Occupational Assessment Services will present a complimentary CLE dinner seminar titled “Documenting Long Term Medical Needs through a Life Care Plan and Establishing a Special Needs Trust.”

The event, which includes two hours of Texas CLE credit, will be in three Texas cities:

• Sept. 8, Tuesday | Belo Mansion, 2101 Ross Ave., Dallas, TX | 6-9 p.m.
• Sept. 9, Wednesday | Tony’s Houston, 3755 Richmond Ave., Houston, TX | 6-9 p.m.
• Sept. 10, Thursday | InterContinental, 701 Congress Ave., Austin, TX | 6-9 p.m.

Presenters will be Edmond Provder, Vocational Expert and Life Care Planner and Suzanne R. Gaidoo, Esq.

They will cover such topics as:

• Determine the worth of a case
• Understand when a PI case warrants a Life Care Plan
• Understand how a Life Care Plan is used by the trustee of a Special Needs Trust
• Understand using information from a Life Care Plan to establish a special needs trust
• Move toward settlement — Prepare the case for trial

Register for the event.

Software publishers and entities like the BSA, The Software Alliance and the SIIA regularly audit companies to investigate copyright infringement claims. These entities seek monetary penalties if any infringement is discovered, and in the majority of cases, reach an out of court settlement for an agreed upon sum, writes Keli Johnson Swan, an associate at Scott & Scott, LLP.

Sometimes, settlement negotiations break down and one or both parties resort to pursuing claims in court. In many instances, the auditing entity will pursue litigation if it believes that the audit target is refusing to participate in the audit process or is unwilling to reach an amicable resolution. In other instances, a company may choose to fight any potential copyright infringement claims in court rather than participate in an arbitrary auditing process defined by the publisher or auditing entity. There are a few key costs to consider when determining how to defend against software infringement claims.

Read the article.

Foley & Lardner LLP announced that James Matthews and Katy Koski have joined the firm’s Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice and Life Sciences Industry Team as partners in the Boston office.

Matthews and Koski focus their practices on litigating complex business disputes, specializing in the life sciences industry. For nearly a decade, they have represented a wide range of pharmaceutical industry clients in novel civil enforcement actions challenging a wide variety of business conduct. This work includes representing manufacturers in novel claims challenging the development, promotion and sale of prescription pain medications and testosterone replacement therapies.

For many years, Matthews has been lead national counsel for one of the world’s largest drug manufacturers, coordinating the defense of more than 50 separate lawsuits challenging industry-wide pricing practices pending in state and federal courts around the country, including a qui tam action under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) and numerous civil enforcement actions brought by state attorneys general alleging violations of a variety of state statutes, including state false claims acts.

“James and Katy have an impressive track record defending pharmaceutical companies from major government investigations and other litigation matters. They will help deepen our experience in handling multi-jurisdictional cases and other complex cases throughout the country,” said Foley Litigation Department chair Michael Tuteur.

Matthews has substantial experience representing life sciences and technology companies in commercial disputes pending in courts and before arbitrators throughout the country. His practice extends to antitrust actions, including Walker Process and Pay-for-Delay claims, contract disputes and civil enforcement actions.

Koski’s practice also involves complex commercial contract disputes, business torts and intellectual property matters. She has previous experience defending large law firms and individual practitioners against legal malpractice claims.

“Our Boston office has established a strong litigation presence and life sciences practice. James and Katy bring a winning combination of expertise in both areas that will benefit our clients locally and nationally,” said Susan Pravda, managing partner of Foley’s Boston office.

Prior to joining Foley, Matthews and Koski were partners at K&L Gates.

About Foley & Lardner LLP
Foley & Lardner LLP is a corporate law firm that provides legal and related services for complex issues facing companies today. With approximately 900 attorneys in 20 offices, Foley combines international reach with a local focus across a full range of legal services in various industries, including technology, health care, sports and manufacturing. Foley has been recognized by clients and the legal industry for its strong commitment to client service excellence and innovation. Learn more at Foley.com.

One of the more common forms of business disputes is a dispute over the failure to perform certain obligations set forth in a contract, and many businesses and individuals often wonder what is or what constitutes a “breach of contract,” writes Robert Fojo of Fojo Dell’Orfano of New Hampshire.

“If you entered into a contract, performed your obligations under that contract, and you are experiencing issues with getting the other party to perform its own obligations, you may have a situation where that party has not fulfilled its end of the bargain,” he writes.

“What do you do next? This is a question that haunts many businesses and individuals. How do you know what is a breach of contract? Are there any specific steps that need to be taken to make that determination? Should you go back and read the actual contract? How long do you have to do this? Should you talk to an attorney?”

Read the article.

Letters of intent can be minefields, writes Jeffrey Brown of Thompson Coburn.

“On the one hand, business people want to use them to tie up a deal. On the other, they don’t want to be bound by them if they want to walk away,” he explains in the article published on JDSupra.com. “As one court explained, ‘It is a common commercial practice for two negotiating parties to sign a letter of intent or an agreement in principle, signaling that they have come to a tentative agreement on the general outlines of a deal without having nailed down all of the details. Not infrequently, the negotiations that follow the execution of this document break down, prompting the disappointed party to sue on the theory that the preliminary document is binding.’ ”

He writes that parties must be careful in drafting LOIs if they want to avoid having a judge later hold that instead of a precursor to an agreement, the LOI became an enforceable agreement.

Read the article.

National law firm Wilson Elser announces that Joseph J. Ceccarelli has joined the firm’s New York City office as a partner. Ceccarelli was a founding and managing partner of Ceccarelli Weprin PLLC, specializing in business and commercial real estate litigation and transactional work. He also served as treasurer for now State Assemblyman David I. Weprin during four consecutive successful election campaigns for Finance Committee Chair of the New York City Council from 2002 through 2009.

“Joe is a welcome addition to our New York City office and our national commercial services team,” said Partner Thomas Manisero, chair of the firm’s Commercial Services practice. “His experience handling complex commercial transactional and litigation matters will benefit our clients across all industries. His particular specialty in commercial real estate enables us to bolster our capabilities in one of the city’s thriving business sectors.”

In a release, the firm said:

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Ceccarelli has developed a practice focused on commercial and real estate litigation in federal and state courts. His strengths and roots lie in New York City, representing high-stakes business interests on Wall Street and owners, developers and managers in the city’s real estate market.

Among the many services Ceccarelli provides his clients are leasing in office and retail space asset classes; drafting and negotiating service and construction contracts and other building-related agreements; and strategic counsel related to government and regulatory investigations, national and cross-border portfolio acquisitions, and distressed real estate and related asset management.

He has also gained a reputation as a trusted and valued advisor in supporting the cross-practice corporate and litigation needs of growing enterprise software, music and film production, recording artist and digital advertising businesses.

Among Ceccarelli’s civic contributions is his successful pro bono prosecution of the New York test case regarding grandparents’ rights to raise grandchildren in the event of abandonment by or death of the parents. He also served as president and board member of New York City’s Future Condominium from 1995 through 2003, a prominent example of late modernist architecture for international high-rise buildings.

Ceccarelli earned his J.D. degree from Fordham University School of Law and graduated magna cum laude from Fordham University with his B.A. degree in economics.

About Wilson Elser

Wilson Elser, a full-service and leading defense litigation law firm (www.wilsonelser.com), serves its clients with nearly 800 attorneys in 27 offices in the United States and one in London and through a network of affiliates in key regions globally. Founded in 1978, it ranks among the top 200 law firms identified by The American Lawyer and is included in the top 50 of The National Law Journal’s survey of the nation’s largest law firms.

The former general counsel of TCP International Holdings of Aurora, Ohio, has reached a settlement with the company in her lawsuit alleging the company’s former CEO of physically assaulting her, of threatening and bullying her, of damaging the value of the company for stockholders, and of unethical and reckless business practices.

TCP, one of the country’s leading LED light bulb manufacturers, settled the suit brought by Laura Hauser, for $3.9 million, according to SEC documents filed this week, according to Cleveland.com.

“Hauser, the company’s general counsel since 2013, sued her boss, former CEO Ellis Yan, in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in February,” the website reported.

Read the article.

A Texas state court jury handed down a $19.9 million verdict against Canadian stock promoter Robert Kubbernus based upon findings of fraud and violations of the Texas Securities Act, according to a report on PRWeb. The verdict included actual and punitive damages, and after pre-judgment interest and attorney’s fees and expenses are added, the total judgment could exceed $25 million. The case, JoAnn Schermerhorn, et al. v. CenturyLink, Inc. and Robert Kubbernus, et al., was tried before Judge Michael Landrum of the Harris County District Court in Cause No. 2010-09675.

New York City-based Samuel Goldman & Associates was retained by more than 60 investors and shareholders in SkyComm Technologies Corp., to pursue their claims against Kubbernus and CenturyLink, the company that turned control of SkyComm over to him in 2006. SG&A worked with local trial counsel, Eric Fryar and Christina Richardson, of Houston’s Fryar Law Firm, and Harold Obstfeld, a New York securities litigator, in securing the verdict after five and a half years of litigation and a three week trial.

Read the story.

After a trial court and intermediate appellate court had ruled that an arbitration clause in a consumer contract was unconscionable, the California Supreme Court reversed in a recent ruling, finding the clause was enforceable in Sanchez v. Valencia Holding Co., LLC, reports Liz Kramer in Stinson Leonard Street’s Arbitration Nation.

She wrote: “[T]he court found that because the buyer could not negotiate the provisions of the sales contract, he had established ‘some degree of procedural unconscionability.’ (The buyer did not have to prove he tried to negotiate the arbitration clause.)  The court could then address the buyer’s claims of substantive unconscionability.”

“This decision puts California squarely in the mainstream on the unconscionability of arbitration agreements,” she continued. “It also offers very useful guidance for California courts (or those applying California contract law) facing future arguments about the unconscionability of arbitration clauses.”

Read the article.

National law firm Dykema has announced the addition of Lea Courington and R. Chris Harvey, both as senior counsel, to its Dallas office at Comerica Bank Tower. Prior to joining Dykema, both Courington and Harvey practiced at the Dallas firm of Stewart Courington Dugger Dean, PLLC.

Courington focuses her practice on health care, government investigations and white collar criminal defense, antitrust and pharmaceutical matters. She defends physicians, hospitals, health care systems, other healthcare providers, and officers and directors in False Claims Act and qui tam cases. She also represents them in parallel criminal and civil governmental investigations and program integrity inquiries and audits arising from whistleblower complaints and allegations of Medicare and Medicaid fraud. A former trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, her experience includes both civil cases and the prosecution and defense of white collar federal criminal matters.

Courington has successfully defended physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care providers before their respective state licensing boards and has extensive experience in medical staff peer review investigations and proceedings. She negotiates clinical trial agreements and counsels and assists clients with disclosure obligations in reimbursement, overpayment, anti-kickback, and Stark Law matters, as well as structuring transactions to comply with those statutes.

Courington, who has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer each year since 2007, received a J.D. from Duke University School of Law, and a B.A., magna cum laude, from Southern Methodist University.

For more than 40 years, Harvey has tried a wide variety of cases ranging from motion picture antitrust cases to First Amendment cases to complex products liability actions. He previously served as the head of the products liability division at Strasburger & Price. He has extensive experience in the trial of products liability cases over a wide variety of products involving catastrophic injuries.

Harvey was selected as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1991, has served as Chairman of the Dallas County Grievance Committee and Chairman of the Disciplinary Review Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and has also served on the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas.

Harvey has been recognized by the Best Lawyers in America each year since 2010, including being listed as the 2013 “Lawyers of the Year” in Dallas for Product Liability Litigation – Defendants Product Liability. He received an LL.B. from the University of Texas Law School, and a B.B.A. from the University of Texas.

“We are very pleased to welcome both Lea and Chris to our Healthcare and Litigation practices in Dallas,” said Bill Finkelstein, Managing Member of Dykema’s Dallas office. “Their experience handling such a wide variety of matters will make them valuable resources for the firm and its clients.”

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP has added David Cabrales as a litigation partner in the firm’s Dallas office. Cabrales also will work with members of the firm’s Government Affairs team in Austin.

Cabrales, who joins Gardere from Locke Lord LLP, has broad experience representing clients in government and commercial litigation matters. He frequently represents financial institutions, securities broker-dealers, retailers, and life and health insurance companies in traditional, class-action and multidistrict lawsuits, and arbitrations. Cabrales also counsels clients in matters before state government, and represents businesses in litigation matters initiated by state attorneys general.

From 2007 to 2009, Cabrales served as general counsel to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, leading a legal team that advised the governor and his staff on a variety of topics at the intersection of law and public policy. He served as principal economic development advisor for the governor and helped administer the Texas Enterprise Fund, the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, Texas One and other programs in the governor’s economic development portfolio. In addition, Perry appointed Cabrales to the Texas Economic Development Corporation in 2010 and again in 2014, where he served as chairman from 2010 to 2012. He is a member of the bipartisan Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, which is composed of leading Texas attorneys who screen and recommend nominees for vacancies on the federal bench and in U.S. attorney offices across Texas.

“As a former general counsel to the Texas governor, David has a broad understanding of the important issues facing our clients today,” says Gardere Chair Holland N. O’Neil. “His commercial litigation and state government expertise will be welcomed by our clients, and will further enhance our Litigation and Government Affairs practices. He is an excellent addition to the Gardere team.”

A graduate of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, Cabrales began his legal career as a briefing attorney to former Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul Gonzalez. He is a member of the United Way of Texas Board of Directors and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Foundation, as well as a past member of the Texas Racing Commission. 

“Gardere is the premier Texas-based law firm, and has the top government affairs group in Austin,” says Mr. Cabrales. “The Firm’s attorneys are among the most respected in their field. I am excited to be joining this exceptional group of professionals.”;

Cabrales is the latest high-level addition to Gardere. Texas State Representative Jason Villalba joined the firm’s Dallas office in July, and litigation partner Craig Dillard joined the Houston office in January.

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an Am Law 200 firm founded in 1909 and one of the Southwest’s largest full-service law firms, has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Mexico City. Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in the areas of corporate, energy, environmental, financial restructuring and reorganization, financial services, government affairs, hospitality, insurance, intellectual property, international, labor and employment, litigation, private equity, real estate and tax.

Stradley Ronon announced that commercial litigation and insurance attorney Mark D. Villanueva has joined the firm as a partner in its Philadelphia office. He was most recently a partner with McCarter & English.

Villanueva represents clients in commercial litigation matters, having amassed extensive litigation experience at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts and in arbitration proceedings. He also counsels clients in the negotiation and drafting of commercial contracts and sponsorship agreements. Villanueva has worked with companies in numerous industries, including insurance, energy, oil and gas, financial services, pharmaceutical and health care.

Villanueva brings with him to Stradley Ronon significant litigation, transactional and intellectual property matters, the firm said in a release.

“Mark is widely regarded as one of the region’s top young attorneys, and we are thrilled to have him join Stradley Ronon,” said firm Chairman William R. Sasso. “His commercial litigation and insurance experience complements our existing practice areas and further advances our mission of providing clients with skilled attorneys committed to providing value-driven results.”

“Joining Stradley Ronon gives me a large, sophisticated and highly visible platform from which to serve my clients,” said Villanueva. “While I was familiar with the firm’s deep roster of legal talent in areas such as litigation, insurance, intellectual property and corporate law, I was just as impressed with its commitment to responsive, efficient, comprehensive client service, which is particularly attractive to my contacts.”

Stradley Ronon’s nationally recognized insurance practice group counsels leading insurers, reinsurers and producers, and, when necessary, litigates on their behalf. The firm helps insurers resolve disputes regarding the full spectrum of commercial and individual coverage lines, including transactional and regulatory matters and complex claims and litigation. In addition, Stradley Ronon’s complex commercial litigation practice represents public and private companies in a wide range of industries on litigation issues including securities fraud allegations, director and office liability, merger and acquisition disputes, shareholder disputes, intellectual property claims, business torts, contract claims and lender liability matters. The firm’s litigation practice group was recognized by The Legal Intelligencer as one of the top litigation departments in Pennsylvania.

“Mark’s unique combination of business savvy and courtroom experience strengthens the capabilities of our growing corporate and litigation teams,” said Stradley Ronon Insurance Practice Group Chair Steven B. Davis “His passion for the law and commitment to client service will instantly resonate with our client base.”

Prior to joining McCarter & English, Villanueva clerked for the Honorable Paul S. Diamond of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He began his legal career as an associate at Drinker Biddle. Villanueva was honored as one of The Legal Intelligencer’s “Lawyers on the Fast Track.”

He received his J.D. magna cum laude from The Catholic University Columbus School of Law, where he was notes and comments editor of The Catholic University Law Review, and his B.A. from Bucknell University.

About Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young

Counseling clients since 1926, Stradley Ronon has helped private and public companies – from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations – achieve their goals by providing pragmatic, value-driven legal counsel, the release said. The firm has seven offices throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently found that a party licensing or selling its patent rights cannot receive royalties after a patent expires, regardless of whether or not the contract allows for the payment of such royalties. But an article published by Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice says that contract drafters can still achieve payment deferral and risk allocation without a long-term royalty distribution using creative and strategic provisions.

“Expiration of a patent also terminates the rights to collect royalties on that patent – even if a license contract says otherwise,” Theodore Claypoole writes in the article. “All businesses are reminded to check the termination date of any patent licensed to the business for use of underlying technology. While the license may remain valid, the licensor’s right to collect royalties may be invalid. While it is only natural for patent holders to want to profit from their patents as long as possible, according to the Supreme Court patent holders can only earn royalties for sales made before their patents expire. Royalty-bearing licenses like the one in Kimble should be careful in how payments are allocated, or risk partial or total invalidation.”

Read the article.

Kat Gallagher, partner in Beck Redden’s Houston office, has been invited to become a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL).

“With more than 25 years practicing law, Kat has distinguished herself as an elite trial lawyer with outstanding instincts for how to best tell her client’s story in the most persuasive and compelling manner,” the firm said in a release. “Her invitation to become an IATL Fellow is well deserved.”

The news release continues:

“I am truly honored and grateful to become an IATL Fellow” said Kat. “I am humbled to have received this recognition from the judges before whom I have appeared and from my peers.”

Kat will officially be inducted as an IATL Fellow during a ceremony to be held on July 25, 2015.

Membership in the Academy is limited to only 500 Fellows in the U.S. under the age of 70.  Standards for admission are high and the process is extremely thorough. Imperative qualities for every nominee include outstanding skills and extensive experience as a trial lawyer, unimpeachable personal and professional character, and integrity and honesty, among others.

The purposes of the IATL are to promote the rule of law, promote reforms in the law, facilitate the administration of justice, and elevate the standards of integrity, honor, and courtesy in the legal profession globally.

A young woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted in 2011 by the owner of a pizza restaurant in Addison, Texas, has been awarded $21.43 million following a four-day bench trial heard in the 193rd District Court in Dallas.

Judge Carl Ginsberg issued the award after hearing evidence that Ajredin “Danny” Deari, owner of co-defendant Pastazios Pizza in Addison, served the then-18-year-old victim multiple rounds of beer and whiskey at the restaurant under the pretext of a job interview.

According to a release issued by the plaintiff’s law firm, the victim eventually passed out and awoke in a nearby hotel room while she was being sexually assaulted by Mr. Deari, who then fled the scene. Subsequent physical examinations determined that Deari had infected her with herpes during the assault.

The woman, who is identified as “Jane Doe” due to the nature of the assault and her age at that time, was in Judge Ginsberg’s courtroom throughout the trial.

“The judge called this the most offensive set of facts he had ever seen during his time on the bench,” says Dallas attorney Trey Crawford of Gruber Hurst Elrod Johansen Hail Shank, who represented the woman at trial with co-counsel Royce West of Dallas’ West & Associates L.L.P. and Gruber Hurst Elrod co-founder Michael Gruber.

Deari pleaded no contest to criminal charges and the next day filed for personal and business bankruptcy protection. Pastazios continues to operate under Chapter 11 status.

“This is certainly one of the largest bench trial judgments in Dallas County in recent memory,” says Mr. West. “This young woman has been waiting for justice for four long years, and she’s fought very hard to make sure that every business owner is aware of the consequences of their actions.”

Gruber Hurst Elrod attorney Brian Mason also represented the woman at trial.

The case is Jane Doe v. Pastazios Pizza, Inc.; and Ajredin “Danny” Deari, No. 13-04564.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has posted an article about the American Arbitration Association’s revised Construction Industry Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures which became effective July 1, 2015.

George Haley, John Heisse, Clark Thiel and Robert Thum write that, although some changes are relatively modest, others expand the powers of the arbitrator and may alter traditional assumptions underlying the selection of arbitration as a dispute resolution process for construction projects.

“For example, the Rules now provide a procedure for emergency relief that may result in more mid-project disputes being taken to arbitration or court, as the new Rule R-39 provides a party can seek emergency relief from either the AAA or a court, without violating the agreement to arbitrate,” they write.

Read the article.

An article posted on the website of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg discusses the adoption of the estoppel principle as a remedy for policyholders who have been wrongfully denied a defense by their liability insurers, as covered in the American Law Institute’s Preliminary Draft No. 1 of the Restatement on Liability Insurance.

“The rule that the duty to defend is triggered by unproven allegations, referred to as the ‘potentiality standard,’ recognizes the reality that the insured has no control over how the allegations are plead in liability matters,” writes Jill Berkeley.

“Estoppel, or forfeiture of defenses against coverage, in the end, is the penalty for a wrongful breach of the duty to defend. If there were no estoppel or additional risk to the insurer, there would be no downside to the insurer for wrongfully denying the policyholder the benefit of its bargain,” she writes.

Read the article.

Seyfarth Shaw reports on a contract case in which a California court found that an arbitration agreement between Texas-based Neiman Marcus and a California-based employee was unconscionable because the agreement designated Texas law as the law to apply.

“Many companies doing business in California have implemented arbitration agreements for resolving disputes with their employees,” the article says. “Companies headquartered in states other than California often prefer to use the law of their own state as the law to govern their contracts. In the context of arbitration, a valid choice of law can tell the arbitrator what law to apply.”

The case is Pinela v. Neiman Marcus Group, Inc.

“This holding should cause non-California employers pause prior to implementing an arbitration agreement that chooses a law other than California’s for disputes involving California employees,” the article says.

Read the article.

Attorneys Wesley Hill of Longview, Texas-based Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC, and Christopher Banys of Palo Alto, California-based Banys, P.C., have won a $9.25 million patent infringement verdict on behalf of the surviving family members of Dallas inventor Charles Freeny Jr.

Hill and Banys represented Freeny’s three adult sons, Brian, James and Charles III, in the trial heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall. The lawsuit against El Dorado, Arkansas-based Murphy USA Inc. accused the company of infringing two patents owned by the three brothers that cover technology used in fuel pricing systems, U.S. Patent No. 6,076,071 and No. 6,513,016 (both titled “automated synchronous product pricing and advertising system”).

“We are very thankful the jury recognized Murphy USA’s wrongful use of the Freenys’ intellectual property,” says Hill. “This was a hard fought case that ended with the correct decision.”

Jurors appearing before Judge Roy Payne returned the verdict on June 11 following approximately 3.5 hours of deliberations. The $9.25 million awarded to the Freeny brothers followed the jury’s finding that the four claims of the contested patents were valid and that Murphy USA had infringed all four of the claims. The case is Charles C. Freeny, III, et al. v. Murphy USA, Inc., No. 2:13-CV-791.

Hill, a veteran of East Texas courts, has successfully tried numerous cases to verdict, including more than a dozen patent infringement trials. His trial expertise has helped him earn selection to the annual Texas Rising Stars list of the state’s top young lawyers since 2011 and membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Longview, Texas-based Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC, has tried more than 350 cases to verdict, earning a national reputation in high-stakes claims involving complex commercial litigation, intellectual property law, oil and gas matters, bad faith insurance claims, and serious personal injury claims. The firm frequently assists lawyers nationwide in complex cases before Texas juries.

The Dallas-based law firm Gruber Hurst Elrod Johansen Hail Shank LLP, one of the largest litigation-focused boutique practices in Texas, has added two high-profile attorneys as partners.

“Samuel M. Stricklin and Tricia R. DeLeon together offer more than 40 years of combined legal experience, enhancing the firm’s growing practice representing bankruptcy plan trustees and others in major bankruptcy litigation,” the firm said in a release. “Ms. DeLeon and Mr. Stricklin previously were partners in the Dallas office of Bracewell & Giuliani.”

“Tricia and Sam each offer a diverse and impressive record of success in courtrooms throughout Texas and across the nation,” says firm name partner Mark Johansen. “Their collective accomplishments, commitment to effective client service, and history of professional and community involvement reflect the values and qualities of our firm. We’re delighted they made the decision to join us.”

Sam Stricklin

Stricklin has served as lead trial attorney in a wide range of business bankruptcy and litigation matters during the past 25 years, representing debtors, trustees, creditor committees and individual creditors in negotiations and contested hearings. Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Stricklin earned his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center in 1987 and his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University in 1984.

Tricia DeLeon

DeLeon has tried numerous jury trials in state and federal courts, focusing her practice on complex commercial litigation in financial, banking and securities matters, as well as director and officer insurance disputes, commercial bankruptcies and class-action defense. Active in a number of legal and civic organizations, DeLeon earned her law degree from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law in 1999 after securing her undergraduate degree, with honors, from DePauw University in 1996. She also served as a briefing attorney for the Hon. James A. Baker at the Texas Supreme Court during the 1999-2000 session.

In its release, Gruber Hurst Elrod Johansen Hail Shank LLP said the firm represents clients in complex commercial litigation in Texas and across the nation. “The firm’s experience includes litigation involving energy, contract disputes, pipeline construction, partnership dissolutions, fiduciary matters, labor and employment, securities and shareholder disputes, intellectual property, bankruptcy and other business and commercial cases. Clients include leading companies and individuals as both defendants and plaintiffs across a broad range of industries,” the release continues.