Y! Alert: Texas Lawyer

Yahoo! Alerts
My Alerts

The latest from Texas Lawyer

• You've Been Served — on Facebook?
• Lanier Suffers Loss in First ITC Trial
• Abate or Litigate?
• Former Clients Sue Haynes and Boone, Partner Over Bankruptcy
• Letter to the Editor: Success Is Based on Competence, Not Looks
• Commentary: Let "Jersey Shore" Pick Your Practice
• Discipline
• Newsmakers
• Three Things Never to Write in Court Papers
• Identity and Meaning in and Outside Law
• I Like Being a Lawyer
• Commentary: Handling Clients With Personality Disorders
• Law Clerks Offer Big Opportunities for Small Firms
• I Like Being a Lawyer!
• Commentary: Three Lessons From Two Trials for One Great Performance
• Commentary: Should Firms Take Ownership in Patents?
• Commentary: Keep Lawyering at the Office, Not at Home
• Commentary: Obtaining the Benefits of Chapter 95

---

You've Been Served — on Facebook?	Top
What do you expect to find when you open your Facebook page? A friend request from someone you recently met? Notification you were tagged in a picture with a loved one? How about a summons? Or maybe notice of a default judgment entered against you? The last two may sound fairly outlandish, but the reality may be closer than you think.
Lanier Suffers Loss in First ITC Trial	Top
Administrative Law Judge Robert Rogers handed a setback to W. Mark Lanier by handing Nintendo a sweeping defense win in Lanier's first trial before the U.S. International Trade Commission. Lanier, whose firm has been gradually building up its IP practice over the past three years, went to trial at the ITC in August for a small company called Motiva LLC that claimed Nintendo's Wii infringed on two of its patents.
Abate or Litigate?	Top
The Texas Supreme Court is considering two petitions for writ of mandamus that could impact hundreds of pending insurance-coverage cases related to Hurricane Ike. The issue keeps coming up in Hurricane Ike cases and it needs a quick resolution, says Warren Harris, a partner in Houston's Bracewell & Guiliani, who represents one of the parties.
Former Clients Sue Haynes and Boone, Partner Over Bankruptcy	Top
Haynes and Boone and partner Robert D. Albergotti are named as defendants in a negligence suit filed by former clients in connection with a May 2007 bankruptcy filing. In a statement, the firm writes that the negligence suit is "yet another example of blaming lawyers for something they did not do, cause or control."
Letter to the Editor: Success Is Based on Competence, Not Looks	Top
Elizabeth Poole of Austin takes issue with a Texas Lawyer article titled "Pretty Power: Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful." The author of that article "writes from the point of view of a woman who is succeeding in a male-dominated profession by pandering to males. Her method of navigating this testosterone-laden minefield by donning the protective gear of 5-inch heels, pink suits and makeup is not without its drawbacks," Poole writes.
Commentary: Let "Jersey Shore" Pick Your Practice	Top
For the benefit of recent law school graduates, Kip Mendrygal has created a personality test to help new lawyers match themselves to the right fields. For the test, he picked a platform the intended audience would relate to: MTV's "Jersey Shore," the heartwarming tale of eight soft-spoken and introspective men and women brought together to live in a house and, mostly, fight and party.
Discipline	Top
Two lawyers have resigned in lieu of discipline and another has received a public reprimand, the State Bar of Texas reported recently.
Newsmakers	Top
Three Things Never to Write in Court Papers	Top
James M. Stanton writes that his experience on the state district court bench taught him that trial judges are a conscientious lot who read the briefs and want to get their rulings right. In light of that, he offers three things a lawyer should never write in court papers for fear of turning off the judge and hurting a client's chances of prevailing at a hearing.
Identity and Meaning in and Outside Law	Top
Been to a singles bar lately? Checked out an Internet dating site? Not that he would know, writes Michael P. Maslanka, but he hears that the No. 1 question is, "So, what do you do?" The question enslaves if used as a proxy for valuing people, but it liberates if used as a starting point for understanding them. Art illuminates the contrast between life and work. It can teach values, provide clarity and generate understanding, he says.
I Like Being a Lawyer	Top
Susan Morrison lists the top five reasons she likes being a lawyer.
Commentary: Handling Clients With Personality Disorders	Top
In contemporary law practice, particularly in litigation, the expert witness in psychology — psychiatrists, forensic psychologists, psychotherapists and so on — increasingly is a member of the teams on opposite sides of a courtroom. Litigators need at least a passing sense of some of the language used by experts in this field, writes James Dolan.
Law Clerks Offer Big Opportunities for Small Firms	Top
In this difficult economy the legal job market is an increasingly competitive place, says Raymond L. Panneton. There are more law students seeking clerk positions than the larger firms can handle or want. Small firms might not have the financial resources to hire a full-time associate, but they may need additional manpower in the office to stay on top of the caseload. Although the notion of hiring a part-time clerk may be daunting, the benefits received by both parties make the experience more than worth it.
I Like Being a Lawyer!	Top
Commentary: Three Lessons From Two Trials for One Great Performance	Top
Perception is not reality, writes F. Daniel Knight. Sadly, Texas has experienced a sharp decline in civil jury trials over the past 20 years. According to an Office of Court Administration report, the percentage of cases resolved by jury verdict was 0.4 percent in district courts and 0.6 percent in county courts in 2010.
Commentary: Should Firms Take Ownership in Patents?	Top
McKool Smith has declined opportunities to take an ownership position in the patents the firm litigates, write Mike McKool and Ryan Hargrave. While the law is unsettled as to the ethical boundaries, they say their firm has avoided such investments because of potential ethical concerns, as well as strategic considerations related to the attractiveness of the case to the jury.
Commentary: Keep Lawyering at the Office, Not at Home	Top
The best tools deployed by lawyers are discourse and argument developed so arduously in law school and professional life: the ability to argue to a win, says James Dolan, a professional coach and psychotherapist. But there is a sad truth: There can be nothing more destructive to a marriage than the lawyer who comes home and practices law there.
Commentary: Obtaining the Benefits of Chapter 95	Top
As part of tort reform, the Texas Legislature enacted Chapter 95 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code to limit a property owner's liability for injuries to contractors and subcontractors, or their employees, under particular circumstances, writes Barbara S. Nicholas. It is the plaintiff's burden to establish that the defendant owner exercised or retained some control over the manner in which the work was performed and had actual, as opposed to constructive, knowledge of the dangerous condition that resulted in injury.

CREATE MORE ALERTS:

Auctions - Find out when new auctions are posted

Horoscopes - Receive your daily horoscope

Music - Get the newest Album Releases, Playlists and more

News - Only the news you want, delivered!

Stocks - Stay connected to the market with price quotes and more

Weather - Get today's weather conditions

You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.