Texas Watch to Honor Dallas Trial Lawyer Charla Aldous at 2019 Champions of Justice Luncheon.
National Trial Attorney and Partner at the Dallas-based law firm of Aldous Walker LLP, Charla Aldous, has been named the 2019 Texas Watch Champions of Justice Luncheon Honoree.
Press Release can be found here.
Mr. Pietragallo, a Diplomat of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and Founding Partner of Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP, has been appointed as an Advisory Board Member for the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain and Behavior at Harvard University.
"The Government has agreed to nominate seven new judges to the Court of Appeal – less than a week after being sharply criticised by the Chief Justice for failing to fill vacancies.
Four judges are to be elevated from the High Court, while three senior counsel have also been nominated.
The High Court judges now moving to the Court of Appeal are Mr Justice Seamus Noonan, Mr Justice Robert Haughton, Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh and Ms Justice Mary Faherty.
The senior barristers nominated to the bench are Ann Power SC, Brian Murray SC and Maurice Collins SC.
Six of the nominations are immediate, while Mr Collins’ nomination is on hold until October 26 when Mr Justice Michael Peart is due to retire.
All of the nominations will now go forward to President Michael D Higgins to make the appointments.
The move to elevate so many judges from the High Court at once will leave the Government under pressure to quickly nominate new judges to that court.
Earlier this year Mr Justice Kevin Cross said there were not enough judges to hear High Court actions linked to the CervicalCheck controversy.
The nominations come just days after Chief Justice Frank Clarke hit out at the failure of the Government to make any nominations after legislation was signed into law in July to increase the size for the Court of Appeal from ten judges to 16.
He predicted many scheduled cases would have to be delayed due to the lack of nominations.
The Cabinet decision means those cases should now be able to proceed."
The direct article can be found here.
Congratulations to Fellow Howard Scher, President of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, on the organization’s victory in achieving freedom for Larry Trent Roberts, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and incarcerated for over a decade. For more information, click here.
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Congratulations to George M. Haley on his selection by his peers as a 26th Edition "Lawyer of the Year" for his work in Litigation – Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy) in Salt Lake City. As a reminder, only a single lawyer in a specific practice area and location is honored with a "Lawyer of the Year" designation. Additionally, George M. Haley has been recognized for his work in Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Antitrust, Litigation – Environmental, Litigation – Intellectual Property and Litigation – Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy).
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1. How We Did It …. 2016-2019
By Joe K. Longley
Documents Joe K. Longley's service as president of the State Bar of Texas, 2017-2018, and his successful efforts to improve the State Bar, illustrated by campaign materials, election results, interviews, and president's columns. Details Longley's contributions to the Texas Legislature, including his involvement in drafting significant legislation relating to the Insurance, Finance, and Property Codes and as the principal drafter of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (DTPA), which is documented in the Joe K. Longley-Philip K. Maxwell Deceptive Trade Practices Act Collection: Legislative Archive 1973-2001 and the Mark L. Kincaid Papers, 1995-2015 at the Legislative Reference Library of Texas.
Joe K. Longley, 2019. 65 pages.
Online at: https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/SIRSI/B600.8_L862_2019.pdf
B600.8 L862 2019
Induction October 31, 2018
At 9:45AM on June 13, 2019, the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas will induct Dicky Grigg as a Texas Legal Legend at the State Bar Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.
Grigg was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas. He attended Texas Tech University for his undergraduate work, where he also played defensive tackle for the Red Raiders football team. Indeed, his original plan was to be a football coach, following in the footsteps of others in his family. But after choosing law school over business school, he was quickly lured by the challenge of trying cases. Anyone who knows Grigg knows that he is the penultimate storyteller, both in and out of the courtroom.
He attended the University of Texas School of Law, and Grigg hit the ground running, trying cases in the courtroom as he started his career in the Lubbock County District Attorney office. Early in his career, he moved to Austin, still focused on trying cases in the courtroom and now has spent over four decades in civil trial practice handling hundreds personal injury cases at the prestigious law firm of Spivey & Grigg in Austin, Texas. Most often, he’s representing “the little guy.”
His self-effacing humor belies the fact that he is the recipient of many prestigious awards over his storied career: State Bar of Texas, Litigation Section, the Excellence in Litigation Award and the Luther Soules III Award for Outstanding Service to the Practice of Law; State Bar of Texas, Leon Jaworski Award for Law Teaching Excellence; Austin Bar Association, Distinguished Lawyer Award; American Board of Trial Advocates, TEX-ABOTA Trial Lawyer of the Year and former President; Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers; Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and former President; Member of the Tonahill Society, recognition as one of The Best Lawyers in America, and recognition as a Super Lawyer, Texas Monthly Magazine
But, in his career, as Grigg will tell you, the most meaningful work he has done has been in the public interest and pro bono sector, representing “the little guy” even when the “the little guy” is a Afghani detainee at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba who speaks only Pashto. In 2005, Grigg was attending a legal seminar and answered the call for help from the Center for Constitutional Rights to assist in the defense of the approximately 770 terrorism suspects housed at Guantanamo Bay. None of them had legal counsel nor had their cases been reviewed by an impartial court. Grigg volunteered to represent three Guantanamo detainees, filing habeas corpus petitions in their behalf in federal court in Washington D.C. His work involved several trips to the detention center and appearances at hearings and status conferences in D.C. Personally, he spent nearly $50,000, primarily on travel and interpreters—which is a small figure in comparison to the value of his time and expertise spent working on these cases. Two of his clients were released, and the third was represented by military attorneys before the Military Commission.
He has done further pro bono work, assisting U.S. military veterans with their disability appeals, part of a State Bar of Texas initiative to provide legal services to veterans. Also, he taught peer mediation training to students at Mendez Middle School in Austin, Texas, for which he received the State Bar President’s Award for Mediators Achieving Peace for his decade of work with those students. Additionally, he has been fundamental to the founding and development of the Texas Lawyers Assistance Program, which helps lawyers find solutions for dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues.
Grigg is the embodiment of what this award signifies: a stellar and unique talent in the area of civil litigation, but also an individual who has given of his time, money, and self to contribute to the larger community.
Texas Legal Legends is a project of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas. Its purpose is to memorialize the stories of many legendary lawyers who have practiced in Texas, and to use those stories to enhance the public’s understanding of the historical importance of law students and lawyers making a difference – not just a living. Legends like Dicky Grigg are prime examples of lawyers who have spent their professional careers serving others and taking on challenges that are much bigger than themselves.
The complete list of Legends inductees includes (in order of induction):
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1. |
Joe Jamail |
10. |
Broadus Spivey |
19. |
Ruby Sondock |
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2. |
Joe Reynolds |
11. |
Blackie Holmes |
20. |
H. Ron White |
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3. |
Harry Reasoner |
12. |
Craig Washington |
21. |
Lloyd P. Lochridge |
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4. |
Barbara Aldave |
13. |
Scott Baldwin |
22. |
Patton G. “Pat” Lochridge |
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5. |
Carolyn Dineen King |
14. |
Royal Furgeson, Jr. |
23. |
Tom Morris |
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6. |
Gibson Gayle, Jr. |
15. |
Bob Black |
24. |
Harriet Miers |
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7. |
LA Bedford |
16. |
George Chandler |
25. |
Carolyn Wright 26
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8. |
Jerry Goldstein |
17. |
Mary Lou Robinson |
26. |
James R. Harrington |
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9. |
Adelfa B. Callejo |
18. |
Forrest Bowers |
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Videos highlighting the careers of these individuals are available on DVD and on the Litigation Section’s website: http://tinyurl.com/TexasLegalLegends.
Patricia Dodge will be serving as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
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Recently, the University of Arizona College of Law featured our very own firm founder, James Rogers in its publication.
The following is republished from the April 19, 2019 issue of U of A Letter of the Law:
James S. (“Jimmy”) Rogers, of the Class of 1972, has maintained a strong connection to the University of Arizona and College of Law while running a successful practice in his hometown of Seattle.
In 2016, we had the opportunity to hear from Jimmy as part of the college’s Civil Justice Initiative lecture series. He spoke with students about the ins-and-outs of developing his personal injury and product liability practice.
This week, in anticipation of this year’s graduating class of young lawyers, we wanted to find out more about Jimmy’s experience as a student and young lawyer.
Jimmy first knew he wanted to be a trial lawyer in seventh grade when he read “My Life in Court” by the legendary trial lawyer Louis Nizer.
He relocated from the Pacific Northwest to the University of Arizona where, along with attaining his law degree, he developed many wonderful friendships and a love of the Sonoran Desert. He’s kept up a lifelong friendship with Robert Hershey (also ’72), who later became a College of Law professor (now emeritus).
Jimmy recalls the thrill when, during his first year, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas visited the law school and his former law clerk, Dean Charles Ares (’52), introduced the Justice as a speaker.
“I don’t know who was more proud; Dean Ares of Justice Douglas, or Justice Douglas of Dean Ares.”
As for the desert:
“My second year of law school I lived out in the desert on Ironwood Hill Drive, on the way to Gates Pass. Sometimes on a quiet night in my Seattle houseboat, I still long to hear the howl of the coyotes.”
In law school, Jimmy interned for the Pima County Public Defender, and thought he would be a criminal defense lawyer. But his first job after law school was as an associate of one of Seattle’s leading personal injury plaintiff trial lawyers, Lem Howell.
“I began handling plaintiffs’ personal injury cases and never stopped.”
He established his own law offices in 1986, which are now the Law Offices of James S. Rogers.
Jimmy’s advice to current UA law students wanting to become top trial lawyers is to cultivate three important qualities: passion, dedication, and a commitment to helping people achieve justice.
Jimmy is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was named the 1998 “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association and the 2010 “Outstanding Plaintiff’s Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers.
Just last year, Jimmy was named Best Lawyers’ “Seattle Plaintiffs Product Liability Litigation Lawyer of the Year.” And, he recently became a member of the Damage Attorneys Roundtable (DART), a small, highly select group of Washington State plaintiff trial lawyers.
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We would like to congratulate James Kruger on having been selected by his peers for recognition in the 25th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© for your work in:
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