AlixPartners, the global advisory firm, has announced that Kathryn Koorenny has joined the firm as Managing Director and General Counsel. Ms. Koorenny will join the firm’s senior leadership team and be based in AlixPartners’ New York office.

Ms. Koorenny succeeds John Collins, who is stepping down after eight years of service to pursue a career in academia.

Ms. Koorenny joins AlixPartners from American Airlines, where she spent 20 years, most recently as Associate General Counsel, Litigation and Compliance. There, she was responsible for global commercial litigation and corporate compliance.

“Kathryn is an accomplished attorney who brings exceptional experience, passion and energy to her work,” said Fred Crawford, CEO of AlixPartners. “I look forward to working with her and believe she will bring a unique perspective to the senior leadership team. It is a pleasure to welcome her to the firm.”

Ms. Koorenny’s background also includes considerable experience in legal and business ethics leadership, litigation, and mergers and integration on both sides of Chapter 11 bankruptcies. As such, she has a deep understanding of the sensitive situations AlixPartners’ clients often face and a demonstrated track record of providing highly responsive and effective counsel.

“AlixPartners consultants work under extreme pressure to deliver exceptional results – and our legal team works just as hard to support them,” said Kathryn Koorenny, General Counsel of AlixPartners. “I am excited to join the team and will be a passionate advocate for our business, our clients, and our people.”

Prior to joining American Airlines, Ms. Koorenny worked as an attorney in the litigation practice of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she represented secured creditors, lessors, and Chapter 11 debtors.

Ms. Koorenny holds a J.D. from the University of Southern California Law Center and a B.A. from Loma Linda University.

About AlixPartners
AlixPartners is a leading global business advisory firm of results-oriented professionals who specialize in creating value and restoring performance at every stage of the business life cycle. We thrive on our ability to make a difference in high-impact situations and to deliver sustainable, bottom-line results. The firm’s expertise covers a wide range of businesses and industries whether they are healthy, challenged or distressed. Since 1981, we have taken a unique, small-team, action-oriented approach to helping corporate boards and management, law firms, investment banks, and investors to respond to crucial business issues. For more information, visit www.alixpartners.com.

The Expert Institute is working on a comprehensive ranking of legal blogs as a part of its 2015 Best Legal Blog Contest.

“You’ve written hundreds of posts, scored thousands of pageviews, and won diehard fans and subscribers,” the Institute says on its website. “Whether you offer insightful analysis of a niche legal topic or light hearted commentary on life as a lawyer, your legal blog deserves some recognition.

“From medical malpractice to intellectual property and criminal law, we’re creating the largest and most comprehensive ranking of legal blogs online today as chosen by thousands of voters – and we want your blog to earn a spot on the list.”

The Institute says each blog will compete for rank, as well as exposure to our monthly readership of more than 200,000 legal professionals. The three blogs that receive the most votes overall will win cash prizes.

Enter the contest.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has further addressed the area of contract and insurance interplay with its decision in Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co. v. Aspen Underwriting Ltd. et al., No. 13-51027, (5th Cir. June 10, 2015), reports Liskow & Lewis in an article posted on Lexology.com.

“The appellate court was asked to determine whether, under Texas law, contractual requirements in a master service agreement obligating the contractor to name the oil company as an additional insured and provide $5 million in additional insured coverage served to limit the amount of insurance provided to $5 million notwithstanding that the liability limit of the contractor’s insurance program was significantly greater ($50 million),” the article says.

The Court ultimately concluded that the “Insured Contract” provision discussed in Deepwater Horizon was sufficient to incorporate the limitations of the MSA.

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 Houston trial law firm Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, is one of only 10 boutique firms nationally being recognized by the legal publication Law360 for successfully challenging the country’s biggest law firms.

Law360 says the 2015 list of leading trial boutiques includes firms “that have established brands on par with the biggest firms” and are “less expensive and easier for clients to get on the phone.”

The Law360 article, “10 Boutiques Giving BigLaw a Run for its Money” (subscription required), notes AZA’s focus on energy and intellectual property law, saying the firm has “built on an already strong reputation by securing a $16 million jury verdict in February against Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. on behalf of Rembrandt Wireless Technologies LP. The win increased its strong trial reputation, which also got a boost last year from an $11.4 million verdict for client Function One Consulting Group LLC.”

The article also points to the firm’s impressive roster of high-profile clients, which include Halliburton Co., Apache Corp., and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., among others.

Jack Hopper of Texas-based Kinney Recruiting, one of the independent experts quoted, says AZA’s success has him believing the boutique trend will continue in Texas: “If you can get the same or better quality lawyering in a more nimble environment with less bill rate pressure, why wouldn’t it continue?”

Earlier this year, AZA was recommended among the top seven U.S. plaintiff patent firms by Intellectual Asset Management, which publishes a guide to the world’s leading patent lawyers. AZA has built an impressive record litigating patent infringement, trademark, copyright and trade secret cases.

Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, is a Houston-based law firm.

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.

Law Ruler Software, LLC announces its new SMS Text Marketing feature that allows a law firm to conduct direct communication with its existing and future clients.

SMS Text Message Marketing offers eight times the response rate of email, the company says in a release, adding the company educates its clients on the proper use of SMS Text Message technology, and that it should be used within the bounds of state and federal laws.

More from the release:

Benefits of Law Ruler Software’s SMS Text Message Marketing Features:

• Create paperless business cards to generate more referrals or advertise on billboards using SMS Text Codes
• Build an “Opt-in” list and mass SMS Text message clients with important legal announcements, reminders, or to drastically increase lead conversion
• Create law firm client and lead generation forms for users to opt-in to the list
• Generate unique mobile auto-responders to “set it and forget it” to offer mobile phone users customized information specific to your area of law, Ex: Accident Information
• Appointment scheduling and client appointment reminders
• Get more get more retainer contracts signed using SMS Text Messages

“Law Ruler legal case intake management software offers the features of many separate systems in one, and can do it all. Law Ruler offers staggering practice growth and lead management results and now offers both SMS Text and Email Marketing features that are very powerful for a law firm when used in compliance with state and federal laws,” said Daniel S. Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer of Law Ruler Software, LLC.

The purpose of Law Ruler Software is to bridge the gap between the advertising/marketing of a law firm and their legal case management software to increase productivity and revenue for the firm and its associates. The addition of advanced SMS Text Messaging features inside Law Ruler Software makes the communication gap a lot smaller between law firms and their existing and future clients and can increase response rates by eight times.

Also, Law Ruler Software, LLC announces the addition of Richard “Rick” Kaufman to its management team.  Kaufman has more than 20 years of experience serving the legal market and more than 10 years of executive leadership. He has an extensive background in legal case and practice management software sales, service, and support leadership both in and outside the legal industry.

Kaufman comes to Law Ruler Software after working at Thomson Reuters and WestLaw. Most recently he served as the North America Sales Manager for Action Step case management software. Kaufman led several diverse teams serving customer’s needs for practice know how, practice management, legal research, and knowledge management.

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has agreed to acquire Knowledge Universe’s US early-childhood education business (KUE LLC) on behalf of its clients. KUE LLC is the largest for-profit provider of early childhood education in the United States and the parent company of KinderCare Learning Centers, as well as the brands Children’s Creative Learning Centers (CCLC) and Champions. The transaction is expected to close later this year.

Latham & Watkins LLP represented Knowledge Universe in the transaction with a corporate team led from the firm’s Los Angeles office by partner Brad Helms, with associates Jordan Miller and Alyssa Chi. Advice was also provided on finance matters by partner John Jameson and associate Mark Morris in Los Angeles; on real estate matters by partner David Meckler and associate Hilary Shalla in Orange County; on employee benefits matters by partner Laurence Seymour in Los Angeles and associate Julie Crisp in San Francisco; on tax matters by partner Samuel Weiner in Los Angeles and associate Enrique Rene de Vera in Chicago; on intellectual property matters by counsel David Kuiper in Orange County; on environmental matters by partner Michael Feeley, with associates Aron Potash and John Morris in Los Angeles; and on antitrust matters by counsel Sydney Smith in Washington, D.C.

KinderCare Learning Centers has been educating and caring for children for over 45 years and has a strong reputation for delivering high-quality educational programs through approximately 1’400 centers in 38 states. KinderCare is on track to achieve 100% national accreditation of its centers in 2016. In May 2015, the company saw its 1’000th center achieve this prestigious accreditation milestone, which signifies a program is of the highest quality recognized nationally in the early-childhood education field. KinderCare is KUE LLC’s largest subsidiary.

KUE LLC owns two additional education businesses, CCLC and Champions. CCLC provides early-childhood care and educational services similar to those offered by KinderCare, in partnership with corporate clients, government agencies and leading universities. It currently provides programs for more than 200 clients and operates approximately 100 centers. Champions partners with schools to offer before- and after-school educational and developmental programs. It currently runs over 400 programs across the US.

Following the investment, Partners Group will work with the KUE LLC management team on several initiatives to expand its programs and enhance the experience for families enrolled at its centers, drawing on its long track record of investment in the education sector globally.

Tom Wyatt, CEO of KUE LLC, comments: “Partners Group shares our passion for positively impacting the lives of children and families every day through quality education. Families will see the same experienced, dedicated teachers and the same exceptional programs as we continue to build on our strong foundation. I’m extremely proud of our employees’ hard work over the past three years in transforming our company financially and culturally. It’s rewarding to now have the potential to support even more children within our programs.”

Joel Schwartz, Managing Director, Private Equity at Partners Group, will join the Board of KUE LLC once the transaction completes. He states: “KUE LLC is an innovative market leader that has achieved measurable impact with its early-childhood educational programs. Since 2012, Tom Wyatt and the rest of the executive team have increased the focus on engagement amongst both employees and families, leading to increased enrollment. They have also invested in a new curriculum and increased support for professional development, leading to a rapid climb in the number of centers gaining national accreditation through professional organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children. We are looking forward toworking alongside the executive team to build on this momentum and further raise the bar for standards in early-childhood education in the US.”

The transaction has fully committed financing from Credit Suisse, Barclays and Bank of Montreal and is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Credit Suisse, Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Goodwin Procter LLP and KPMG LLP are advising Partners Group on the transaction.

Nord Anglia Education, Inc., the world’s leading operator of premium schools, has announced in a press release dated June 25, 2015, that it completed its acquisition of six schools from Meritas, LLC and certain affiliates for net cash consideration of US$534 million plus US$25 million of deferred consideration, as detailed in the company-issued press release below. The schools are located in North America, Europe and China.

Latham & Watkins advised Nord Anglia Education in the acquisition and its concurrent equity offering, CHF denominated notes offering and amendment and restatement of its senior secured credit facilities, which the company used to finance the acquisition.

Bryant Edwards, Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Asia practice, said, “We are delighted to continue our long-standing relationship with Nord Anglia Education in this landmark series of transactions.”

“The simultaneous execution of a major acquisition, equity offering, high yield notes offering and bank financing, all involving complex cross-border issues, demonstrates Latham & Watkins’ unique global platform and broad expertise across our practice groups,” added Edwards.

Latham & Watkins advised Nord Anglia Education in these transactions with a M&A team led by Chicago partner Brad Faris and associate Jonathan Solomon with associates Alan Bakhos and Laura Janowitsch; a capital markets team led by New York partner Marc Jaffe, Hong Kong partner Eugene Lee and associate Dominik Sklenar; and a finance team led by New York partner David Teh, with associates Nicole Fanjuland Colin O’Regan in New York and Shahid Jamil and Tanim Rahman in London.

Lawyers from Latham & Watkins’ London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Madrid offices advised on local law matters related to the notes offering and credit facilities amendment.

Farrell Fritz partner Jason S. Samuels was recently appointed Chair of the Nassau County Bar Association’s (NCBA) Construction Law Committee. He will serve a two year term.

Samuels, a Roslyn Heights, NY, resident, concentrates his practice in construction law. He represents contractors, owners and developers in a variety of matters. He earned his J.D. degree from Hofstra University School of Law and his B.A. degree from the State University of New York at Albany.

The Construction Law Committee is a forum for the discussion of construction-related topics.

A group of airline customers has filed a federal class-action lawsuit in Dallas accusing four major U.S. airlines of violating antitrust laws by conspiring to artificially inflate airfares in order to reap huge profits.

The lawsuit filed July 8 says Texas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Atlanta’s Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL) and Chicago’s United Airlines (NYSE:UAL) conspired to restrict capacity by limiting routes and the number of available seats in order to charge artificially high prices.

“The defendants are so intent on raising profits that they appear to have colluded to gouge customers’ pocketbooks and keep airfares sky high,” says Dallas attorney Warren T. Burns of Burns Charest LLP, who represents the plaintiffs. “Agreeing to restrict capacity to keep your profits high marks the very definition of an antitrust violation.”

In a release, Burns Charest describes a series of economic conditions that should have resulted in more available airline seats and lower ticket prices, including increasing public demand for airline seats and the fact that airlines paid at least $1.50 per gallon less for jet fuel in 2014 compared to 2013. Instead, the supply of seats has remained virtually flat and airline fares skyrocketed at an inflation-adjusted rate of 13 percent from 2009 to 2014, the lawsuit says.

The filing follows last week’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice that it is investigating the airlines’ tactics. Similar lawsuits on behalf of airline customers have been filed in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Burns and Burns Charest have moved to transfer and consolidate all the civil cases in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, where today’s lawsuit was filed, according to the firm’s release.

The case is Cumming, et al. v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 3:15-cv-02253.

Burns Charest is a Dallas and New Orleans-based trial law firm with a national practice representing consumers and businesses. The firm represents clients in large, complex class actions; antitrust claims; oil and gas royalty disputes; environmental pollution cases; and asbestos exposure claims.

Beck Redden LLP Partner Alistair Dawson and his wife Wendy are featured in the current issue of The Houston Lawyer magazine. The couple is recognized for their unwavering dedication and passion for helping others, especially children and adults with special needs.

In addition to their renowned efforts and success within the legal and commodities trading professions, both Alistair and Wendy are deeply committed to the Social Motion Skills, a non‐profit organization that Wendy founded in 2010, and to the H.E.A.R.T. program where Alistair serves as Chairman. Social Motion Skills is aimed at teaching life and social skills to autistic children and adults, and the H.E.A.R.T. program provides education, training, and jobs to developmentally challenged young adults.

Beck Redden is a litigation firm that handles a wide range of disputes including commercial, oil and gas, product liability, antitrust, securities, environmental, insurance coverage, legal and accounting malpractice, white collar crimes, patent and other intellectual property cases.

Microsystems announces the promotion of David Cook to the position of Vice President, Product Development, succeeding newly-appointed CEO Stacey Kacek in the position as the leader of the Downers Grove, Ill.-based software company’s product team.

Cook, who joined Microsystems in 2013 as the Director of Software Development, has worked with Kacek at three different companies, each time joining when Kacek recruited him. Cook’s background includes escalating positions in consulting, software development, and engineering with Andersen Consulting, IBM, Motorola, SmartSignal, and GE.

Kacek said this of the appointment: “David enables us to innovate fast. When I arrived at Microsystems in 2013 as VP of Product Development and CTO, I knew I had much to do accelerate our pace of product development to match the rapidly-changing needs of the markets we serve. David was the first person I called. Together we were able to implement rapid changes in our methodologies to agile development, and make large changes in our staffing models, and from there, our product roadmap. As the leader of our product development team, he will continue to expand the efforts we started together and continue to ensure our products truly deliver the value our customers demand.”

The Microsystems product lineup currently includes four software solutions to assist document-intensive businesses such as the legal, life sciences, and financial verticals: DocXtools; EagleEye; Patent Companion; and 3BClean. These products meet the complex demands associated with all aspects of the document production life cycle—authoring, review, proofreading, editing, and distribution. Cook, working with Kacek has driven broad innovation efforts into Microsystems product lineup, expanding existing products, launching new product efforts, and into supporting mobile and cloud computing.

About Microsystems:
Microsystems has provided cutting-edge software and innovative document technology solutions since 1995. Its products help companies worldwide mitigate risk, improve authoring, create error-free documents, and enhance document production efficiency. Today, Microsystems supports more than 650 document-intensive organizations across the globe, helping them satisfy the complex demands of clients and regulators.

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP announces that attorney and Texas State Rep. Jason Villalba has joined the firm as a corporate partner in the Dallas office.

Villalba, who joins Gardere from Haynes and Boone LLP, brings more than a decade of experience representing clients in a wide array of corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures of public, private and middle-market companies; venture capital and private equity financing transactions; and transactions involving emerging growth and technology companies, the firm said in a release. In addition, Villalba has experience representing clients in public and private securities offerings under the Securities Act of 1933, as well as public company corporate compliance under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

“An important part of Villalba’s practice includes his work with the Texas Legislature. He currently serves as the state representative for House District 114, where he focuses on key issues facing all Texans – education, water, transportation and public safety,” the release says. “Since taking office in 2013, Mr. Villalba has been committed to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find consensus and pass legislation that benefits Texans and positively affects the future of the state. As a result, in his first session as a legislator, seven of the 10 bills he proposed were signed into law, and in his second session, he passed an additional 10 bills – with none vetoed by the governor.”

“Through Jason’s service in the Texas Legislature, he has developed a unique understanding of the business and regulatory needs facing our clients,” said Gardere Chair Holland N. O’Neil. “He is well-known in our market and very well-respected. We are excited to welcome him to the Firm.”

Last year, the Republican State Leadership Committee named Villalba to serve as an executive committee member of the Future Majority Caucus, an initiative to create a long-term, sustained commitment of significant contributions of time and resources to support and elect minorities to state offices. He is the immediate past vice-chair of the Dallas County Republican Party, a member of the board of directors of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings’ Grow South Fund, and a member of the development committee of the Dallas Zoo.

A fourth-generation Texan, Villalba credits his parents for teaching him the value of hard work, integrity, academic achievement and personal responsibility. The first in his family to graduate from college, Villalba worked his way through Baylor University where he studied economics and finance. He went on to earn his law degree at the University of Texas School of Law.

“I am excited about the opportunity to work with the team at Gardere,” said Mr. Villalba. “The Firm’s commitment to providing world-class legal services is matched only by the exceptional quality of the lawyers who call Gardere home. It is both an honor and a privilege for me to be able to continue my legal career with such a capable and well-respected group of counselors.”

Villalba joins Gardere‘s corporate practice, which focuses on sophisticated transactions across a wide variety of industries throughout the United States, Mexico and beyond. The team is known for its work with entrepreneurs and among middle-market companies, both public and private, particularly within the technology and energy sectors.

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.

Hogan Lovells has announced that Maria Boyce, Jennifer Smith and Cristina Rodriguez will be joining the Litigation and Arbitration practice group as partners in the firm’s Houston office.

“As Houstonians with global practices and perspectives, Maria, Jennifer, and Cristina are the kind of market leaders who will add to our diverse, collaborative, and client-centered team,” said Stephen Immelt, CEO of Hogan Lovells. “Houston is critical for many of our energy clients in Texas and international clients in Latin America and beyond. We welcome Maria, Jennifer, and Cristina and the ability they bring to serve clients in this important market.”

Boyce, Smith, and Rodriguez join Hogan Lovells from Baker Botts. A Senior Litigation Partner who served three terms on the firm’s Executive Committee, Boyce previously served as partner-in-charge of the Houston office and head of the Houston office litigation department. Smith, who is a Qualified Solicitor in England and Wales, in addition to being licensed in Texas, assisted in opening the Baker Botts London office and spent eight years of her career there. She has also served on the firm’s Executive Committee, and has served as Deputy Chair of the Firm wide Litigation Department for seven years. Rodriguez was a founding member of the firm’s diversity committee and head of the professional liability practice group, as well as the former Hiring Partner of the Houston office.

“We are excited to be joining Hogan Lovells. The firm’s dynamic global platform fits perfectly with our practices and offers unique opportunities for our clients,” said Rodriguez. “Hogan Lovells has a diverse culture and a strong commitment to Houston, which is ideal for our group and our clients.”

“Not only are Maria, Jennifer, and Cristina first chair trial lawyers at the vanguard of dispute resolution in the 21st century, they are leaders in the Houston community,” said Bruce Oakley, managing partner of the firm’s Houston Office, in a release. “We could not be more pleased with this transformational step in the growth of our Houston office.” The release continues:

About the Lawyers

Maria Boyce: A highly respected and experienced trial lawyer, Boyce focuses on complex commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation. She has tried fraud, contract, patent infringement, trade secrets, and products liability cases within the energy and technology sectors to juries throughout the United States. She earned a B.A. cum laude from Connecticut College and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.

Jennifer Smith: Smith concentrates her practice on complex international arbitration and international dispute resolution. She is a Qualified Solicitor in England and Wales and, having spent eight years of her career in London, she brings a great deal of experience in resolution of cross-border disputes arising out of international contracts in many industries, including energy, petrochemicals, shipping and technology. Smith is ranked in Chambers Global and is praised for her “‘intellect and technical understanding of the issues that are at the forefront of the energy industry.” She earned a B.A magna cum laude from Wellesley College and a J.D. with honors from The University of Texas School of Law.

Cristina Rodriguez: Rodriguez has built a strong practice in professional liability, employment, commercial and securities litigation both in state and federal courts. Her practice includes internal investigations and labor and employment counseling. Fluent in Spanish, Cristina has represented businesses that operate in Mexico, South America and Central America. She earned a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Miami and a J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School.

About Hogan Lovells

Hogan Lovells is a leading global legal practice providing business-oriented legal advice and high-quality service across its exceptional breadth of practices to clients around the world.

“Hogan Lovells” or the “firm” is an international legal practice that includes Hogan Lovells US LLP and Hogan Lovells International LLP. For more information, see www.hoganlovells.com.

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A Colorado oilman must pay $16.8 million to reimburse energy companies for legal fees they incurred defending his unsuccessful lawsuits against them, a federal judge in Wyoming has ordered, according to a report in The Casper Star-Tribune.

The defendant, Jack Grynberg, filed scores of lawsuits against natural gas and pipeline companies around the West in the late 1990s.

“Grynberg claimed the companies had underreported energy production from federal lands by billions of dollars and claimed he was due a share of the funds as a whistleblower under the federal False Claims Act.” the newspaper reported. “He stood to collect up to 30 percent of any award, but said he intended to donate proceeds to charity if he was successful.”

Casper lawyer Tom Reese is liaison counsel for the energy companies.

Read the article.

The Texas Supreme Court recently issued a decision in a compression cost case impacting the natural gas production industry in the case of Kachina Pipeline Co., Inc. v. Michael D. Lillis, reports The National Law Review.

The ruling focused closely on the contract language finding that a natural gas transporter could not deduct compression costs and was not entitled to a five-year extension based on the terms of the agreement.

“The Texas Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals’ judgment reiterating several contract law principles, including (1) in construing a contract, the four corners rule applies and the contract must be examined as whole to ascertain the parties true intent and (2) extrinsic evidence can only be used if a contract is ambiguous.” the Law Review reported.

Read the article.

Scott & Scott, LLP, a boutique technology law firm in Southlake, Texas, has been named best Technology Law Firm in the United States by Finance Monthly.

The Finance Monthly Law Awards 2015 recognizes law firms and legal professionals who have outperformed their peers through dedication to client service and work undertaken within the past year.

“We are honored to be recognized again by the voters for this award. We have been focusing exclusively on technology law matters for over a decade and it is great to have our subspecialty recognized on a global level,” said Robert J. Scott, Managing Partner of the firm, in a release.

Scott & Scott, LLP is counsel to some of the world’s largest corporations, including PepsiCo, American Express, and Xerox. The firm has achieved “go-to” status for software licensing transactions and disputes involving the major software publishers including Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle and Autodesk. “We have handled more than 600 software disputes in the last 11 years for clients in the U.S.A. and Canada and we are not afraid to go to court against the software Goliaths like Microsoft and Adobe,” Scott said.

Scott & Scott, LLP is a leading intellectual property and technology law firm representing businesses in matters involving software licensing. Scott & Scott, LLP’s legal and technology professionals provide software audit defense and software compliance solutions, all protected by attorney-client and work-product privileges.

National law firm Wilson Elser announces that Jeffrey C. Hart has joined the firm’s Detroit Metro office in Livonia, Michigan, as of counsel. Prior to joining Wilson Elser, Hart was of counsel with Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney.

Hart litigates employment, complex commercial, product liability, medical malpractice, transportation, general liability, professional liability and workers’ compensation matters.

An accomplished attorney with more than 280 cases tried before various administrative agencies, judges and juries, Hart represents Fortune 500 companies, cities, universities, hospitals, physicians groups and individuals in civil and criminal matters.

“Jeff is a welcome addition to our Metro Detroit office,” said John Eads, regional managing partner of the office, in a release. “His experience representing clients across a broad spectrum of practices and industries adds tremendous value to the counsel we provide our clients and to our office – one of the firm’s newest. The clients who accompany Jeff will benefit from his role as their one point of contact for Wilson Elser’s national, full-service platform.”

Hart believes in staying abreast of the most recent developments in the legal sector and is affiliated with several bar associations, including the American Bar Association, DRI: The Voice of the Defense Bar and the State Bar of Michigan, and maintains memberships on numerous committees within each group.

Committed to pro bono service, Hart volunteers with the Homeless Experience Legal Protection (H.E.L.P), a program offered through Sts. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church’s Warming Center that assists homeless men and women with legal issues.

Hart earned his B.A. degree from Michigan State University (1992) and his J.D. degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law (1995), where he served on the editorial board for the Loyola Consumer Law Reporter and on the advisory board for the publication’s predecessor, Loyola Consumer Law Review.

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. Wilson Elser serves a growing, loyal base of clients with innovative thinking and an in-depth understanding of their respective businesses.

The Houston trial law firm Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, again has earned recognition among the nation’s top commercial litigation firms in the 2015 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

In its Chambers USA profile, AZA is described by one client as a “very results-driven law firm, and the results they’ve given us are outstanding.” AZA attorneys also were called “highly skilled trial lawyers and litigators who are prepared to go to trial.”

In addition to the firm’s Chambers USA ranking, AZA partners Demetrios Anaipakos, John Zavitsanos andTodd Mensing received individual honors among the leading commercial litigators in the country. All three are nationally recognized trial lawyers who handle bet-the-company litigation.

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