attorney listing - graves dougherty hearon & moodypresident, sxsw, inc. the sxsw interactive...
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In Their Own Words
G R A V E S D O U G H E R T Y H E A R O N & M O O D Y 2 0 0 8 Y E A R I N R E V I E W
CORPORATE
Karen J. Bartoletti 512-480-5612kbartoletti@gdhm.com
Mary Wommack Barton512-480-5604mbarton@gdhm.com
Diana K. Borden512-480-5678 dborden@gdhm.com
Rod Edens, Jr.512-480-5747 redens@gdhm.com
Cliff Ernst512-480-5672 cernst@gdhm.com
Sandra Lee Griffin512-480-5774 sgriffin@gdhm.com
Clarke Heidrick512-480-5636 cheidrick@gdhm.com
Karen J. Holody512-480-5766 kholody@gdhm.com
James M. Laughead512-480-5654jlaughead@gdhm.com
Edward S. McHorse512-480-5750 emchorse@gdhm.com
Christian G. Newsom512-480-5763cnewsom@gdhm.com
Thomas I. Queen, Jr.512-480-5782 tqueen@gdhm.com
Debbie Ramirez512-480-5761 dramirez@gdhm.com
Paul B. Saenz512-480-5757 psaenz@gdhm.com
Roy C. Snodgrass III512-480-5752 rsnodgrass@gdhm.com
John David Spiller, Jr.512-480-5626dspiller@gdhm.com
TRUSTS & ESTATES
Patricia A. Campbell512-480-5625 pcampbell@gdhm.com
J. Chrys Dougherty (Retired) 512-480-5624 cdougherty@gdhm.com
Julie R. Frey512-480-5776 jfrey@gdhm.com
Kevin Holcomb512-480-5627 kholcomb@gdhm.com
E. Clark Lutz512-480-5614 eclutz@gdhm.com
James A. Williams512-480-5622 jwilliams@gdhm.com
REAL ESTATE
Wm. Terry Bray512-480-5635 tbray@gdhm.com
Stephen W. Butler512-480-5714 sbutler@gdhm.com
Peter J. Cesaro512-480-5728 pcesaro@gdhm.com
Kevin R. Dartt512-480-5677 kdartt@gdhm.com
R. Alan Haywood512-480-5631 ahaywood@gdhm.com
David Herndon512-480-5683 dherndon@gdhm.com
William H. Locke512-480-5736 blocke@gdhm.com
Rick Triplett512-480-5633 rtriplett@gdhm.com
LITIGATION
Michelle Alcala512-480-5716 malcala@gdhm.com
Kathryn E. Allen512-480-5651 kallen@gdhm.com
Matthew B. Baumgartner512-480-5603mbaumgartner@gdhm.com
Eric G. Behrens512-480-5662 ebehrens@gdhm.com
Boyce C. Cabaniss512-480-5660 bcabaniss@gdhm.com
William Christian512-480-5704 wchristian@gdhm.com
Susan G. Conway512-480-5768 sconway@gdhm.com
Will W. Dibrell512-480-5663 wdibrell@gdhm.com
Christopher L. Elliott512-480-5720celliott@gdhm.com
Helen Currie Foster512-480-5681 hfoster@gdhm.com
Melissa Garcia Goodman512-480-5723mgarcia@gdhm.com
John M. Harmon512-480-5605 jharmon@gdhm.com
Drew L. Harris512-480-5722dharris@gdhm.com
Robert J. Hearon, Jr.512-480-5607 rhearon@gdhm.com
James A. Hemphill512-480-5762 jhemphill@gdhm.com
Nancy Rice Hudson512-480-5755 nhudson@gdhm.com
Thomas B. Hudson, Jr. 512-480-5740 thudson@gdhm.com
Mary A. Keeney512-480-5682 mkeeney@gdhm.com
Peter D. Kennedy512-480-5764 pkennedy@gdhm.com
G. Douglas Kilday512-480-5680 dkilday@gdhm.com
David P. Lein512-480-5717 dlein@gdhm.com
John B. McFarland512-480-5618 jmcfarland@gdhm.com
John J. McKetta III512-480-5616 mmcketta@gdhm.com
Robin A. Melvin512-480-5688 rmelvin@gdhm.com
Ron H. Moss512-480-5724 rmoss@gdhm.com
Matthew C. Powers512-480-5725mpowers@gdhm.com
Daniel O. Ramón512-480-5679dramon@gdhm.com
Preston Randall512-480-5731 prandall@gdhm.com
Pete Schenkkan512-480-5673 pschenkkan@gdhm.com
Steven D. Smit512-480-5653 ssmit@gdhm.com
Andrea Moore Stover 512-480-5727 astover@gdhm.com
Christopher H. Trickey 512-480-5620 ctrickey@gdhm.com
Ben F. Vaughan III512-480-5617 bvaughan@gdhm.com
Michael J. Whellan512-480-5734 mwhellan@gdhm.com
Richard D. Yeomans512-480-5645 ryeomans@gdhm.com
CREDITORS’ REMEDIES
James V. Hoeffner512-480-5707jhoeffner@gdhm.com
Kelle K. Masters512-480-5630kmasters@gdhm.com
Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody401 Congress AvenueSuite 2200Austin, Texas 78701www.gdhm.com
Attorney Listing
“ ”I am pleased and proud to share with you some of the notable stories of our
clients over the past year. It is both humbling and inspiring for me to read our
clients’ own words describing their experiences working with the lawyers in
our firm. These stories sustain us, as we continue our long tradition of service
to clients and community.
Since becoming president of Graves Dougherty in October
2008, I have been mindful of the trust that our lawyers and
clients have placed in me to keep that tradition of service at
the forefront of all we do. It’s a tradition that was established
and has been carefully maintained by many that came before
me, and I am honored to assume this responsibility.
Michael Whellan
Dear Friends,
President
“Sound guidance.”Roland Swenson
President, SXSW, Inc.
The SXSW InteractIve FeStIval
celebrates the creativity and passion
behind the coolest new media technologies.
The festival includes panel discussions and
a major trade show.
Film fans explore the art and business of
independent filmmaking at the SXSW
FIlm conFerence and FeStIval.
New movies premiere each year as part of
the event.
Music lovers from around the world
stream into Austin every spring to catch
1,800 musical acts on more than 80
stages at the SXSW muSIc and
medIa conFerence.
Every year, more than 20,000
people come to Austin to attend
SXSW Music, Film and
Interactive events. And
every year, lawyers from
Graves Dougherty represent
SXSW, Inc., in everything from
negotiating contracts with
sponsors and venues
to working with the City
on permits and logistics.
Roland Swenson (right) with Pete Kennedy
Roland Swenson still remembers the first time Graves
Dougherty represented SXSW’s interests, back when it was a
relatively small music festival run by The Austin Chronicle.
“A woman in line for a SXSW show at the old Liberty
Lunch club on Second Street got hit in the head with a bottle,
and she sued us for damages, because we were the sponsors
of the event,” he explains. “Pete Kennedy worked with us
to negotiate a settlement with her, and he’s been SXSW’s
lawyer ever since.”
Now, of course, SXSW is a large corporate organization
that operates several business entities and oversees
hundreds of conference events every year, and Pete’s not
the only lawyer at Graves Dougherty who works with Roland
and his team.
“Rick Triplett is our corporate attorney and handles
keeping the corporate logbook up to date; he’s also helped
us set up multiple companies over the years that are associ-
ated with the different aspects of what we’re doing,” explains
Roland. “Pete Kennedy and Ed McHorse work closely with
our sponsorship manager on executing sponsor contracts.”
“More recently, Michael Whellan and Peter Cesaro have
been helping us with our relations with the municipal govern-
ment – meeting with staff on issues relating to everything
from permitting of venues
to the city’s new green
ordinance for public events,”
continues Roland.
“Roland is an exceptional business professional
who’s managing a zillion relationships – with speakers,
bands, venues, event planners, city staff – all at once, and he
does that very well,” notes Pete Kennedy. “We’re just here to
provide whatever help he needs.”
“They’ve always provided sound guidance,” according to
Roland. “A lot of the help they’ve given us has extended to
apply in other situations later – even years later. And because
of our long relationship, they ‘get’ what we do and what we
need without needing a lot of explanation.”
During the time that lawyers from the firm have been
working with SXSW, the music event has grown from 700
registrants to nearly 12,000, and film and interactive compo-
nents have been added in response to the growing presence
of these industries in the Austin area. Those events attract an
additional 11,000 registrants every March.
“I always tell people I never regret paying for good
advice. And that certainly characterizes my relationship with
Graves Dougherty.”
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“Integrity.”Mary Nichols
General Counsel, Texas Mutual Insurance Company
Mary Nichols (center) with Mary Keeney and Pete Schenkkan
Two decades ago the Texas Legislature overhauled the Texas workers’ compensation system to fix a crisis of spiraling costs, rising premiums and employers dropping out. A product of that process, Texas Mutual Insurance Company is in the business of issuing workers’ compensation policies – and helping make sure the system works fairly for everyone involved.
makIng WorkerS ’ comp Work
As part of its commitment to helping make the state’s workers’ compensation system work for all participants, Texas Mutual provides education and information to help prevent on-the-job injuries and illnesses and minimize their consequences.
Texas Mutual is today the largest workers’ compensation insurer in Texas. A not-for-profit company, Texas Mutual paid $1.66
million in dividends to qualifying policyholder employers in 2008. This practice of paying dividends encourages more employers to buy coverage for their workers. “The workers’ compensation system in Texas is highly regulated – much more so than auto, homeowners or other kinds of insurance,” says Mary Nichols, Texas Mutual’s general counsel. “Our role is in part to help maintain for that system the proper balance between paying benefits properly and controlling costs. Sometimes keeping that balance requires legal action.” When Texas Mutual determines that legal action is in order, the company often turns to Graves Dougherty for
assistance. “There are two main areas in which we work with Texas Mutual,” explains Pete Schenkkan of Graves Dougherty’s Litigation practice, “one, to help in the system’s effort to regulate
what it pays to health care providers, and two, to defend the system as a whole against ‘end runs’ that are ultimately not
in the best interests of any of the participants.” For example, some hospitals recently tried to open a large loophole in the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation health care cost control rules. Graves Dougherty took the lead on behalf of Texas Mutual and other workers’ compensation payors, and the Austin Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the cost control interpretation. Recently, there has been a wave of claims-handling cases against workers’ compensation insurers. Graves Dougherty has worked with Texas Mutual to demonstrate to the courts how these cases undermine the proper regulation of claims and disputes by the Division of Workers’ Compensation. Texas Mutual won one such case in district court last year; in another, for the first time since 2001, the Texas Supreme Court requested a full briefing on the issues. “I have been working with Pete and other attorneys at Graves Dougherty for more than ten years, since shortly after I came to Texas Mutual,” says Mary Nichols. “In addition to their intellect and professional abilities, their integrity is an important reason that they’re such a good match for our com-pany. There’s that trust that comes from dealing with someone who places an emphasis on integrity commensurate with your own. It’s an important element in professional compatibility.”
“Responsive.”It started with a passion for authentic NY-style pizza, and a vision for bringing it to Austin. Today,
Home Slice is one of the community’s biggest small-business success stories. Graves Dougherty has been helping the owners tackle the legal complexities of owning a growing business from the beginning.
You may know it as that popular pizza place on hip
South Congress Avenue. But to the folks who started
it and their lawyers at Graves Dougherty, it is much
more than that.
Home Slice is a complex corporate enterprise
involving multiple founding owners, many investors,
multi-faceted real estate transactions and more.
“Our lawyers at Graves Dougherty have done such a variety of things for us,
even though we’re just a pizza restaurant,” says Home Slice co-owner Joseph
Strickland, “and they’ve been very responsive to our needs in every way.”
Joseph opened Home Slice back in 2005 with his wife Jen Scoville Strick-
land and their business partner Terri Hannifin. Today, the restaurant’s success
has enabled it to quickly pay back all of the initial investment in the business
and to expand into the building next door to the original SoCo location.
Graves Dougherty lawyers have worked with the owners at every step.
“I’ve always enjoyed working with young entrepreneurs. When the
Home Slice founders hired us, it was a chance to involve lawyers from vari-
ous sections of our firm to address their needs,” recalls Cliff Ernst, a lawyer in
Graves Dougherty’s Corporate section. “It was a great opportunity to use our
experience in partnership, securities, tax, corporate, intellectual property and
real estate law to help clients with lots of energy and a strong vision. I’m really
proud to be a part of the Home Slice success story.”
“They helped us formulate the offer that we used to raise money, and
they helped us form the corporate entities we operate and get our partnership
deals signed,” says Joseph. “I had a million questions, and I really wanted to
understand everything about our offering. I’m probably the only client in history
who has read every single word of the limited partnership agreement. They
were extremely helpful and accessible to me through all of it.”
“The unique nature of the SoCo neighborhood and its landowners and
history created interesting real estate challenges,” points out Steve Butler, an
attorney in Graves Dougherty’s Real Estate practice.
“Just to open the place, we had to do three separate leases – for the
building, the parking lot, and then a leaseback agreement,” explains Joseph,
“and then we had an entirely separate negotiation later to expand into
the building next door.”
Graves Dougherty most recently worked with Home Slice to lease
additional space to expand the business and supplement the corporate
structure. “It was just fun to work with our Home Slice friends and the
legal team to solve the practical real estate, corporate and operations
issues to bring more Home Slice to South Congress,” adds Steve Butler.
“We’ve been in relatively complex situations,” says Joseph.
“And we couldn’t have done any of it without their help.”
Joseph StricklandCo-founder and Partner, Home Slice Pizza
Joseph Strickland (center) with Cliff Ernst and Steve Butler
The folks at Home Slice are passionate about pizza – so much so that they close down the restaurant for a week every year to take the whole staff on a pizza pilgrimage. Last year, they made their second trip to the home of bonafide East Coast Italian pizza: New York, NY.
Determined to bring the New York pizza of her childhood to her new home in Austin, Jen Scoville Strickland ran up against
more than one obstacle along the way. Lucky for Austin pizza fans, she didn’t let anything stop
her from pursuing her dream. Follow the Queen of Pies on her journey from New York
pizza lover to Austin pizza royalty at homeslice.com/queenofpies.
Home Slice worked with Graves Dougherty to lease additional space to expand
the restaurant’s original location in the heart of Austin’s SoCo district.
“On my team.”Since the 1990s, the MetCenter
development near Austin-Bergstrom
International Airport has evolved
to become Austin’s premier
mixed-use business park.
Graves Dougherty has been
a part of that evolution
for well over a decade.
Howard YancyPresident, Zydeco Development
Howard Yancy (right) with Alan Haywood
On the way to or from the airport, you’ve probably noticed the giant “M” at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Highway 71. It stands for MetCenter, and just beyond it lies millions
of square feet of industrial and office space occupied by everything from sophisticated data center facilities to major hotels and restaurants. As you might imagine, development on that scale brings with it a number of legal issues, particularly in the area of real estate law. Alan Haywood of Graves Dougherty has worked alongside Howard Yancy, presi-dent of Zydeco Development, since very early in the process. Together, they have negotiated a number of transactions involving buying, selling and leasing
property over the years. They continue to work together today as development continues on a second phase of the project, known as MetCenter II. “The way I view Alan in particular and Graves Dough-erty in general is as my partners – not simply lawyers I’ve hired to do work for me, but a truly integral part of my team,” says Howard Yancy. “They’re more like a partner than just a provider of services.” “This is what I would call a classic example of what Graves Dougherty has demonstrated throughout its history – of having strong relationships with our clients, characterized by a high degree of trust on both sides and mutual respect,” says Alan Haywood. “In my opinion, they’re the best law firm in town and he’s the best real estate attorney in town,” concludes Howard Yancy, “I’m glad to have them on my team.”
It’s not just the central location, advanced utility infrastruc-ture and data center-ready facilities that have attracted so many companies to MetCenter. It’s also a first-rate set of on-site amenities that includes:
v Six national hotels (with a seventh in development) offering full conference facilities
v �Two 24-hour restaurants plus a 6,000-square-foot retail center anchored by Subway and Starbucks
v Miles of hike-and-bike trails winding through wooded greenbelts, and a tennis and basketball court complex
v Convenient public transportation stops and after-hours security patrols
a n e X c e p t I o n a l c o l l e c t I o n o F o n - S I t e a m e n I t I e S
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“Common sense.”Carl Shepherd
Co-founder and Chief Strategy and Development Officer, HomeAway
You might think a website for
vacation rental homes would have
a hard time thriving in a tough
economy. But think again.
Austin-grown HomeAway, Inc.,
a client of Graves Dougherty
since its startup days,
has skyrocketed to
tremendous success
and shows no signs
of slowing down.
Vacationers can choose from thousands of homes in more than 100 countries.
The company offers property rentals across 11 websites.
In 2008, Homeaway broke ground on a new headquarters in Austin’s Market District.
Carl Shepherd (center) with Thomas Queen and Karen Bartoletti
Brian Sharples and Carl Shepherd started
HomeAway in 2005 with the idea of acquiring vacation rental
websites in the US and Europe and consolidating them into
one worldwide business. Since then, the company has become
an unqualified success, bringing in more than $100 million in annual
sales, growing from six to 454 employees, maintaining offices in four
countries and handling 360,000 property rental listings across 11 sites.
In 2008, the company broke ground on new headquarters in Austin’s
hot Market District at Fifth and Lamar, where it will be the only com-
mercial tenant in an 86,000-square-foot mixed-use building shared
with the home décor store West Elm and other retailers.
Unlike many travel websites, which are seeing fewer visits in
the wake of the economic downturn, HomeAway traffic is up, and
homeowners who list their properties for rent are getting more inqui-
ries than they were before. But it makes sense when you consider that
renting a vacation home is often a better value than staying in a hotel.
And for the property owner, renting out a second home can bring in
extra money in difficult times.
When HomeAway started its relationship with Graves Dougherty,
“we were looking for lawyers with not just legal expertise, but com-
mon sense,” says Carl Shepherd, “and that’s exactly what we found:
good common-sense Texas lawyers who know how to pick their
battles. Karen Bartoletti is my lead attorney there, and I like to say
that her claim to fame is always knowing when to tell me, ‘You could
try to get this into the deal, but why would you?’”
HomeAway hired Graves Dougherty initially to help the company
acquire domain names, negotiate business contracts and coordinate
the development of its worldwide terms and conditions of use of the
website. Since then, the firm has become more focused on day-to-
day operating matters, including the coordination of HomeAway’s
worldwide trademarks and intellectual property protection efforts.
“A lot of what we do is just old-fashioned counseling,” says
Thomas Queen, of Graves Dougherty’s Corporate practice, “where
they come to us with questions or concerns, and we apply our
judgment and experience as lawyers to advise them.”
“Common sense and good judgment are so important in legal
matters,” points out Carl. “They just helped us negotiate a new
advertising-agency contract, and the executive in charge of that
said they’re the most common-sense people she’s ever worked with.
It’s refreshing.”
“Impact.”Since 1970, People’s Community Clinic has been making quality health care affordable to people
who need it. The clinic responds to the community’s health needs, especially those of limited income patients, with a variety of medical, counseling and health education services.
Regina RogoffChief Executive Officer, People’s Community Clinic
People’s Community Clinic provides health care services of all kinds to limited income patients in the Austin area.
Since its inception, engagIng converSatIonS has raised funds for nine community service organizations in Austin.
“Invaluable.”Andrea Marsh
Executive Director, Texas Fair Defense Project
Back in 2002, Walt Rothgery had the misfortune to
be mistaken for a convicted felon, arrested and taken
to jail. He asked for a lawyer. But he didn’t get one.
It was a case of tough luck that might have ended
there, ruining Walt’s life forever. Instead, it became
a case for the US Supreme Court, which ruled in his
favor last year and gave him another chance at justice.
“Bill Christian agreed to work on a pro bono basis,
and his participation was invaluable,” says Andrea
Marsh of the Texas Fair Defense Project. “With his
skills and experience, he was able to frame the case
in a way that got it as far as it did.”
“This was an important case that clarified the law
with regard to the right to counsel,” says Bill. “It fun-
damentally changed the way Texas counties appoint
lawyers to people who can’t afford them. I’m glad
Graves Dougherty could be a part of it.”
Regina Rogoff with Clarke Heidrick Andrea Marsh with Bill Christian
p r o B o n o I n S t I t u t eGraves Dougherty is a founding member of the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge. “We strive to emulate the guiding spirit of our founder, J. Chrys Dough-erty, who has for decades been a leading pro bono advocate,” according to Will Dibrell, a shareholder in the firm.
VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES OF CENTRAL TEXAS
Over the past decade, Graves Dougherty has been the leader in
taking on cases from Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas (VLS).
In four of the last six years, the firm has worked on more VLS cases
than any other firm in Austin.
Texas Fair Defense Project (TFDP) is a nonprofit orga-nization that works to improve the fairness and accu-racy of the criminal justice system in Texas. Its primary focus is on improving access to counsel and the quality of representation provided to poor people accused of crime. TFDP defends the rights of indigent criminal defendants through litigation, education and advocacy.
In 2008, Graves Dougherty
selected the People’s
Community Clinic to be the
beneficiary of funds raised
by the law firm’s annual
Engaging Conversations event. Engaging Conver-
sations places guests around dinner tables hosted
by some of the most accomplished and intriguing
people in the country, with the entire event ben-
efiting a different charitable organization each year.
Last year, the event raised $54,900 for the clinic.
“This gift has impact on a number of levels,”
according to Regina Rogoff, CEO of the clinic. “In
addition to the financial support, it provides us
with the recognition and validation of having been
selected for a major charitable effort by a highly
regarded community leader.”
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