The following briefs follow the legal successes and other professional activities of Brown Sims attorneys over the
past few months

3-1-10 - For the second year in a row, Shareholder Charles Clayton Conrad was selected for inclusion in the 2010 Texas Super Lawyer® -“Rising Star” edition.   Only 2.5% of the lawyers in the State of Texas were selected for the Rising Stars list.

10-6-09 – Shareholder Charles Clayton Conrad and Associate Ryan Kinder obtained a dismissal for their client in an intellectual property case in which the Plaintiffs sought over $10 million for misappropriation of trade secrets.

10-30-09 – Shareholder Michael D. Williams, Shareholder Charles Clayton Conrad, and Associate Ryan Kinder obtained a summary judgment based on the “borrowed servant” defense in a wrongful death case involving a pipeline explosion.

7-6-09 – Participating Associate Zascha Abbott is selected to the Florida Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Executive Counsel.

5-8-09 – Shareholder Monica F. Markovich and Associate James W. Parker obtained a summary judgment for their client in a Defense Base Act claim.  The Administrative Law Judge dismissed the claim with prejudice using the doctrine of judicial estoppel because the claimant failed to disclose her Defense Base Act claim during her bankruptcy proceeding.

5-05-09 – Associate Lucia Pazos was sworn in to the District of Columbia bar. 

5-5-09 – Shareholder Frank Sioli was appointed to The Florida Bar Admiralty Law Committee for a one year term.

5-5-09- Participating Associate Zascha Abbott was appointed to a two year term to the Executive Council for the Labor and Employment Law Section of The Florida Bar  Association.

5-2-09 – Participating Associate Zascha Abbott and Associate Benny Boutrouille participated in Hands on Miami’s Fourth Annual Service Juris Day, a community event bringing together the Miami-Dade legal community to beautify two Miami-Dade facilities that service detained youths

2-16-09 – Shareholder John G. H. Davis and Associate Kenney J. Wrubel successfully defended against claims for personal injuries, property damage, and treble damages in Galveston County, Texas, arising out of allegations of bad faith/ DTPA/ and fraud against their clients, a broker and agent.  After a trial on the merits, the court found in favor of Messrs. Davis and Wrubel’s clients and awarded no monies to plaintiff.

2-12-09 – Shareholder John G. H. Davis and Associate Kenney J. Wrubel successfully defended against claims for personal injuries and property damage in a jury trial in Harris County, Texas.  Messrs. Davis and Wrubel secured a defense verdict for their client resulting in no monies to the claimant and successfully prosecuted a counter-claim for property damage resulting in a money judgment in favor of their client.   After a trial on the merits, the jury found that Messrs. Davis and Wrubel’s client was not negligent and was entitled to the full fair market value of his property.

12-11-08 – Associate Jeff Tobin obtains a summary judgment for his client in a LHWCA case, wherein the ALJ denied LHWCA territorial coverage for a worker allegedly injured while repairing a cruise ship docked in the Bahamas

11-13-08- Shareholder Charles Conrad present the 2008 Trucking Litigation and D.O.T. Regulations Seminar for Lorman’s Education Services in Houston, Texas for attorneys and insurance, claims and industry professionals.

11-6-08 – Shareholder Mark Clemer obtained an order from a state court in Hidalgo County, Texas dismissing the plaintiff's suit against his client for alleged damages during asbestos removal from a school, and awarding his client $35,000 in attorneys' fees.

9-9-08 – Shareholder Mark Clemer obtained a decison from an arbitration panel awarding plaintiff no damages from his client in connection with an accident during a construction project.

8-12-08 – Shareholder Monica Markovich  obtained an affirmation from the Benefits Review Board of a favorable ruling by an Administrative Law Judge under the Defense Base Act that the Claimant take nothing in three related claims for mental and physical injuries during employment in Iraq.

7-21-08 – Shareholders Michael Williams, Charles Conrad, and Mark Clemer, along with Associate Daniel Dinneen, were called to trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in a rig fire case involving a demand of over $45 million in property damages allegedly caused by their client, a subcontractor performing services on the rig. At the start of trial, U.S. District Court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant subcontractor, awarding it indemnity against the Plaintiff.

7-17-08 – Shareholder Nelson Skyler defended a plumbing company in a negligence action for water damage in an upscale condominium resulting from a pipe leak.  The case went to arbitration.  The three person arbitration panel found no negligence on the part of the plumbing company.  The plaintiff received nothing.

7-17-08 – Associate Karl Schulz authors a legal article entitled "Evaluating the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007: Inclusions, Exclusions, and Problems with Implementation", which is selected for publication in the November issue of the Environmental Law Reporter, a major national publication that is frequently cited by attorneys in private and government practice.

6-25-08 – Shareholder Mark Clemer obtains a summary judgment dismissing all claims against a chemical manufacturer defendant in a toxic tort wrongful death suit in Brazoria County, Texas.

4-14-08 – Shareholder Monica Markovich presented a paper entitled "Unique Issues in Determining Average Weekly Wage Under the Defense Base Act" at the annual Longshore Conference sponsored by Loyola Law School.

3-28-08 – Shareholder Monica Markovich defeated a Claimant’s pursuit of benefits for a low back injury in two claims falling under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.  The Administrative Law Judge denied the Claimant’s claims for injuries to his back while working for a stevedoring company in the Houston, Texas area.

3-10-08 – Shareholder Mark Clemer obtains reversal on appeal of the trial court’s order finding personal jurisdiction over a foreign defendant in contract litigation in Corpus Christi, Texas.

2-21-08 – Brown Sims, P.C. is pleased to announce that Allen Hemphill and Charles Conrad have been named as shareholders of the firm, and that Miles Klaff has been promoted to a participating associate.

11-19-07 – Shareholder Monica Markovich obtained a ruling under the Defense Base Act that the Claimant take nothing in three related claims for mental and physical injuries during employment in Iraq.

11-14-07 – Shareholder Charles Clayton Conrad presented a Trucking Litigation and D.O.T. Regulation Seminar to attorneys and claims professionals for Lorman Education Services, in Houston, Texas.

8-3-07 – Participating Associate Charles Clayton Conrad was awarded a CV Peer Review Rating by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell after an extensive and confidential peer review by members of the Texas Bar and judiciary.  The CV Peer Review Rating is the highest rating a lawyer can achieve with Mr. Conrad’s experience.  Mr. Conrad has now joined a select group of lawyers who have been recognized for their legal expertise and professional stature.

7-30-07 – Shareholder Nelson Skyler and Associate Tarush R. Anand succeed in obtaining final summary judgment on behalf of a water company.  The plaintiff was a homeowner who claimed her house burned down because a fire hydrant in front of her property had been turned off, allegedly by the water company. The Court agreed that the water company owed the plaintiff no duty, and hence could not have been negligent.

6-14-07 – ShareholderCharles Clayton Conrad succeeded in having their client's No-Evidence Motion for Summary Judgment affirmed by the 14th Court of Appeals."

2-12-07 – We are pleased to announce the expansion of the firm with the opening of a fully staffed office in Miami, Florida. Shareholder Frank J. Sioli is based at the Miami office, which opened February 12, 2007.

2-2-07 – Shareholder Charles Clayton Conrad obtained a defense verdict on behalf of their client at the end of a two week jury trial in Woodville, Texas.  The Plaintiff alleged breach of contract and negligence in a multi-million dollar pipeline explosion case resulting in significant property damage and lost profits; the jury found that the contract was not breached, and placed 100% of the fault for the fire on the Plaintiff.

1-17-07– G. Byron Sims and  Michael D. Williams obtained a denial of certification by the U.S. Supreme Court on Plaintiff's appeal of their prior Judgment in favor of their client, Air France obtained from the U.S. District Court and upheld by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

9-29-06 – Charles Clayton Conrad presents an article he authored entitled, “The Temporary Laborer and the Workers’ Compensation Bar” at the Texas Association of Defense Counsel’s annual Fall Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana

5-01-06 – Brown Sims Founder and Shareholder G. Byron Sims is selected a Texas Super Lawyer for the third year. Super Lawyers comprise the top five percent of the state’s practicing attorneys.

4-12-06 – Shareholder Cynthia Galvan wins a defense verdict for a maritime employer whose employee claimed total and permanent disability after falling 20 feet into the hold of a ship. The court finds that despite the plaintiff’s multiple injuries, two substantial back surgeries and claims of pain, he is capable of returning to work in some capacity.

4-5-06 – Shareholder Monica Markovich presents a paper entitled "Legal Issues Unique to Defense Base Act Claims: Determining Average Weekly Wages For Injured Workers" at the annual Longshore Conference sponsored by Loyola Law School.