Former U.S. Attorney David R. Dugas will remain in Baton Rouge to head a New Orleans-based law firm’s nationwide energy practice, officials announced Tuesday.

Dugas, who resigned his federal post last week, will join McGlinchey Stafford on May 1, the law firm said in a press release.

In addition to chairing the firm’s energy practice, Dugas will serve as co-chair of McGlinchey Stafford’s governmental investigations team.

“We are honored to have David join our team and are excited to offer his distinguished level of expertise to our clients,” Rudy Aguilar, the law firm’s managing member, said in a written statement.

Dugas was a private-practice attorney who focused on oil-and-gas litigation as well as environmental issues prior to serving more than eight years as U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana.

The 1978 graduate of LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center was appointed to his federal post by former President George W. Bush.

In addition to New Orleans and Baton Rouge, McGlinchey Stafford has offices in Dallas, Houston, Cleveland, Monroe, Jackson, Miss., and Albany, N.Y.

The number one mistake an employee can make is to sign an employment contract without seeking legal counsel beforehand.  Often the employee fails to ask for contract terms that will protect what he brings to a new job.  For example, if an employee brings his customers with him to a new job, he must have the employment contract exclude these customers from being considered the new employer’s customers.  Otherwise, when the employee leaves the company and tries to take those customers with him, the company has a claim that those customers are no longer his to take.  The cost of litigating over this dispute will be far greater than the cost of seeking legal counsel to review the employment agreement before signing it.

Dallas Emploement Lawyer

Q. I have an employment contract that states it is for a one (1) year term.  Does that mean the company must employ me for one year?

Not necessarily.  The contract may provide that the company may terminate the agreement for any reason after providing an employee 30 days notice.  In such a case, the employee only has a 30 day term contract, not a one (1) year contract.

Q. I have a contract that states the company will   “consider” me for bonus payments.  Does this mean it is obligated to pay me the bonus payments?

No. Such language only obligates the company to consider you for possible payment.  The company can simply state they considered you and decided not to pay you any bonus payments.  More specific language is needed to guarantee an employee will receive bonus payments.

The law firm Paul Weiss has hired a prominent Justice Department prosecutor in an effort to build a Washington practice that defends corporations accused of trying to gain business overseas through bribes.

Paul Weiss announced on Friday it had hired Mark F. Mendelsohn, deputy chief of the fraud section in the Justice Department's criminal division, who was the architect of an ambitious program to target foreign bribery.

Mendelsohn was the top catch for Washington law firms looking to continue to participate in the thriving Foreign Corrupt Practice Act business. The Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission have been filing aggressive cases in recent years against such companies as Halliburton, BAE Systems and Daimler, reaching settlements in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP is pleased to announce that the firm's chairman of the executive committee, Guy N. Halgren, has been re-elected to a fourth consecutive, three-year term leading the firm.  Halgren was first elected to this management role in 2001.  Halgren is the first Sheppard Mullin chairman to hold this position for four terms.  

"Our partnership is very fortunate to have Guy at the helm for another term.  He's smart, fair and forward-thinking," said Benjamin R. Mulcahy, New York-based partner and member of the executive committee.  "Guy has been instrumental in growing the firm in terms of size, locations, and practice areas, while preserving Sheppard Mullin's tradition of collegiality and entrepreneurship."  

Sheppard Mullin has experienced significant growth in the past nine years.  The number of attorneys is now more than 500, which is more than 70% greater than the firm's attorney headcount in 2001.  During the same time period, the firm has geographically grown from a California firm, to a national firm with locations in New York and Washington, D.C., to an international firm with an office in Shanghai.  The firm currently has a total of eleven offices, having significantly expanded from four locations in 2001.

Comparing 2001 to 2009, gross revenue has climbed from $149 million to $361 million.  Practice area growth has occurred in a number of ways, including the establishment of an institutional entertainment and media practice in 2003, the significant growth of the firm's Intellectual Property practice group in recent years, and the strengthening of signature practices: Antitrust, Corporate, Finance & Bankruptcy, Government Contracts, Labor & Employment, Litigation, Real Estate/Land Use and Tax.  

Additionally, Sheppard Mullin's Business Trial practice group co-chair, Robert S. Beall, has been re-elected as the firm's managing partner for another three-year term.  He has held this firm management position since 2005.  Beall, based in the firm's Orange County office, has also been re-elected to the firm's executive committee for another three-year term. 

Founded in 1982, Bryan A Lowe & Associates is a law firm based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The firm provides a wide range of services, primarily in the areas of estate planning, probate, bankruptcy, general business (corporate, partnership, and proprietorship), taxation, real estate, asset protection, and elder care.

The firm was founded on a philosophy of service that not only emphasizes quality representation in terms of experience and expertise - but places a high value on initiating appropriate actions to meet the client's legal needs and objectives. Particular stress is also placed on providing individualized service and achieving the desired results while working in a cost-effective manner.

At Bryan A Lowe & Associates, we handle a wide variety of legal cases, including the areas listed below. If you need an elder law, estate planning, corporate, tax, or probate lawyer, see the information below or contact an attorney.

    Elder Law
    Estate Planning

    Corporate and Tax Law

    Probate and Estate Administration

    Bankruptcy


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