| March 4, 2010: Androvett NewsWire: Workplace Credit Checks / Bankruptcies Decline / FW Bar Sued |
| Credit Checks under Fire A growing number of companies are using pre-employment credit checks in hiring decisions, but some state lawmakers have introduced or passed legislation banning the practice. "Employers should weigh carefully the benefits and risks of requesting credit histories, although federal laws don't specifically prohibit their use," says |
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| February 18, 2010: Androvett NewsWire: Texas Sues EPA / Insurance Claims Blizzard / Toyota Mistrust |
| EPA's Failure to Follow Own Policies Led to Texas Lawsuit The genesis of Texas' lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency regarding findings that greenhouse gases endanger human health was in the EPA's failure to abide by its own policies, according to Houston-based attorney Richard O. Faulk. "Instead of following its own rules, which require an |
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| February 4, 2010: Androvett NewsWire: Super Bowl / Toyota Fiasco / County Records Battle |
| Save Yourself and Your Cash When Buying Big Game Tickets Fans looking to splurge on last-minute tickets for the Super Bowl or NBA All-Star Game need to exercise caution as they look for deals to these sold-out events. However, concerns about adding debt to your credit cards should not force you to pay cash, especially if you do not know the seller, says |
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| January 21, 2010: Androvett NewsWire: Commercial Foreclosures / Social Media Security / Wind Projects Proceeding |
| Commercial Foreclosures On the Rise If 2009 was the year of the residential foreclosure, 2010 may very well be that year for commercial properties. "As loans mature and lenders and borrowers fail to reach agreements on modifications, extensions or workouts, more large-scale, high-value retail and office developments are being faced with foreclosure, and we |
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| January 7, 2010: Androvett Newswire: Tax Preparations / Divorce after New Year / Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit |
| Paid Tax Preparers Facing New IRS Regulations Beginning next year, the Internal Revenue Service plans to regulate paid tax preparers by requiring them to register with the government, pass competency tests and commit to a code of ethics. The agency's stated goal is to reduce the chance of errors and fraud by tax preparers, and provide an increased assurance |
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| December 17, 2009: Androvett Newswire: Unfriending Judges / Toy Safety / Payroll Audits Ahead |
| Judicial Committee Issues Anti-Social Networking Ruling The Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee has ruled that judges and lawyers should no longer "friend" each other on Facebook or other social networking sites. The committee found that such connections could create the impression of favoritism and special influence. "You could speculate that every |
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| December 3, 2009: Androvett NewsWire: Office Parties / Climate Change Conference / Business Survival |
| The Perils of Parties Holiday office parties are in full swing, but revelers should remember that these functions are rife with peril. "A work party is just that, an extension of work, and one false step can jeopardize your job," says Austin employment litigator Geoff Weisbart. "As a practical matter, you should never say or do anything at an office party |
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| November 12, 2009: Androvett NewsWire: Insurance Screening / On-The-Job Violence Drops / Hotel Tax Litigation |
| New Law Limits Family Medical History Questions Under a new federal law effective Dec. 7, health insurers can no longer request information on an individual's family medical history as part of the enrollment process. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, or GINA, imposes a host of new restrictions on the use of health risk assessments commonly |
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| October 29, 2009: Androvett NewsWire: Polygamist Trial / Pill Dangers / Carried Interest |
| Polygamist's Prosecution Proper Response To Investigation Texas child-abuse investigators were roundly criticized for the removal of hundreds of children from a West Texas polygamist sect last year. One of those early critics, Family Law attorney Betsy Branch of Dallas-based McCurley Orsinger McCurley Nelson & Downing, says that while the state's |
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| October 15, 2009: Androvett NewsWire: Fast Reorganization / Texting & Driving / New ABA President |
| Chapter 11 Confirmed in Less Than 30 Days A Chapter 11 reorganization can take months or even years to gain creditor and court approval. But Baseline Oil & Gas Corp. recently concluded a bankruptcy plan in just 25 days, one of the fastest on record. "Through the use of a pre-packaged Chapter 11 plan and a concentrated effort, we were able to receive |
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| October 1, 2009: Androvett NewsWire: Climate Change Ruling / Digital Medical Records / Twitter Bans |
| Global Climate Change Ruling Presents Widespread Risks for Business The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit's "overly broad" ruling in State of Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co. Inc. may have extraordinary implications, according to Richard O. Faulk, head of the Environmental Practice Group at Gardere Wynne Sewell. The court held that |
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| September 17, 2009: Androvett NewsWire: Resale Responsibility / Cheaper Chapter 11 / MLK Winner Wows |
| Feds Cracking Down on Resale of Recalled Goods If you're planning to hold or shop at a garage sale, you should be aware that the federal government is watching, says Dallas attorney Angel Reyes. A new federal law makes it a crime to sell items that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled. The Commission has sent staffers out to make sure the |
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| September 15, 2009: Androvett NewsWire News Alert: Texas Attorneys Address National Tort Reform |
| President Obama's recent comments about possible federal medical malpractice reforms are stirring a national debate over the best way to reign in healthcare costs. In Texas, where tort reform measures have been in place since 2003, the impact can be found on every corner and in every courtroom. In this special edition of Androvett NewsWire, three of the |
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| September 3, 2009: Androvett NewsWire: Ike Recovery / ADA Broadened / Government Contracts |
| One Year After Hurricane Ike, Homeowners Still Cleaning Up Damage While many of the blue tarps may be gone and debris removed, thousands of Gulf Coast homeowners are still dealing with fallout from Hurricane Ike, says Houston attorney Kurt Arnold, named partner in Arnold & Itkin LLP. Hundreds of lawsuits remain pending against insurance carriers who |
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| August 20, 2009: Androvett Newswire: Judge Sharon Keller Trial / Offshore Tax Crackdown / Green Buildings / Commercial Real Estate |
| Lawyer Says Embattled Appeals Judge Has Proven Herself Unworthy Of Bench Whatever the outcome of the unprecedented disciplinary trial of Judge Sharon Keller currently under way in San Antonio, at least one Dallas litigator says it is clear that she has "no business being a judge and certainly not the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals." |
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| August 6, 2009: Androvett Newswire: Oil Ponzi Scheme / I-35 Truck Crash Lawsuit / Graduation Requirements / Breach of Contract Verdict |
| Oil & Gas Ponzi Scheme Appears To Be Going Bust Attorneys representing shareholders of Provident Royalties, LLC, are investigating claims that the company was nothing more than an oil and gas Ponzi scheme. Jeffery Zwerling of Zwerling, Schachter & Zwerling says Provident Royalties promised unrealistic returns of up to 18 percent from investments in |
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| July 23, 2009: Androvett Newswire: Jackson’s Doc Raided / Hiring Michael Vick / OSHA’s Texas Inspections / Dress Code in the Workplace / Facebook Bans |
| ‘Surprise' Raid of Jackson's Doctor Not Much of a Surprise While the news of the search of the Houston office of Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's doctor, came as a surprise to some, it wasn't entirely unexpected, says Houston criminal defense attorney Dan Cogdell. "Often, ‘people of interest' feel that cooperating with investigators will prevent a raid, |
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| July 9, 2009: Androvett Newswire: Jackson Will Problems / Email Problems / Pyramid Schemes/ Natural Gas Legislation & Use / Honduran Unrest |
| Resolution of Jackson Will Won't Be Easy Few deaths attract the massive attention as Michael Jackson's has, but anyone can learn from his estate planning missteps. While Jackson did have a will, it was not as up-to-date as it could have been, says Steve Spitzer, head of the Probate Litigation Section at Cowles & Thompson, P.C. "You need to continually |
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| June 25, 2009: Androvett Newswire: Juries & Technology / Climate Change Compromise / Daycare Abuse Help |
| Courts Facing the Challenges of Facebook The judicial system faces increasing challenges as a result of jurors' use and abuse of Twitter, Google, Facebook and similar Web sites during jury service. Problems include jurors conducting Internet research for information on cases, posting Twitter updates during proceedings, and seeking opinions on evidence from |
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| June 11, 2009: Androvett Newswire: Chrysler Bankruptcy / Outsourcing Shifts / Latin American Banks |
| Chrysler's Rush to Bankruptcy Protects Value, But May Shortchange Debtors
The speed in which Chrysler completed its bankruptcy may have taken some by surprise, but Dallas bankruptcy attorney Bill Siegel says the primary goal was achieved. "The number of companies selling assets while in Chapter 11 outside of a plan of reorganization is |
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