Munsch Hardt Sued for $20 Million+
 

Law firm sued for $20M

Colin Pope
_
Austin Business Journal Staff

The parent company of defunct mortgage lender Empire Funding Corp. has slapped bankruptcy attorneys at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC with a $20 million lawsuit, alleging the law firm botched Empire Funding's bankruptcy case.

Austin-based Empire Funding went out of business three years ago under $75 million of debt. The parent company's lawsuit was filed June 19 in Travis County District Court.

In the suit, Empire Funding Holding Corp. claims attorneys in the Dallas office of Munsch Hardt failed to assert various claims in the bankruptcy case of another mortgage lender, ContiFinancial Corp., which filed for bankruptcy protection at about the same time as Empire Funding.

By allegedly doing so, Empire Funding claims it lost its chance to collect at least $20 million from ContiFinancial, which since has gone out of business.

Empire Funding is suing for actual damages of $20 million and seeks millions more in exemplary damages from the Dallas-based firm. Munsch Hardt attorneys listed individually in the suit are Russell Munsch, Paul Seiler and Joe Marshall.

Speaking on behalf of the firm and the attorneys being sued, Munsch Hardt partner Steven Harr in Dallas dismisses Empire Funding's claim.

"We believe that the lawsuit is meritless, in particular because we never represented the party making the claim," Harr says. "We have hired counsel and intend to aggressively defend ourselves."

Harr says Munsch Hardt represented subsidiary Empire Funding Corp., not parent company Empire Funding Holding Corp., which is making the current claim.

The holding company's suit claims Munsch Hardt was "engaged and retained" by the holding company and subsidiary.

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Arter Hadden dissolving?
 

Arter law partners rebound - Form new firm: Bailey Cavalieri

Arter & Hadden, one of Ohio's oldest law firms, will shut its doors July 15, but its 79-member Columbus staff will show up for work the next day as employees of a new firm, Bailey Cavalieri LLC....


Firm nabs Arter lawyers - Andrews & Kurth gets 15 from former highflier

The day after the July 15 closing of 1990s highflier Arter & Hadden L.L.P., 15 of its former attorneys -- including Arter's last managing partner -- will move a few floors down in the Bank One Building to new digs at Andrews & Kurth L.L.P.

UT-Houston
 

I recently found out that UT-Houston laid off both the chief legal officer and the chief compliance officer a few weeks ago. From what I've been told, compliance and legal are merging into one department, but there really isn't anyone left who has expertise in all of the relevant areas.

An attorney has been named interim chief legal and compliance officer, but it is unclear what level that position is. I've been told that in addition to the interim person there are two attorneys in the legal affairs office and two in the compliance office and one more attorney in another office.

New office in Houston?
 

who is this firm?

---

'97-'01 grads needed in Houston

National firm; critical opening

Downtown location; top dollar

Excellent credentials desired

Collegial national firm seeks 1-2 associates
w/top tier credentials for int'l litigaton
group. Firm has 15-20 litigators in Houston
office. Downtown Location. Vibrant branch.

---

'98-'01 JD Litigator for Houston

Collegial Branch of Nat'l firm;

New Offices and normal hours

Great Pay; Good people.

National firm seeks 1998-2001 JD litigation
associate. $110-130K + bonus; reasonable hours

HayBoo Layoffs
 

From the rumor mill and the SB:

20-40 mid-level and senior-level associates will be laid off within the next few weeks.

From the SB:

"As a matter of fact, one of the main items to be discussed at the partner's retreat in San Antonio on September 5th-6th is a reduction in the number of associates. Apparently the Board of Directors has asked Section Heads and Practice Group Leaders to offer up associates to be sacrificed."

any more word on this
 

What areas were the people in or was it an across the board?

Brown McCarroll - Hilgers "Merger"
 

The Brown McCarroll absorption of Hilgers is finally complete and official, making it the second largest law firm in Austin behind Clark, Thomas, with 104 lawyers to CTW's 117 in Austin. It now has 190 statewide.

The firm will continue to be known as Brown McCarroll.

http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/582008

Anyone have news on the inside of how these two very different firms have integrated?

Brown McCarroll - Hilgers "Merger"
 

The article stated that only four lawyers left during the merger, insinuating it's because they didn't want to work for so large a firm. That's a lie. Resumes were flooding other large local firms' offices, mostly from women partners and associates.

One woman who was a Hilgers equity partner reported that she was offered a non-equity position in Brown McCarroll, while all of her male equity colleagues were offered equity partnerships.

Fulbright Expansion
 

There is an occassional rumor about Fulbright opening a New Orleans office. Anyone in Texas heard anything similar?

Help this guy
 

If anyone in the Austin area is in need of a tech support guy, or a writer/researcher type, please help this guy out..

Actually, go visit his site anyway. Really well written blog.

Help this guy
 

Cool site.

Austin tech is still in a depression. It's shocking, actually, so who knows what will happen to the thousands of people who have been unemployed far longer than your blogger.

Jackson & Walker
 

Ok I'm doing this for a buddy - and he's asked us to find out "Whats the deal is with Jackson & Walker "- J&W.
Need to know what the inside story is - QOL, billable targets and bonus?
This person is coming from NYC BIGLAW and has heard of them but never had them across the table - interested in the Corp., Inter'l and RE groups.
So - "o wonderful ladies and gents of the the art of law - bestow this unknowing fool with your wisdom!"....

Austin Commute
 

Are there any thoughts on a commute from Jonestown to downtown Austin? Jonestown generally (other than the unfortunate name)?

Austin Commute
 

Whether or not this is actually where there was a big massacre, moving someplace called "Jonestown" is like dating (or, worse, marrying) someone named Heather. Not a good idea.

Austin Commute
 

I have never heard of Jonestown, Texas. I mapped it and it is really far for an Austin commute. People commute in from Cedar Park, which is southeast of Jonestown, but they whine about it all the time.

It ultimately depends on where you are really going. If you are commuting to some place on 360 or 620 (in the former high tech corridor), it wouldn't be too terrible. If you are commuting truly downtown, you will be stuck in traffic on Mo-Pac or 360 that will make you want to kill yourself every single morning.