Dallas Bar Association
HEADNOTES
Focus M&A and Corporate Securities
February 2010 Volume 34 Number 2
DBA presents the 18th Annual MLK Justice Award Staff Report
DBA President Ike Vanden Eykel, Kim Askew, Hon. John Creuzot
T
he Dallas Bar Association’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award honors an attorney whose life reflects the values and goals set forth by Dr. King and whose achievements inspire the community. This year’s award was presented to Kim Askew, a partner at K&L Gates. Since 1993, the DBA has bestowed the Justice Award on deserving recipients. The luncheon on Monday, January 18, marked the DBA’s 18th Justice Award presentation. Keynote speaker Robert J. Grey, 20042005 ABA president and partner at Hunton & Williams in Virginia, spoke of Dr. King’s dreams DBA Past President Mark Sales, Kim Askew, DBA and visions being President-Elect Barry Sorrels and Greg Taylor fulfilled in the everyday work of attorneys and judges who strive to keep justice at the forefront of our country. The honorable John Creuzot, 2005 recipient of the Justice Award, introduced Ms. Askew and presented her with this year’s award. He said that it is because of Ms. Askew’s excellence, intelligence, hard work and numerous community service activities that she has earned this honor. Ms. Askew is a long-time leader in the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association and the DBA. She was the first African-American lawyer to chair the State Bar Board and the ABA Section of ABA 2004-2005 President Robert J. Grey, Kim Askew, Litigation. In her comIke Vanden Eykel continued on page 6
DBA Board Elects Chair and Vice Chair Staff Report
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he Dallas Bar Association Board of Directors elected Scott M. McElhaney as its 2010 Chair, and Brad C. Weber as Vice Chair, at its annual organizational meeting January 20. Scott McElhaney is a partner with Jackson Walker L.L.P., and is board certified in Labor and Employment Law. Mr. McElhaney has been active in the DBA for a number of years. Among other Committees, he has chaired the Judiciary Committee and Bench Bar Conference Committee. He is the chair of the 20092010 Campaign for Equal Access to Justice and serves on the DBA Community Service Fund Scott McElhaney Board of Directors. He is the Board Advisor for the Labor & Employment Law Section, Co-Board Advisor of the CLE Committee and is a past chair, and current Board Advisor, of the DBA Business Litigation Section. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School. A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Brad C. Weber is a partner with Locke Lorde Bissell
& Liddell LLP. He is a co-leader of the Antitrust Litigation Practice group at the firm and is experienced in a variety of arbitration matters and commercial litigation in both state and federal courts. Mr. Weber has served on a number of DBA committees and sections. He has been an active member of the Business
Brad Weber
Litigation Section and Antitrust Section, he is past co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, the Bench Bar Conference Committee and currently Chairs the Bylaws Committee, the Finance Committee and is Co-Chair of the Morris Harrell Professionalism Committee. Mr. Weber is a past president of the Dallas Association continued on page 10
“May I Have My Money Back?”: The Texas Securities Act by J. Mitchell Little
Q
uestion: What could a single mother, a university president, a yoga instructor, a plastic surgeon and a church pastor possibly have in common? “506 Fraud.” In the last two years, each claimed to have been deceived in an investment scheme by someone in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The State of Texas has a set of investorfriendly securities statutes that can assist in recovering investments on behalf of victims of securities fraud. The Texas Securities Act (TSA), found in the Texas Revised Civil Statutes at Title 19, Article 581, may be referred to as the Texas “Blue Sky Laws,” so named for victims having purchased a piece of nothing more than the proverbial “clear, blue sky.”
All Shapes and Sizes
Securities don’t come only with a capital “S” and aren’t only traded on public exchanges. Along with your basic stocks and bonds, Section 4 of the TSA pulls into its definition of “secu-
Inside
rity” a host of other things, including working interests in oil wells, limited partner units, profit sharing agreements and investment contracts. While alleged victims come from a variety of backgrounds, the North American Securities Administrators Association reports that 28 percent of securities complaints come from senior citizens. As many clients in cases like these may develop dementia or even pass away, reliance would be an impossible hurdle to overcome. Thus, one major advantage of a TSA claim over a basic fraud claim is that justifiable reliance is not an element. Geodyne Energy Income Prod. Partnership I-E v. Newton Corp., 97 S.W.3d 779 (Tex.App.—Dallas 2003, rev’d on other grounds). This makes a TSA cause of action invaluable.
Technically Speaking
An important arrow in the quiver of an attorney trying to recover money on behalf of an investor is an understanding of the causes of action for continued on page 10
High School Mock Trial Volunteers Needed for the State Competition!
3 Weighing the Fraud Exception in Indemnification Provisions 8 The Inaugural of Ike Vanden Eykel 13 Lessons From Recent Insider Trading Cases
Volunteer judges are needed to evaluate teams in the State High School Mock Trial competition at the Crowley Courthouse on: Friday, March 5 n Saturday, March 6 Contact Amy Smith for the exact times at asmith@dallasbar.org if you are available to judge.