Lene Caracas-Apuntar News
Standing up to the bullies at the Texas Bar
You’d think a group of people could define “nonpartisanship” and agree on how to implement and maintain it: by consciously making an effort to be impartial and unbiased, not favoring one party or faction over another, trying to be moderate or middle of the road on the issues of the day and not lean one way or the other, perhaps even establishing a list of topics that the group chooses not to take positions on.
Pointless or not, just wear a mask!
There’s no accounting for taste. One man’s meat is another man’s poison, one man’s trash another man’s treasure, and so on.
When does the hurting stop?
If you’ve never seen the hilarious 1990s cartoon Eek! The Cat, you don’t know what you’re missing. Eek’s catchphrase was “It never hurts to help,” and each episode demonstrated the disastrous consequences of his naive optimism.
Did PPP loans to Texas law firms facilitate donations to Democrat PACs?
The U.S. Treasury website says that forgivable loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were meant to provide “small businesses with the resources they need to maintain their payroll,” but some of the loans seem to have gone to businesses that aren’t so small.
The man with the million-dollar hernia
“It’s always something,” Gilda Radner’s Saturday Night Live character Roseanne Roseannadanna was wont to lament. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.”
Nonmaskers have a champion in Briscoe Cain
“A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty, 'Hi yo, Silver!' The Lone Ranger! With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early west. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.”
Attorneys appeal judgment upholding compulsory Bar dues
A trio of attorneys has appealed U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel’s summary judgment in favor of the state bar association.
Attorney Steve Kherkher launches the ‘Never Morris’ Resistance
Judges don’t always rule the way trial attorney Steve Kherkher would like them to. Maybe that’s why his firm contributes so much money to candidates running for judgeships. If the candidates he supports get elected, he might think, there’s a better chance of getting the decision he desires when he appears in those judges’ courts.
U.S. Supreme Court should put the kibosh on lawfare litigation
After California municipalities filed suit against ExxonMobil for contributing to the alleged effects of climate change, Exxon petitioned Tarrant County District Court for pre-suit discovery for a potential lawsuit of its own against the plaintiffs. The municipalities unsuccessfully challenged the trial court’s jurisdiction.
The effects of the Janus decision are still unfolding
Before his tenure ended in 2019, Texas State Bar President Joe Longley asked State Attorney General Ken Paxton to issue an opinion on two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Janus v. AFSCME and Fleck v. Wetch.
The Road Back to Business as Usual
“My torts professor taught us that uncertainty about the standard of care creates what he calls a ‘cliff problem’… When we know there’s a liability cliff—some line that will be catastrophic to step across—but we don’t know exactly where the edge of the cliff is, we will avoid the ground near the cliff altogether.”
That testimony, provided by Texas Christian University General Counsel Leroy Tyner to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, puts into clear focus the tremendously difficult decisions businesses across our state and nation are facing today.
New County Clerk Has Potentially Lucrative Legal Contract with Harris County
Tuesday night, during another marathon session of Harris County Commissioners Court, Commissioners voted on party lines to appoint local attorney Christopher Hollins as interim county clerk. Hollins will take office on June 1, filling the vacancy left by Diane Trautman’s abrupt resignation. According to media reports, Hollins has pledged not to seek election to the office this November.
We need more Parrot Heads in public service
Jimmy Buffett’s post-Katrina anthem offers sound advice for the victims of catastrophes, and even sounder advice for the victims of false alarms.
To open or not to open? That is the question
It’s a question confronting public officials at all levels of government – as well as citizens and business owners, who have the God-given and constitutionally-protected right to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to petition for redress of grievances, etc.
Salon owner Shelley Luther may not hold Judge Moyé in contempt, but we do
Because Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther decided to keep her business open despite the stay-at-home order, the imperious Dallas County Judge Eric Moyé held her in contempt of court, sentenced her to seven days in jail, and imposed a $7,000 fine.
Is attorney Truett Akin of AkinMears really ‘A liar and a shyster’?
Them’s fightin’ words! Nevertheless, “a liar and a shyster” is the phrase attorney Ralph Manginello used to describe fellow attorney Truett Akin IV, and he’s not the first to call Truett untruthful.
Chasing the Coronavirus storm
“The COVID-19 crisis is affecting every person and business around the world.... State and local governments have issued civil authority orders to implement and enforce social distancing requirements in hopes of slowing the spread of the virus. While these measures appear to be working, a collateral result is the massive shutdown of many industries around the nation and beyond.”
Collateral damage? That could be the basis for a lawsuit. Maybe even a class action.
MCGUIREWOODS LLP: Leveraging PTC and ITC for Renewable Energy and the New Tax Extenders Bill
McGuireWoods LLP issued the following announcement on.When: March 26, 2020 1 – 2:30 p.m.
Never let a crisis go to waste
What the heck is going on?
We’re panicking over the coronavirus, clearing supermarket shelves of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, hoarding them, and to hell with everyone else! Of course, if everyone else gets sick and dies because of our selfishness, we’re going to be pretty lonely.
Keep this in mind when voting in May
Before the March 3 primary, we urged voters “to scrutinize the connections of the candidates and try to ascertain the expectations of their donors.” He who pays the piper calls the tune, and all that jazz.