Do you want to avoid legal problems? It’s quite easy, frankly, as a general rule. Treat others the way you wish to be treated. Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly. If you do that, most of the time you will avoid legal trouble, at least real legal trouble. There are always those that will abuse the system or who will do unto others in a way that they would not want done to them. And they can abuse you; they can accuse you; they can say false things about you; they can try to hurt you. It has happened to me, too. There are unquestionably bad people in this world. Those people you cannot help or control. But you can control you. You can help yourself legally by trying to do the right thing by others. And when you try to do that, most of the time legal trouble will not be your trouble. And if it becomes your trouble, if you abide by that principle, most of the time you are and will be just fine at the end of the day, even when falsely-accused.
But even when you do all that you can to do right by others, at times litigation is necessary. Either because it is brought against you or because you must bring it against another. I am a zealous advocate, and I walk with my clients carrying both a sword and a shield to bring justice.
No matter what the size, I will try to negotiate a resolution without involving a legal proceeding. That is the way it should be. Sometimes it is not that way. Oftentimes, mediation is used to reach an out of court agreement and settlement. However, if negotiations break down or these options fail, one must head to Judge or Jury, which can result in a settlement or trial. If the fight is in order, I fight for my clients. Zealously. But I fight with integrity.
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- Allen Gardner Law, PLLC
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- Gillam & Smith, LLP
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- Potter Minton, A Professional Corporation
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- Vaughn Construction Company
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- Baylor Law School
- J.D.
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- Texas A&M University - Baylor College of Dentistry
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- Super Lawyer
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- Super Lawyer 2014-2017; Rising Star 2007-2013
- Honorable T. John Ward American Inn of Court
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- State Bar of Texas # 24043679
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- American Bar Association - Co-Editor - Patent Obviousness in the Wake of KSR International v. Teleflex, Inc. - 2008
- Intellectual Property Litigation, Vol. 18, No. 4 - The Practical Side of eBay - 2007
- Intellectual Property Litigation, Vol. 19, No. 2 - MedImmune: How to Immunize Against It - 2008
- Intellectual Property Litigation, Vol. 19, No. 2 - Pitfalls in Disclosing Prefiling Investigations and Ways to Lessen THem - 2008
- Intellectual Property Litigation, Vol. 21, No. 1 - Remember Your Audience and Stay Simple - 2009
- Continuing Legal Education Teleconference - Microsoft v. AT&T: Does U.S. Patent Law Apply to Exported Software? - 2007
- American Bar Association Annual Meeting - The Outcome of CIPRO and Its Effect on Reverse Engineering - 2010
- Eastern District of Texas Bench Bar Conference - Twombly and Rule 11 Due Diligence - East Texas Style - 2010
- Eastern District of Texas Bench Bar Conference - Moderator - E-Discovery. Insights from the Drafting Table & Other Views from the Bench. Come December, What will New E-Discovery Look Like - 2015
