http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-24T08:01:17-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/katten_muchin_opens_new_houston_office_with_pillsbury_enviro_leader_hires_7/ The leader of the environmental practice group at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is leaving the firm to open a new Houston office for Katten Muchin Rosenman. Mark Farley will be in charge of a five-lawyer Houston office, serve as a co-chair of his new firm's environmental practice and lead its… Business of Law, Energy Law, Law Firms, Associates, Large Firm, Partners, States, Texas Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:19:56 -0500 43963.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/gas_from_shale_isnt_a_mineral_pennsylvania_supremes_rule_in_deed_dispute/ The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled on behalf of a couple who claimed they had retained all rights to natural gas derived from Marcellus Shale on their property, despite an 1881 deed giving another party partial rights to minerals in the land. The decision (PDF) issued on Wednesday… Energy Law, Real Estate & Property Law, States, Pennsylvania Fri, 26 Apr 2013 05:35:26 -0500 43914.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_nixes_attorneys_fees_for_lawyer_in_oil_spill_case_says_clients_signat/ Saying that he believes a plaintiff's signature on a legal representation document concerning the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was forged, a federal judge in New Orleans nixed attorney fees for a Texas lawyer. Attorney Brent Coon had sought a 25 percent share of an undisclosed settlement his claimed client,… Energy Law, Oil Spill, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Louisiana Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:25:42 -0500 43614.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/baker_botts_gets_another_5.2m_in_litgation_over_142m_fee_award_in_6b_bankru/ After years of litigation, Baker Botts was awarded another $5.2 million in legal fees on Tuesday for defending its earlier $142 million fee award for representing a copper mining operation in a bankruptcy case. The law firm's representation of Asarco LLC was part of a long-running legal battle that began… Bankruptcy Law, Corporate Law, Energy Law, Law Firms, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:13:32 -0500 43474.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/after_leaping_to_dla_piper_from_hogan_lovells_4_of_5_partners_in_energy_gro/ A little over a year after they left Hogan Lovells for DLA Piper, four of the five energy partners who made the high-profile move have headed back to their former law firm. Among the exiting group is Kevin Lipson, the co-chief of the energy practice both at… Business of Law, Careers, Energy Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, States, Texas Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:59:42 -0500 43448.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/new_reed_smith_office_in_houston_now_has_17_attorneys_and_is_looking_to_hir/ Last month Reed Smith announced that the law firm had established an office in the hot Houston market and was looking to hire lawyers for what is eventually expected to be a 50-attorney roster there. And now, a little over a month later, Energy Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, States, Texas Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:44:45 -0600 43011.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/kl_gates_launches_houston_office_with_fulbright_securities_practice_chief/ K&L Gates is the latest BigLaw firm to plant its flag in the hot Houston market. Longtime Fulbright & Jaworski partner Charles L. Strauss, who headed that firm's securities practice group, will now help K&L Gates launch its fourth Texas office there, the firm announced in… Business of Law, Energy Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, Securities Law, States, Texas Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:00:02 -0600 42802.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/golden_age_for_texas_oil_and_gas_transactional_lawyers/ Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Careers, Contracts, Corporate Law, Energy Law, Environmental Law, Science & Technology Law, Features Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:59:36 -0600 42364.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/orrick_raids_bingham_3-partner_energy_team_includes_practice_group_co-chair/ A three-partner team led by the co-chair of Bingham McCutchen's energy and project finance practice group has exited the law firm's New York office for Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Tara Higgins will co-chair the U.S. energy practice group at her new law firm, Reuters reports. She said she… Energy Law, International Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, States, New York Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:39:54 -0600 42597.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/reed_smith_has_opened_houston_office_expects_50_lawyers_there/ Another major law firm is opening an office in Houston. Reed Smith now has a physical presence in the Texas city and is looking to hire attorneys to practice in its new office there, the firm's chief marketing officer told the Pittsburgh Business Times on Tuesday.… Business of Law, Energy Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, States, Texas Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:23:59 -0600 42383.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/schiff_hardin_doubles_energy_practice_with_acquisition_of_10-lawyer_d.c._bo/ Schiff Hardin has announced that it has acquired a 10-lawyer energy boutique based in Washington, D.C., nearly doubling the size of the firm's practice group. Bruder Gentile & Marcoux comes to Schiff Hardin with 10 attorneys; the 385-lawyer Chicago-headquartered firm already had 11 in its energy practice group, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Energy Law, Law Firms, Midsize Firm, States, District of Columbia, Illinois Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:31:17 -0600 42254.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/king_coals_violent_reign_century-old_labor_strife/ Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Energy Law, Environmental Law, Government Law, Labor & Employment, Legal History, Legislation & Lobbying, Military Law, Trials & Litigation, Features Sat, 01 Dec 2012 06:10:22 -0600 41576.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/amidst_tight_market_for_legal_work_houston_attorneys_and_law_firms_have_str/ As the legal economy overall continues to sputter and lawyers in many practice areas are aggressively looking for work, there's no need for a number of attorneys and law firms in Houston, Texas, to step on the gas. Thanks to their energy law expertise and clients in a region known… Business of Law, Careers, Energy Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, States, Texas Mon, 19 Nov 2012 10:46:14 -0600 41682.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/bp_focused_too_narrowly_on_worker_safety_missed_big-picture_issues_resultin/ Focused on worker safety, BP failed to anticipate adequately big-picture risks that led to the 2010 explosion and fire in its Gulf of Mexico oil rig that killed 11 people and resulted in a massive petroleum spill, members of a federal investigatory panel said Tuesday. Preliminary findings by the U.S.… Corporate Law, Energy Law, Environmental Law, Oil Spill Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:57:18 -0500 39869.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_appeals_court_takes_lawyers_to_task_for_acronyms/ A federal appeals court is fed up with little-known energy acronyms like “SNF” and "NWPA." In a ruling (PDF) last week , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit showed its irritation in its first footnote, according to Energy Law, Environmental Law, D.C. Circuit Court Wed, 06 Jun 2012 07:56:23 -0500 39110.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/second_massey_manager_is_charged_in_fatal_mine_accident_conspiracy_allegati/ A second manager at Massey Energy Co. has been charged in connection with the 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners, and there could be more prosecutions ahead. Former mine superintendent Gary May, 43, was charged with conspiracy to impede safety efforts in a single-count information (PDF), an indication… Criminal Justice, Energy Law, States, West Virginia Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:22:44 -0600 37477.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_rules_against_montana_in_riverbed_rights_dispute/ The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the state of Montana after diving into a riverbed rights dispute. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion (PDF) for a unanimous court favoring a company that operates hydroelectric dams on three rivers in the state: the… Energy Law, Environmental Law, U.S. Supreme Court Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:19:48 -0600 37460.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/after_50_years_wyo._oil_and_gas_law_firm_is_disbanding/ After more than 50 years in business, a Casper, Wyo., law firm specializing in oil and gas and corporate matters can't compete with the larger regional firms that are luring its attorneys elsewhere. Brown Drew & Massey, which had as many as 20 attorneys on its roster at one point,… Energy Law, Law Firms, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, States, Wyoming Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:25:35 -0600 36554.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/owner_to_pay_record_209m_re_2010_massey_energy_mine_explosion_that_killed_2/ The owner of a West Virginia mine that exploded in 2010, killing 29 men, will pay a record $209 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability concerning the disaster and what officials called a workplace culture that valued productivity over safety and ignored applicable law. The agreed payment by… Administrative Law, Corporate Law, Criminal Justice, Energy Law, Government Law, Labor & Employment, Real Estate & Property Law, 4th Circuit Court, States, West Virginia Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:45:34 -0600 36344.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/baker_donelson_to_open_first_texas_office_by_acquiring_7-attorney_spain_cha/ A Tennessee-based law firm with 14 offices in southern states and a significant presence in Louisiana is expanding westward and opening its first office in Texas. Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz announced today that it will be acquiring seven-attorney Spain Chambers in Houston.… Energy Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, States, Tennessee, Texas Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:42:56 -0500 35677.abajournal.com