12/21/2009 - Spirit of Cooperation
The Texas Supreme Court has called for cooperation between parties in e-discovery: “A fundamental tenet of our discovery rules is cooperation between parties and their counsel, and the expectation that agreements will be made as reasonably necessary for efficient disposition of the case.” Partners Michael Warnecke and Bill Morrison discuss the implications with Texas Lawyer.

05/01/2009 - A Corporate Crime Wave?
Many in the business community are anxious to know if the global financial crisis will lead to a wave of criminal prosecutions. Indeed, several factors are presently converging to create what some might call the “perfect storm” of corporate criminal law enforcement.

02/13/2007 - Selected Recent Developments in the Enforceabilty of Arbitration Clauses in the Healthcare Context
Recent judicial decisions have upheld challenges to the enforceability of arbitration provisions in contracts with healthcare providers. While some courts have enforced the parties’ agreement to arbitrate, other courts have found arbitration provisions to be inapplicable, unenforceable, or subject to limitations. The results are far from uniform and create uncertainty as to the enforceability of arbitration clauses in the healthcare context.

09/01/2006 - A Company's Dilemma: Advancing Attorney Fees to Employees
Published in Headnotes, Volume 30, Number 9, September 1, 2006 © The Dallas Bar Association

12/09/2005 - Civil Discovery and Spoliation in Texas
In the wake of nationwide corporate accounting scandals and Congress’ response through the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, issues surrounding document retention and destruction have become a lightning rod for the attention of both federal investigators and civil litigants alike.

10/31/2005 - Responding to Allegations of Improper Corporate Conduct
This article discusses two issues critical to any response to allegations of corporate wrongdoing: (1) structuring the internal corporate investigation in a manner that effectively responds to the allegations at issue without subjecting counsel to ethical problems that may appear along the way, and (2) dealing with the government once it launches an investigation into your corporate client, including the client’s obligation to protect relevant documents.

04/12/2005 - Overview of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations and Corporate Compliance Programs
The United States Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (“the Guidelines”) were promulgated in 1991 to ensure that organizations cannot profit from wrongdoing and to encourage organizations to implement appropriate compliance programs to prevent wrongdoing from occurring in the first place... This article provides and overview of the federal United States Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations.

05/11/2001 - Ethical and Practical Issues Arising In the Face of a Govt. Investigation
Enforcement actions against corporations and their employees are becoming more common, especially criminal enforcement actions. These actions raise several conflict and ethical issues that must be addressed by lawyers defending either the company, the employees, or both. Many of these conflict issues are inherent in any situation where the degree of liability varies across a collection of people or entities. Some of these conflicts arise or are exacerbated, only because of certain aggressive tactics the government uses in its investigations.