The President’s counsel, Pat Cipollone, sent a letter to the House of Representatives objecting to the impeachment inquiry. It is a five page letter which recounts the many perceived problems with the House investigation. It is signed by Pat Cipollone as counsel to Pres. Trump. But, it appears to have also been edited heavily by the client. In every lawsuit, the client wants to write a letter like this. It contains over-the-top language like this:…

The Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998 was passed to cover persons in the intelligence community, as the name suggests.  It applies to the 17 various federal intelligence agencies.  It defines an “urgent” concern as one that represents a “serious or flagrant problem, abuse, violation of law or executive order, or deficiency relating to the funding, administration, or operations of an intelligence activity involving classified information. It does not apply to differenses of opnion…

The Western District Court recently awarded attorney’s fees and costs of court in the Johnson v. Southwest Research Institute, No. 15-CV-297, matter. I previously wrote about that trial here and here. The judge awarded $535,609 in attorney’s fees and costs of the lawsuit. Included in that attorney fee figure are attorney fees ranging from $125 to $585 per hour, for five lawyers. As I mentioned perviously, the jury already awarded $550,914 in lost pay and…

The U.S. Congress passed the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act in 1994. Congress based the act on the “necessary and proper” clause of Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. That means, said the Corpus Christi court of appeals, that the act did not waive sovereign immunity of the states. See Texas Dept. of Public Safety v. Torres, No. 17-000659 (Tex.App. Corpus Christi 11/20/2018). All governments, state and federal, start with sovereign…

Advertising slogans can be a precious thing. Attorney Melissa A. Wilson has sued San Antonio attorney Heather C. Tessmer in federal court for the use of the slogan, “Ever Argue with a Woman?” Ms. Wilson has used a similar slogan. “Ever Argued with a Woman?” in Florida. Ms. Wilson says she has used the slogan San Antonio since 2007. Ms. Wilson received a trademark registration for the slogan in 2014. Ms. Tessmer, however, says she…

Most, perhaps all, new clients hold an unrealistic view of juries. The movies and television generally depict jurors as somber, thoughtful persons listening intently. The media never depicts what occurs inside the jury room, but we all assume they remain thoughtful, deliberative inside the jury room. No, they do not. . . . Well, sure, some do. But, many do not. There are no surveys or studies about the internal dymanics, but we know many…