HarrisMartin's Webinar Series: Texas Power Outage Litigation

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Description

This event is chaired by Jennifer M. Hoekstra of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, Patrick Luff and Ann Saucer of The Fears | Nachawati Law Firm, Buffy K. Martines of Laminack, Pirtle & Martines, and Gregory F. Cox of Mostyn Law.

This event is CLE-accredited. For detailed information on your state's credit hours, click here.

Sponsored by:

Agenda:

11:00 a.m. - 11:05 a.m.

Welcome

Jennifer M. Hoekstra, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, FL
Patrick Luff, The Fears | Nachawati Law Firm, Dallas

11:05 a.m. - 11:10 a.m.

A Case For Women

Susan Jones Knape, A Case For Women, Dallas

11:10 a.m. - 11:25 a.m.

Background of Damages and the Grid

Patrick Luff, The Fears | Nachawati Law Firm, Dallas

11:25 a.m. - 11:35 a.m.

Past Failures

Patrick Luff, The Fears | Nachawati Law Firm, Dallas

11:35 a.m. - 11:55 a.m.

Liability and Causes of Action

• Negligence, Negligence Per Se, and Gross Negligence (Especially Violations of Regulatory Requirements)
• Takings
Gregory F. Cox, Mostyn Law, Houston
Jennifer M. Hoekstra, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, FL

11:55 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.

Defenses

• No Causation/No Duty
• Tariffs
• Immunity and Panda Power
• Jurisdiction and In re CenterPoint
Buffy K. Martines, Laminack, Pirtle & Martines, Houston
Ann Saucer, The Fears | Nachawati Law Firm, Dallas

12:10 p.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Finding Critical Evidence in Natural Disaster Litigation

Drew Lewis, DISCO, Chattanooga, TN
Jonathan Wiley, DISCO, Tallahassee, FL

12:15 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Bankruptcies

• Brazos Electric
• Griddy
• Brilliant
• Just Energy
• Entrust Energy
Patrick Luff, The Fears | Nachawati Law Firm, Dallas

Contributors

Jennifer M. Hoekstra, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, FL

Jennifer M. Hoekstra is a partner with Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC. A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Ms. Hoekstra boasts an impressive academic and professional record, including graduation from two of the nation’s top schools. She earned her earned Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science from Columbia College, Columbia University in the City of New York. She relocated to Louisiana to attend Tulane Law School, where she earned her J.D. while also completing a certificate in Environmental Law. During her law school career, she spent a semester studying at the University of Wisconsin School of Law and visited on their International Law Journal as a Junior Member during her Hurricane Katrina evacuation semester.
Patrick Luff, The Fears | Nachawati Law Firm, Dallas

Patrick is an accomplished personal injury and products liability attorney. What sets Patrick apart is that before practicing law, he spent several years as a professor of law. While teaching at Washington & Lee University, Arizona State University, and the University of Oklahoma, Patrick also published extensively on mass torts. Since entering practice, Patrick has obtained a number of significant victories for his clients, including a $15.4 million wrongful death judgment and a precedent-setting decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Aside from helping his clients obtain justice, Patrick enjoys spending time with his wife, children, and the family cat, Sammy Davis Jr., Jr.
Ann Saucer, The Fears | Nachawati Law Firm, Dallas

Ann is a veteran litigator with extensive experience in complex and multidistrict litigation (MDL), consumer protection, class-actions, pharmaceutical litigation, environmental law, and toxic torts. Her practice focuses on appellate advocacy and briefing in complex litigation. A licensed attorney for more than 25 years, Ann has won arguments before the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Mississippi Supreme Court sitting En Banc, the Dallas 5th Court of Appeals, and state and federal trial courts across the country. Whether the case deals with toxic torts, pharmaceuticals, personal injury, or appeals, Ann has the ability to dig directly into the facts surrounding a case and build an original, compelling argument in support of her client’s position. She believes that, when fighting for clients, she has an obligation to keep digging and leave no stone unturned. That same drive and dedication resulted in Ann graduating first in her class from Loyola University School of Law. Outside the courtroom, she co-hosts a book club, is a part-time theater critic, and spends time with her husband and two daughters.
Buffy K. Martines, Laminack, Pirtle & Martines, Houston

Buffy Martines has spent her legal career working to protect the rights of individuals who have been injured or otherwise harmed by others. Her practice covers a number of fields including: civil litigation, products liability, complex litigation and mass torts and commercial litigation.
Gregory F. Cox, Mostyn Law, Houston

Prior to joining Mostyn Law, Mr. Cox was an attorney with the Provost & Umphrey Law Firm in Beaumont, Texas. He began his law career as a judicial law clerk to Judge Wendell C. Radford in the Eastern District of Texas. Immediately following his judicial clerkship, he worked as an associate at Baker & McKenzie in Dallas, Texas.
Susan Jones Knape, A Case For Women, Dallas

Susan is the Founder of both A Case for Women and Susan Knape Associates, Inc. a nationally recognized communications firm for law firms and companies that support doing good things to help good people. She is also a published author on the subject of women’s financial literacy and an advocate for women in the workplace.
Drew Lewis, DISCO, Chattanooga, TN

The documents in a lawsuit have a story to tell. I provide the conduit between that story and the lawyers looking to find them. My clients are some of the best storytellers in the world. My mission is to help them "tell better stories." I help them interrogate the documents produced in discovery and find the information need to win the case. I am passionate about assisting them in their fight for justice and against corporate greed and institutional abuses. I believe that technology can enable lawyers to serve their clients more effectively. I believe technology amplifies the abilities of lawyers; it does not displace them. I believe technology can improve outcomes for clients, not just the lawyers who serve them.
Jonathan Wiley, DISCO, Tallahassee, FL