News

News

Hicks Johnson Earns 2022 Chambers Ranking

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business  announced that Hicks Johnson (Hicks Johnson) has been ranked as a leading law firm in the Texas Litigation: General Commercial practice area for 2022. Less than 1 percent of U.S. law firms receive this important distinction.

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Hicks Johnson Welcomes Two New Associates

Robert Rankin and Daniel J. Scime have joined the firm as associates. Robert comes to Hicks Johnson from the New York office of Paul Weiss, where he focused on a broad range of civil litigation matters. He clerked for the Colorado Supreme Court and is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School. Dan, also a University of Chicago Law School graduate, previously practiced general litigation in Skadden’s Chicago office.

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Meet Summer Associate Wafa Kazmi

Wafa is a rising 3L at Washington University School of Law, where she is active in the school’s Women of Color Law Society, International Law Society, and South Asian Law Society. Previously, she served as a judicial intern to Justice Veronica Rivas Molloy of the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas. She graduated from the University of Houston with a B.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

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Meet Summer Associate Ben Blefeld

Ben is a rising 3L at the University of Houston Law Center, where he sits on the board of the Houston Law Review. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Psychology with honors. He returns to Hicks Johnson after completing the firm’s summer law internship program last summer.

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Hicks Johnson Wins Trial Victory in Breach of Contract Case

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Intertek, a large, multinational consulting firm, attempted to breach its lease with Trical Commercial, an arm of the Los Angeles-based development company Bycor and Trical Construction, over allegations of toxic mold. Trical Commercial engaged Hicks Johnson to file suit for breach of contract and seek millions in damages.

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Fourth Circuit Provides Further Guidance on Jurisdiction for Climate Change Lawsuits

In the wake of a recent landmark decision by a federal appellate court in regard to where climate change lawsuits should be litigated, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has provided further guidance as to how federal courts may address attempts to have these cases litigated at the federal level. Hicks Johnson senior counsel Brandon Winchester discusses.

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Exculpation Provisions in LLC Agreements: A Comparison of Delaware and Texas

Case law involving limited liability companies (LLCs) is rapidly evolving. Some states, most notably Delaware, permit LLCs to limit or eliminate liability for breaches of fiduciary duty by an LLC’s members or managers. Other states cabin that ability to varying degrees. Disputes regarding breaches of fiduciary duty can often hinge on the scope of any relevant exculpation provisions in the LLC agreement, and the body of law governing the LLC agreement can materially alter outcomes. Individuals seeking to do business in Texas are likely to encounter LLCs that were organized in Delaware (popular for, among other things, this very reason) and in Texas. In this article, managing partner Andy Hicks and associates Bryan Zubay and James Keefe compare key differences between Delaware and Texas law on LLC exculpation provisions.

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Texas Vineyards Win Significant Procedural Victory in Chemical Drift Litigation

In June 2021, Hicks Johnson filed suit on behalf of 57 Texas High Plains vineyards seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from Bayer-Monsanto and BASF. While Bayer-Monsanto and BASF removed the lawsuit to a federal multidistrict litigation pending in Missouri, a U.S. district judge announced that the case would be sent back to the Texas state court where it was originally filed.

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On the Right Track: From BigLaw to Boutique

Partner Persis Dean joined Hicks Johnson in 2015 after six years as in-house counsel for Exxon Mobil Corporation and three at Vinson & Elkins. Now, she is poised to help lead the firm through its most rapid growth period yet. Dean discusses what it’s like to be a working parent in corporate law, her approach to mentoring, and the benefits of boutique firm life.

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Texas Bar Foundation Elects Partner Adam Dinnell to Fellowship

Congratulations to partner Adam Dinnell, who has been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation, an invitation only extended to less than 1% of lawyers in the state each year. Nomination is based on outstanding contributions to the legal profession as well as a demonstrated commitment to the community.

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Hicks Johnson Fall 2021 Newsletter

In Q2 and Q3 of 2021, we’ve been busy expanding our recruiting efforts and launching new firm initiatives. Our fall newsletter contains recent thought leadership content, hiring news, and updates on the slate of high-profile matters we’ve been handling over the past several months, including a $560 million suit on behalf of 57 Texas High Plains wine grape growers that made national headlines.

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Meet Chase Hinman

Chase Hinman joined the firm in May as a project assistant. He recently graduated from Rice University with a double major in Philosophy and Kinesiology. Throughout college, he worked as an EMT and as special events coordinator for Rice’s Emergency Medical Services.

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Hicks Johnson Partner Penny Nicholson Leads Successful Effort for Plaintiff in Fifth Circuit Appeal

After a wheelchair user was injured while boarding a major airline’s aircraft in Houston, Texas, she was awarded almost $4 million in damages by a jury sitting in the Southern District of Texas. Penelope Nicholson and the Hicks Johnson team were retained by her trial counsel to lead the effort on appeal. Through our briefing and oral argument, we succeeded in persuading the Fifth Circuit to affirm the district court’s judgment in its entirety.

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Meet Hana Ferrero

Hana Ferrero joined the firm in June as a project assistant. She recently graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a double major in Economics and Political Science. Her legal experience includes a judicial internship with a Florida circuit court judge as well as an internship with Michigan Justice Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that advocates for legislative change on behalf of incarcerated citizens.

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Is a Boutique Litigation Firm Right for You?

As law firm hiring season shifts into high gear, top students are faced with a plethora of choices.  In addition to the traditional on-campus interviews (or their Zoom equivalents) by Big Law recruiting departments, a growing number of boutique litigation firms are offering competitive packages—including top-tier salaries and benefits—to prospective summers and first-years. Hiring partner Adam Dinnell of Houston-based Hicks Johnson talks candidly about the pros and cons of boutique firm life.

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Meet Rachel Brown

Hicks Johnson is proud to welcome our largest-ever class of summer associates to the firm. Rachel Brown is a rising 3L at The University of Chicago Law School, where her contributions include serving as president of the Federalist Society.

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