|
News, Events, Speeches
August 2008 CCJ represented Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc. (Oiltanking) in connection with the formation of the Texas Offshore Port System (TOPS). TOPS is a $1.8 billion joint venture among Oiltanking, Enterprise Products Partners L.P., and TEPPCO Partners, L.P., to build an offshore crude oil single-point mooring buoy in the Gulf of Mexico. Read more about the joint venture by clicking here. May 2008 The following attorneys have been named as Texas Super Lawyers by Texas Monthly Magazine: C. Vance Christopher, Sharon B. Gardner, Larry George, Jeffrey I. Horowitz, Charles D. Maynard Jr., Robert E. "Robin" Morse III, Sarah Patel Pacheco, Darlene Payne Smith, and Robert R. Wisner. Congratulations to each attorney for this high acheivement. May 2008 Congratulations to Henry Kollenberg and Peter Nemeth on being elected to City Council of Piney Point Village. March 2008 Congratulations to Kimberly R. Stuart, Nicole B. Davis and Jason Davis on being named 2008 Rising Stars by Texas Monthly Magazine. December 2007 Sharon B. Gardner and Sarah Patel Pacheco to speak at the TexasBarCLE.com sponsored 18th Annual Advanced Drafting: Estate Planning and Probate Course in Houston, TX. October 2007 The following attorneys have been named as Texas Super Lawyers by Texas Monthly Magazine: C. Vance Christopher, Sharon B. Gardner, Larry George, Jeffrey I. Horowitz, Charles D. Maynard Jr., Robert E. "Robin" Morse III, Sarah Patel Pacheco, Darlene Payne Smith, and Robert R. Wisner. Congratulations to each attorney for this high acheivement. June 2007 Jason Davis will be speaking Friday, June 15 on Construction Law & Ethics at the Holiday Inn- Galleria (3131 West Loop South, Houston TX). H Texas names Houston's Top Lawyers 2007 The following from our firm were named top lawyers in their field: Larry George - Trust & Estates Sarah Patel Pacheco - Trust & Estates Sharon Gardner - Elder Law Kelly Brown - Land Use & Environment The Guardianship, Trust and Probate section of Crain, Caton & James provide a website, www.texasguardianship.com for all Attorneys and Professionals who participate in Guardianship, Mental Health and Elder Law issues. This site is updated and maintained by Crain, Caton & James. Read about Crain, Caton and James in Forbes Crain, Caton & James announces its 2007 Rising Stars as listed by the March issue of Texas Monthly Magazine: Jason L. Davis | Real Estate Law James E. Hudson III | Intellectual Property Kimberly R. Stuart | Civil Litigation Defense Emily T. Whittenburg | Business/Corporate March 9, 2007 Darlene Payne Smith, Sarah Patel Pacheco and Sharon B. Gardner each spoke at the Advanced Elder Law and Advanced Guardianship courses sponsored by the State Bar of Texas, on March 9th, at the Westin Galleria. Their topics included contested guardianships, promoting the well-being of the ward and a panel discussion on liability issues related to representing guardians and fiduciaries. February 2007 The February 2007 issue of HTexas Magazine named Sharon B. Gardner (Elder Law), Larry George (Trust and Estates) and Sarah Patel Pacheco (Trust and Estates) as "Houston's Top Lawyers for the People". The list is comprised of "the best and brightest personal attorneys in the Houston area". January 2007 Sharon B. Gardner, Larry George, Sarah Patel Pacheco and Darlene Payne Smith are among the "Texas Super Lawyers for the Family and Consumer" as featured in the January 2007 TEXAS MONTHLY. December 12, 2006 Crain, Caton & James Represents Grupo Industrial Saltillo Crain, Caton & James represented the Mexican conglomerate, Grupo Industrial Saltillo, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: GISSA, OTC: GISQY) in the negotiation of an agreement for the purchase of 49.99% of the shares of Castech, S.A. de C.V. from its Norwegian partner, Norsk Hydro ASA (NYSE: NHY). The execution of the agreement was announced on November 27, 2006. Under the terms of the agreement, Grupo Industrial Saltillo will pay approximately US$50 million in enterprise value for Norsk Hydro’s shares in Castech. The acquisition, which is expected to close sometime during 2007, is subject to certain governmental authorizations and other customary conditions to closing. Castech was created in 1996 and is engaged in the production and sale of aluminum blocks and cylinder heads for automotive engines. Grupo Industrial Saltillo is one of the leading industrial conglomerates in Mexico with sales of US$857 million for fiscal year 2005. The Crain, Caton & James team was led by international M&A partner Jonathan Bickham. December 2006 Jason L. Davis, James E. Hudson III, Kimberly R. Stuart, and Emily T. Whittenburg have been named “2006 Top Professionals on the Fast Track” by H-Texas Magazine. A. Brant Kotch is currently serving his fifth year as Race Director for the Chevron Houston Marathon. The Chevron Houston Marathon, Houston’s largest single-day sporting event, is planned and implemented by an eight-person board of directors (headed by Brant, who is also the president of the corporation), five full-time employees, a 100-person volunteer committee, 5,000 race day volunteers, and a $2.5 million dollar budget. read more... Robert R. Wisner published his article “Pre-Payment Penalties and Due-On-Sale Restrictions in Texas Consumer Transactions Under State and Federal Laws”, in the Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report, Vol.60, No. 4, Winter, 2006 November 9 , 2006 Kristen Necessary was appointed to chair The Houston Young Lawyers Association (HYLA) Wills for Heroes Committee this year. This is a new project designed to provide free wills to police officers and firefighters. November 8, 2006 George W. Lederer, Jr will be speaking on "Arbitrating Drilling Disputes" at the IADC Contracts & Risk Management Conference. November 2006 George W. Lederer, Jr has been granted admission to practice before the Supreme Court of the United Sates. Emily T. Whittenburg has been recognized as a "Southwest Shaker" by the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce.
Kristin N. Necessary will be teaching a three-week course on "Estate Planning: Fundamentals and Advanced Topics" at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. The dates are November 29, December 6, and December 13 October 2006 Robert R. Wisner was elected to a three year term on the Board of Directors of the Texas Association of Bank Counsel. Crain, Caton & James Super Lawyers as listed by Texas Monthly Magazine: Robert E. “Robin” Morse, III | Estate Planning & Probate/Elder Law September 2006 Robert R. Wisner authored chapters on Retail Installment Contracts and on Executory Contacts in “Texas Mortgage Lending Law & Practices Deskbook”, published by the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association. Read Sharon B. Gardner's article in the September 2006 Texas Bar Journal "Expert Testimony in Capacity and Commitment Proceedings" June 2006 Kelly Brown, Sharon Gardner, Larry George, Robin Morse and Sarah Pacheco have been named “Houston’s Top Lawyers” by H-Texas Magazine. Less than 1% of the licensed lawyers in the Houston Metropolitan area were selected for inclusion on this list. Kristin Necessary has been selected as the Harris County Chair of the HYLA Wills for Heroes Committee, which will plan and execute an event in Fall 2006 providing free wills and ancillary documents to police officers, firemen, and EMT personnel from Harris, Galveston, and Fort Bend Counties. June 19,2006 Crain, Caton & James would like to welcome new associate Mindy McGehee Riseden. June 7-9,2006 Sarah Patel Pacheco is chairing the 30th Annual Advanced Estate Planning Probate Course in Houston, TX. May 19 , 2006 Sharon B. Gardner and Sarah Patel Pacheco will be speaking on May 19, 2006 at the Center for American and International Law 44th Advance Program on Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning in Plano, Texas on the topic of "Planning for Incapacity and Other Litigation Issues". May 3 , 2006 Crain, Caton & James would like to congratulate Kim Rozzell and Melissa O'Neal on passing the Bar. April 10, 2006 Farley S. Burge was elected to the Executive Council of the Houston Bar Association Environmental Section. He will serve a two-year term. April 2, 2006 Kristin N. Necessary will be speaking on "Fundamentals of Estate Planning" at the Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. April 2, 2006 Emily T. Whittenburg will be Co-Chairing the 2006 Starlight Gala Passport to the World benefiting the American Cancer Society Houston chapter. April 1, 2006 Crain, Caton & James would like to welcome new shareholder Peter G. Nemeth.
March 2006 GEORGE LEDERER WINS IN SUPREME COURT FOR TOTAL On March 31, 2006, the Texas Supreme Court reaffirmed its holding that Continental Casualty Company (“CNA”) had breached its contract of insurance with TOTAL PETROCHEMICALS USA, INC.
The Texas Supreme Court later reversed this ruling and reinstated Judge Mizell's Judgment. more... Crain, Caton & James announces its 2006 Rising Stars as listed by the March issue of Texas Monthly Magazine: Kimberly R. Stuart | Civil Litigation Defense Emily T. Whittenburg | Business/Corporate March 30, 2006 George W. Lederer, Jr. will be speaking on "Your Rights as an Insured" at the Insurance & Risk Management For the Oil & Gas Industry Summit. C. Vance Christopher will be speaking on "Experts 101: The Who, What, Where, When and Why" at the Houston Bar Association West Loop Area Seminar. On March 28, 2006, the trial court signed a judgment for over $5.5 million in favor of a firm client. The case, tried by Vance Christopher and Sharon Gardner to a jury verdict in May and June of 2005, involved claims and counter-claims for breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, malpractice, and improper tax treatment of various related party transactions. All counter-claims against the firm's client were resolved in the client's favor. The $5.5 million will benefit the trusts for which the client was serving as trustee. March 10, 2006 Sharon B. Gardner will be speaking on "How to Recognize and Represent Clients With Diminished Capacity" at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in Maui, Hawaii. March 9, 2006 Robert R. Wisner will be speaking on "Prepayment Penalties and Due on Sale Restrictions on Consumer Transactions" at the State Bar Advanced Real Estate Drafting Course 2006. Darlene Payne Smith will be speaking on "Protecting the Rights of the Proposed Ward" at Advanced Elder Law Seminar in Dallas. February 17, 2006 Sharon B. Gardner will be speaking on fiduciary risk management at the Wills & Probate Institutes 2006 Advanced Course. Helen B. Wils will be speaking on fiduciary risk management at the Wills & Probate Institutes 2006 Advanced Course. February 7, 2006 Marty Olson was awarded the distinction of Legal Professional of the Year by the Houston Association of Legal Professionals. January 23, 2006 Final Briefs Due in Appeal of Historic Rule 11 Award On May 18, 2005, United States District Judge Jane J. Boyle of the Northern District of Texas awarded $530,667.32 in attorneys fees as Rule 11 sanctions to eleven defendants represented by George W. Lederer, Jr. of Crain Caton & James as lead counsel. The sanctions were ordered to be paid 25% by the Plaintiffs Skidmore Energy, Inc. and Geoscience International, Inc. and 75% by their attorney Gary Sullivan. The highest previously reported award of sanctions in Texas was in the amount of $203,641 (See Mercury Air Group, Inc. v. Mansour, 237 F3d 542 (2001)). more.... January 20, 2006 Sarah Patel Pacheco will be speaking on probate taxation and administration at the State Bar of Texas' 7th Annual Building Blocks of Wills, Estates, and Probate Course. Sarah has also been named as the course director of the 2006 State Bar of Texas Advance Course on Estate Planning and Probate. January 2006 Robert R. Wisner has published the Eighth Edition of "Usury and Texas Credit Laws", the "go-to" treatise on lending regulation in Texas. Sharon B. Gardner voted one of "Houston's Top Lawyers for the People" by H Texas Magazine.
December 2005 Jeffrey I. Horowitz appointed Vice Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission of City of West University Place, Texas. November 2005 Kristin Necessary was selected for participation in the 2005-2006 Houston Young Lawyers Association Leadership Academy. October 21, 2005 Helen Wils speaks at the Texas Bankers Association in San Antonio, Texas “Determination of Ownership of Assets in Estates”. Vance Christopher spoke at the 2005 Houston Bar Association Experts Institute on "Experts 101-The Who, What, Where, When & Why" October 2005 Crain, Caton & James Super Lawyers as listed by Texas Monthly Magazine: Robert E. “Robin” Morse, III | Crain, Caton & James would like to welcome Jim Hudson to the IP section of the firm. August 2005 Crain, Caton & James would like to welcome new associates Kristin Necessary and Kimberly Rozzell. July 2005 H Texas Magazine announces Houston's Top Lawyers. Congratulations fo the following: June 8, 2005 A Harris County jury returned a verdict of over $3.5 million in favor of Vance Christopher and Sharon Gardner's client who was serving as trustee for three trusts. Their client had been forced to sue the grantor of the three trusts, who was also the father of the beneficiaries, for breaches of fiduciary duty, fraud, and other causes of action because the grantor orchestrated several related-party transactions involving the trusts' assets. The losses and tax consequences from these transactions damaged the trusts. Nevertheless, and not surprisingly, the beneficiaries joined with their father, the grantor, to counterclaim against the trustee.
|
|
