Appellate Victory in El Paso : In November 2011, the El Paso Court of Appeals rendered decision in Southern v. Goetting. Representing the appellant, Chad obtained a reversal of the trial court judgment and rendition of judgment in his client's favor. The case involved the elements of a contract, in a situation where one party to the contract dies before all terms are agreed-upon by the parties. The court of appeals rendered judgment in favor of Chad's client, holding no contract existed and reversing judgment based on a jury verdict.
Recent Appellate Wins: In April 2011, Chad successfully represented a group of consumer attorneys challenging sanctions awarded against them, obtaining a decision from the Texarkana Court of Appeals reversing the award and rendering judgment in favor of the attorneys. The previous month, Chad petitioned the Dallas Court of Appeals for a Writ of Mandamus, which resulted in an order to the court to reconsider its ruling. On reconsideration in light of the mandamus, the trial court ruled in favor of Chad's client.
State Bar Leadership Positions: State Bar President Bob Black recently named Chad as Chair of the State Bar's Council of Chairs for 2011-2012. Chad is also serving a three-year term as a Director of the State Bar College, and recently completed a three-year term as a Section Representative to the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors. He served as Chair of the State Bar of Texas Consumer & Commerical Law Section for 2006-2007, and as Chair of the Individual Rights & Responsibilities Section for 2007-2009. Baruch also is Course Director of the State Bar of Texas Bill of Rights Course, and this year is Course Director for State Bar College Summer School.
Professional Recognition:D Magazine recently named Chad as one of the "Best Lawyers in Dallas" for 2011, in the area of appellate law. In 2010, the Texas Access to Justice Commission named Chad a Pro Bono Champion. The recognition is given quarterly to a Texas lawyer who exemplifies pro bono service. In 2008, the State Bar of Texas CLE Division awarded Chad the Standing Ovation Award. The recognition goes annually to four Texas attorneys for their outstanding contributions to continuing legal education in Texas. Chad also is a two-time recipient of the Cassidy Award from the State Bar of Texas Appellate Law Section.
U.S. Supreme Court Activity : No lawyer wins every case. Chad was involved in several cases involving unsuccessful but hard-fought petitions for review in the U.S. Supreme Court. The first, Clark v. Jenkins, was on the Court's 2008 docket, but was one of only two cases held over to the 2009 docket. Ultimately, the Court denied review of that case. The second, Rhine v. Deatons, received national publicity as the first case in American legal history in which the Supreme Court requested comment at the cert. stage from a state solicitor general. Finally, in two other cases, Chad prepared amicus briefs in support of cert. petitions filed by high school students seeking review of decisions concerning student First Amendment Rights.
Firm Wins Case in Mississippi Supreme Court: Chad was lead drafter for the appellate team that recently won the Germany v. Denbury Onshore, LLC appeal in the Mississippi Supreme Court. The case concerned oil and gas rights in a dispute reaching back a decade. Entering the case on appeal, Chad served as principal drafter for the team that won a decision from the Mississippi Supreme Court affirming judgment in their clients' favor.
Firm Wins Case in Fifth Circuit: Chad won a reversal by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in an important constitutional case involving the duties of criminal defense attorneys under the Sixth Amendment during jury selection. In Virgil v. Dretke , the Fifth Circuit ruled for the first time that failure of an attorney during jury selection to rehabilitate a potential juror who declares an inability to be fair and impartial constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel in violation of a criminal defendant's constitutional rights. Chad was appointed by the Fifth Circuit to handle the case after other attorneys had handled Virgil's prior unsuccessful appeals. Virgil's legal odessy began with his conviction in Houston for causing bodily injury to an elderly person, for which he was sentenced to thirty years in prison. Virgil was convicted after his attorney permitted two men to be empaneled as jury members despite their statements that they did not believe they could be fair and impartial in the case. Virgil's state court appeal of the conviction was denied, as was his state court petition for habeas corpus relief. In his last remaining avenue to relief, Virgil filed a federal habeas corpus petition, but that petition was denied by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. It was then that Chad entered the case to handle the Fifth Circuit appeal. Writing for the unanimous Fifth Circuit panel, Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham stated that the case presented a situation in which, due to counsel's failure, two persons - each expressly stating that they were unable to serve as fair and impartial jurors - found themselves seated on the petit jury that convicted Virgil and sentenced him to thirty years in prison. The court ordered the State of Texas, which was represented by the Office of the Texas Attorney General in the case, to either retry or release Virgil - who had served nearly a decade in prison - within ninety days.
Election as Life Fellow of Texas Bar Foundation: Chad was elected as a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. TBF members must be nominated and elected, and fewer than one percent of Texas lawyers are invited to join the organization, which focuses on justice for the needy and law-related education. Since being elected, he has become a Sustaining Life Fellow of TBF.
Firm Handles Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation: Chad represented a Texas woman whose college-age daughter died in a car collision. The ensuing dispute over insurance proceeds resulted in actions being filed in two Missouri federal courts, as well as both federal and territorial courts in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and a Texas state court. Chad helped the client in obtaining dismissal of both Virgin Islands actions, then consolidating the Missouri cases and obtaining a global settlement of those cases and the Texas case.
IMPORTANT STATEMENT : Past results are not a guarantee of future success. No attorney can or should guarantee a favorable outcome to any client or prospective client.
Lawyers must be advocates for their clients. Some lawyers seem to interpret
this fundamental truth as an invitation to boorish manners and perpetual
combat. There seem to be some lawyers who simply cannot agree that the Earth
is round. For them, there is no deadline that can be extended, no fact that
can be stipulated, no dispute that can be resolved by agreement. While this
behavior may be great for television lawyers, it does not serve clients well
in reality. We believe in advocating our clients' positions vigorously. At
the same time, we believe that building a reasonable relationship with
opposing counsel can often assist our clients in reaching a favorable, or at
least acceptable, result that may be superior to protracted litigation. Our
goal is to be in factual command of our clients' problems, advocate their
positions, and help them find favorable solutions.