, resumes will be sent out under their assigned code numbers. Once a firm has reviewed the resumes, they are to contact the placement office with the numbers they are interested in pursuing. The placement coordinator will then contact the attorney, give him/her some background information on the inquiring firm, and the attorney will then let the coordinator know if he/she wishes personal information to be released to the firm. This process will insure maximum confidentiality and get the information to the firms and attorneys in the most expedient manner.

3. In order to promote the efficiency of the Houston Lawyer Placement Service. PleAse nOtiFY the PlACement COOr-dinAtOr OF AnY POsitiOn FOund Or Filled.

4. To reply for a position avail-able, send a letter to HBA, placement coordinator at the Houston Bar Asso-ciation, 1300 First City tower, 1001 Fannin street, houston, texas 77002 or e-mail Brooke Eshleman at [email protected]. Include the code num-ber and a resume for each position. The resume will be forwarded to the firm or company. your resume will not be sent to your previous or current employers.

PlACement deAdlines Jan. 1 Jan./Feb. Issue Mar. 1 March/April Issue May 1 May/June Issue July 1 July/August Issue Sept. 1 Sept./Oct. Issue Nov. 1 Nov./dec. Issue

If you need further information about the Lawyer Placement Service, please contact hBA, placement coordinator, at the HBA office, 713-759-1133.

5082 Insurance coverage firm seeking attorneys with at least 3 years of experience with commercial property cover-age. Strong writing/litigation skills required. louisiana li-cense, in addition to a Texas license, preferred.

5084 Full time associate po-sition available. 5+ years ex-perience required. Must have

defend depositions, and attend hearings. No criminal or family law.

2092 Attorney with experience in business, health care and energy seeks position with law firm or business entity. Experi-ence includes start-ups, M&A. Can Travel.

2096 Sr. Attorney / CPA –

positions wanted

Recent large law firm retiree seeks contract work: appellate briefing, forensic accounting, hidden asset searches, work-outs.

2098 licensed For 27 years; Moved From SA, TX; Seek-ing Full/Part Time Work on Contract Basis; Ins. Defense; Collaborative Family law; Mediator at $100 Hr / Party.

positions Available

A portrait of the Hon. Mark Davidson was unveiled in a ceremony honoring his service on the 11th Dis-trict Court from 1989 until 2008. Joining him in unveiling the portrait are sons Tom, left and Will, along with his wife, attorney Sarah Duckers.

At the bAR

The HBA recently presented a check for $27,162.34 to the Houston Chapter of the American Red Cross, representing HBA members’ contributions to the Haitian Relief Fund. Pictured from left are Houston Bar Foundation Chair Rocky Robinson, Fulbright & Jaworski attorney and Red Cross board member Jeff Wray, and 2009-2010 HBA President Barrett Reasoner.


Join the houston Bar Association’s 100 Club The Houston Bar Association 100 Club is a special category of membership that indicates a commitment to the advancement of the legal

profession and the betterment of the community. The following law firms, corporate legal departments, law schools and government agencies with five or more attorneys have become members of the 100 Club by enrolling 100 percent of their attorneys as members of the HBA.

Firms of 5-24 Attorneys Abraham Watkins Nichols Sorrels Agosto & FriendAbrams Scott & Bickley LLP Adair & Myers PLLC Ahmad Zavitsanos & Anaipakos PC Ajamie LLP Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP Andrews Myers Coulter & Hayes PCBair Hilty PC The Bale Law Firm, PLLCBarker Lyman PC Bateman/Pugh PLLC Bell Ryniker & Letourneau PC Berg & Androphy Bingham, Mann, House & Gibson Boyar Miller Brewer & Pritchard PC Brown McCarroll LLP Buck keenan Gage Little & Lindley LLP Burck, Lapidus & Jackson PC Bush & Ramirez PC Butler I Hailey Caddell & Chapman Cage Hill & Niehaus LLP Campbell & Riggs Christian Smith & Jewell LLP Cochran Baker Williams & Matthiesen LLP Cokinos Bosien & young Conley Rose PC Connelly • Baker • Wotring LLPCooper & Scully, P.C. Cozen O’Connor Crady Jewett & McCulley LLP Cruse Scott Henderson & Allen LLP Currin, Wuest, Mielke, Paul & knapp, PLLCdavid Black & Associates de Lange Hudspeth McConnell & Tibbets LLP devlin Naylor & Turbyfill PLLC diamond McCarthy LLPdinkins kelly Lenox Lamb & Walker LLP dobrowski LLP dow Golub Remels & Beverly, LLP doyle Restrepo Harvin & Robbins LLP drucker Rutledge & Smith LLP Ebanks Taylor Horne LLP Ellis Carstarphen dougherty & Griggs PC Essmyer Tritico & Rainey LLP Faubus & Scarborough, LLPFibich Hampton & Leebron LLP Fisher Boyd Brown & Huguenard LLP Fizer Beck Webster Bentley & Scroggins PCFleming & Associates LLP Foreman deGeurin & Nugent Franklin Cardwell & Jones PC Fullenweider Wilhite PCFunderburk & Funderburk LLP Galloway Johnson Tompkins Burr & Smith PC Germer Gertz LLP Givens & Johnston PLLC Goldstein Faucett & Prebeg LLP

Gordon & Rees LLPHagans Burdine Montgomery & Rustay PCHandlin & AssociatesHarris Hilburn & Sherer LLP Harrison Bettis Staff McFarland & Weems LLPHays McConn Rice & Pickering PCHenke Law Firm, LLP Hicks Thomas LLP Hirsch & Westheimer PC Hogan & Hartson LLP Holm I Bambace LLP The Hudgins Law Firm Ireson & Weizel PC Jackson Gilmour & dobbs PCJenkins kamin LLP Johnson deLuca kennedy & kurisky PC Johnson Radcliffe Petrov & Bobbitt Johnson Trent West & TaylorJones Walker Waechter Piotvent Carrere & denegree LLP kane Russell Coleman & Logan PC kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP kelly Hart & Hallman, LLP kelly Sutter & kendrick PC Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson LLP Liskow & Lewis A PLC Lorance & Thompson PC MacIntyre & McCulloch, LLPManning Gosda & Arredondo LLPMcGinnis Lochridge & kilgore LLP McGlinchey Stafford PLLC McLeod Alexander Powel & Apffel PC Mehaffy Weber PC Mills Shirley LLP Morris Lendais Hollrah & Snowden Munsch Hardt kopf & Harr PC Nickens keeton Lawless Farrell & Flack LLP Ogden, Gibson, Broocks, Longoria & Hall, LLP Ogletree deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC Pagel davis & Hill PC Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott Phelps dunbar LLP Phillips & AkersPillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Ramey Chandler Mckinley & Zito Ramsey & Murray PC Reich & BinstockRoberts Markel PC Ross Banks May Cron & Cavin PC Rusty Hardin & Associates PC Rymer Moore Jackson & Echols PC Schirrmeister diaz-Arrastia Brem LLPSchwartz Junell Greenberg & Oathout LLP Schwartz Page & Harding LLP Seyfarth Shaw LLP Shannon Martin Finkelstein & Alvarado PCShepherd, Scott, Clawater & Houston, L.L.P.Shipley Snell Montgomery LLP

Short Carter MorrisSingleton Cooksey LLP Slusser Wilson & Partridge LLP Smith & Carr PC Smith Murdaugh Little & Bonham LLP Smyser kaplan & Veselka LLPSprott, Rigby, Newsom, Robbins, Lunceford & Bell, P.C.Steele Sturm P.L.L.C. Strong Pipkin Bissell & Ledyard LLP Sutherland Asbill and Brennan LLP Tekell Book Matthews & Limmer LLPThompson & Horton LLP Thompson Coe Cousins & Irons LLP Tribble, Ross & WagnerTucker Taunton Snyder & Slade PC Ware Jackson Lee & Chambers LLP Watt Beckworth Thompson & Henneman LLP Westmoreland, Hall, Maines & Lugrin, P.C. Weycer kaplan Pulaski & Zuber PC White Mackillop & Gallant PC Williams Birnberg & Andersen LLPWilliams kherkher Hart Boundas, LLP Williams Morgan & Amerson PC Willingham, Fultz & Cougill, LLP Wilson Cribbs & Goren PC Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & dicker Wong Cabello Lutsch Rutherford & Brucculeri PC Wright Brown & Close LLP yetter, Warden & Coleman, L.L.P. ytterberg | deery LLPZimmerman Axelrad Meyer Stern & Wise PC Zukowski Bresenhan & Sinex LLP

Firms of 25-49 Attorneys Baker & Mckenzie LLP Beck Redden & Secrest LLP Gibbs & Bruns LLP Greenberg Traurig LLP Hoover Slovacek LLP Hughes Watters & Askanase LLP Jones dayLittler Mendelson PC Looper Reed & McGraw PC Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLPOlson & Olson Susman Godfrey LLP Firms of 50-100 Attorneys Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLPBaker Hostetler LLP Beirne Maynard & Parsons LLP Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Martin PC Coats I Rose Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP Howrey LLP Jackson Walker LLP king & SpaldingMartin disiere Jefferson & Wisdom LLP Porter & Hedges LLP Thompson & knight L.L.P Winstead P.C.

Firms of 100+ Attorneys Andrews kurth LLP Baker Botts L.L.P. Bracewell & Giuliani LLP Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Haynes and Boone LLP Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLPVinson & Elkins LLP

Corporate legal departments Anadarko Petroleum Corporation AT&T Texas BP CenterPoint Energy El Paso Corporation kellogg Brown & Root Inc Lyondell Petrochemical Company MAXXAM IncNewfield Exploration CompanyPetrobras America Inc. Plains Exploration & Production Co. Pride International Inc. Rice University Sysco Corporation Texas Children’s Hospital Total E&P USA Inc. University of Houston System

law school Faculty South Texas College of Law Thurgood Marshall School of Law University of Houston Law Center

Government Agencies City of Houston Legal department Harris County Attorney’s Office Harris County district Attorney’s Office Harris County domestic Relations OfficeMetropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County TexasPort of Houston Authority of Harris County Texas

HOUSTON GREENWAY PLAZA AREA

Window offices for sublease in fully furnished suite. In-cludes small lobby area, con-ference room, phone system, internet access, copier, fax, scanner and free parking.

$500 per month. ContactStephanie 713-337-6449 [email protected]

Incredible Galleria area law office sharing opportunity. Perfect for 1,2 or 3 lawyer law firm separated self con-tained space, large file room and copier available with space. Access to full kitchen and 3 large conference rooms. Phone system provided.

Contact Michelle at 713-868-2222 x 102.

Galleria Area - 1800 Bering, Suite 540. Sublease-3 part-ner window offices and 1 associate office. Conference room, kitchen, printer room, reserved covered parking, se-curity guard, onsite cafeteria.

Remodeled 2007. 713-468-4600 or

[email protected]

UPPER KIRBY DISTRICT/RIVER OAKS AREA OFFICE – Near Kirby and West Ala-bama, Unique office space, free standing building (up to two offices available) 1 large partner office upstairs with bathroom and 1 associate of-fice downstairs, each with

own secretarial space. Use of conference room, full kitchen, telephone system and high speed internet connection included call 713-630-0022.

DOWNTOWN HOUSTON OFFICE SPACE – Reduced Price. Sublease in First City Tower on the top floor. Enjoy the prestigious address and spectacular views for less. Up to three offices and four cu-bicles available - inclusive of phone, internet, etc. Offices average 160 SqFt each. Re-ceptionist on site. Shared use of two large conference rooms available at no additional cost.

Call 713-335-5490.

OFFICE SUBLEASE360 sq ft in shared 1500 sq ft furnished suite; 4203 Mon-trose, class A building. $1600/month. Private waiting room, bathroom. Attractive, private. Great parking. Available 6/1/10. First month free. Eliza-beth Weinberg M.D., 713-520- 5204. [email protected].

OFFICE SPACEAvailable immediately one and/or two attorney offices with secretarial area in Mon-trose with use of conference room, full kitchen, telephone system and high speed Inter-

net connection. Call 713-529-0980.

OFFICE SPACE at 3 Riverway Class “A” Building located off Woodway drive and 610 West Loop. Law firm is primary ten-ant. Several offices available. On-site management and se-curity guard, attached parking garage for tenants and visitors, conference rooms, reception-ist services, kitchen, wired for broadband internet access.

Contact Lisa DeWild, 713-209-2934

Expert Witness PETROLEUM ENGINEER

Vance Usher, TX PE - $90/Hr4400 Memorial Dr., #1101

Houston, TX 77007610-329-1056(cell) / 713-880-2472(fax)

[email protected] (email)

Class A Building in Down-town Houston near Theaters, Court Houses, and other fa-cilities for Rent Class A pro-fessional well appointed con-ference room with conference amenities available for rent in the Lyric Centre. People interested in corporate meet-ings, depositions, mediations, conferences,or other similar events can arrange to rent the conference room by hour or by day. Rates subject to avail-ability and amount of time conference is utilized. Please

call Toni at 713-335-5566 for rates and booking.

HOUSTON – TANGLEWOOD. Woodway Frost Bank Build-ing. Window office(s) for sublease in beautiful suite furnished with antiques and Oriental rugs. Includes wood-paneled conference room, eat-in kitchen, advanced phone system answered in-dividually for each attorney. Receptionist included in rent and available for secretarial work. Excellent shared-suite environment since 1991.

Call Lynn at 713-977-9600.

Lorance & Thompson, P.C., a well established litigation firm, has a few extra offices

that were reserved for expan-sion. With the current econ-omy, that isn’t gong to hap-pen any time soon. The firm would like to sublet them to a small firm specializing in a non-litigation practice. If in-terested, please contact Phil Summers, 713-868-5560.

HOuSTON lYRIC OFFICE CENTRE

2 Beautiful Offices, 1 Secre-tarial Office. Beautiful view of Courthouses. Referrals from successful P.I. Atty. Call Leigh

713-224-6774.

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and honors. Please reply to Box 1212, c/o QuantumSur, 12818 Willow Centre Drive, Suite B, Houston, TX 77066.

Tickets, DWI, Hit & Run, Suspended License and Driver License Issues, including DPS hearings. *Traffic Warrants Re-moved.* Personal injury and accidents. Eutsler Law Firm.

Tel. 713-464-6461

MEXICAN lAW EXPERT. Attorney/former law professor testifying since 1997 in U.S. lawsuits involving Mexican law issues. Co-author, leading treatise in field. Plaintiffs/de-fendants. State/federal courts.

David Lopez 210-222-9494 [email protected]

BEAUTIFUL Stow Davis Mahogany “Chan-cellor” U-Shape Desk and Credenza—Desk 102” x 75” and Credenza is 90”. Call for pictures—Best offer!

713-467-8098

For classifieds advertising, please contact:

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HOUSTON /MUSEUM DISTRICT

Newly remodeled Historic Home, minutes from the Court House. On-site Management, receptionist, three conference rooms, kitchen, small library, telephone system, internet ac-cess, copier, fax and free park-ing. Several offices available.

Call 713-840-1840.

Woodlands Offices for lease.Two office suite with clerk of-fice or five office suite with file room in The Woodlands, close to I-45 and Town Cen-ter. Onsite management, re-ceptionist, notary service, conference room with power point, T1 internet access, kitchen, monitored security system, fax, janitorial service, 24 hour access. Contact Judy

281-362-7082. www.woodlandsprofessional

building.com.

HOUSTONBeautifully remodeled build-ing in fantastic location next to Memorial Park. 10,000 sq. ft. available. Includes file room, 19 offices and secre-tarial space, law library, three conference rooms, copier, fax, kitchen, telephone sys-tem, with excellent park-ing. Near 1-10, on West-cott. Non-smoking building.

Call 713-861-3595

EXECuTIvE OFFICE SPACE AvAIlABlE:

ranging from $850-$995 per month. Amenities include: 2 conference rooms; maid and reception services; full kitchen. Heights Boulevard

address. Broker/owner. 713-880-4700.

HOUSTON/DOWNTOWN Beautiful law office for rent within Class A building lo-

cated downtown near court-houses. Office inside the Lyric Centre, overlooking downtown buildings. Space has lobby, conference room, break room, secretarial sec-tions, file cabinets, copy ma-chine with fax and scanner. If interested, please contact Toni Lister at 713-335-5566

One Office space AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY, (approxi-mately 12’ x 22’ plus secre-tarial) in office sharing suite with 5 other lawyers and CPA, includes conference room, shared receptionist, phones, internet, copier, fax, kitchen. Great location between Gal-leria and Greenway Plaza. Approx. $1300 per month. Call 713-629-0670.

SEEKING ASSOCIATE LEGAL COUNSEL for Hous-ton public pension fund, reporting to CLO and work-ing with Trustees, staff and other professionals. Ap-prox.4 years experience with retirement plans, employee benefits, administrative law, institutional investing or Texas local government law required. Excellent writing, research and interpersonal skills required. Occasional travel required. Competi-tive benefit package. Back-ground checks and drug test-ing. Please e-mail resume to [email protected]. EOE.

10 year litigation attorney seeks full-time position/con-tract work. Top 10%; signifi-cant reputable firm experi-ence with pleadings/motions, discovery, hearings, depo-sitions; numerous awards

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