Born in Abilene,
Texas, 1970; Board Certified: Civil Appellate Law - Texas Board of Legal
Specialization; Admitted to the Texas Bar, 1996; Admitted to practice before the
U.S. District Court for the Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern Districts of
Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit;
Preparatory Education: Abilene Christian University (B.A. in
Political Science, B.A. in Communication with high honors, 1993); Who's Who,
recipient of the V.W. Kelly Award for Outstanding Alumni; Legal Education:
University of Texas School of Law (J.D. 1996); Member: Board of
Advocates, 1993-1996; National Finalist and best brief, Giles Sutherland Rich
Intellectual Property Law Moot Court Team, 1995; Dillard Award for Best Brief in
World Among National Briefing Winners, Jessup International Law Moot Court Team,
1996; Articles Editor, Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal; Fraternity:
Phi Alpha Delta; Professional Affiliations: Member/State Bar of Texas;
Dallas Bar Association; American Bar Association; Dallas Association of Young
Lawyers; Texas Association of Defense Counsel; Defense Research Institute;
Council of Appellate Lawyers; College of the State Bar of Texas; Selected
Publications: Texas Courts of Appeals Update - Substantive, The
Appellate
Advocate, Vol. XXI, No. 1, p.63, 2008; Texas Courts of Appeals Update --
Substantive, The Appellate Advocate, Vol. XIX, No., 2, p.41, 2007; The
Twists
and Turns of Attorney-Client Privilege, Texas Lawyer, Oct. 29, 2001, at
32;
Communicating Credibility, Litigation, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Summer 2001)
(reprinted
in The Litigation Manual: Jury Trials, 131 (Lundquist and Pytte, eds.
2008)); Track Records: A Comparison of the Rates of Reversal of
Personal-Injury
Verdicts in the Federal Circuits, Certworthy, Winter 2001 (with David
Pruessner);
The Y2K Act: Puzzling Protection for Defendants, Local Government Law
Weekly,
Nov. 22, 1999, at 1, 3.
Lance Caughfield is an appellate attorney who is also involved in business and other complex litigation, and who served as a former intern to the Honorable Priscilla Owen for the
Supreme Court of the State of Texas. As an appellate specialist, Mr. Caughfield primarily works
on the
firm's appeals, but also employs his varied skills as a former computer
programmer and technician in the firm's complex
business litigation, personal injury cases, and intellectual property matters. Mr. Caughfield assists the firm in appeals, legal and business strategy, motion
practice, complex
litigation and insurance coverage opinion letters and litigation. He hones his skills as an advocate by coaching
several of Southern Methodist University's moot court teams, for which he has
won several national championships and "Coach of the Year" awards.
Representative Appeals
The
following are some of the appellate matters Mr. Caughfield has handled
over the years. Each case and appeal is unique and must be evaluated on
its own merits. The following are therefore representative of past
work, but are no indicator or guarantee of future results.
U.T. Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas v. Estate of Arancibia, et. al,
324 S.W.3d 544 (Tex. 2010)
- Successfully opposed solicitor general's appeal on "actual notice" and other issues
involving governmental immunity.
Mid-Century Ins. Co. of Texas v. McLain,
No. 11-08-00097-CV (Tex. App.--Eastland 2010, no pet.) (mem. op.)
- Reversed trial court judgment based on improper determination of UIM issues.
Stephens v. Friendly Chevrolet, Ltd.,
No. 05-08-00881-CV (Tex. App.--Dallas 2009, no pet.) (mem. op.)
- Successfully defended summary judgment for automobile dealership in finance code case.
Poteet v. Kaiser,
NO. 2-06-397-CV (Tex. App.--Fort Worth 2007, pet. denied) (mem. op.)
- Successfully defended summary judgment in insurance coverage case.
Lopez v. Farmers Texas County Mut. Ins. Co.,
No. 06-06-00024-CV (Tex. App.--Texarkana 2007, no pet.) (mem. op.).
- Successfully defended summary judgment in insurance coverage case
raising question
of need to translate UIM waivers into Spanish.
Bell v. VPSI, Inc.,
205 S.W.3d 706, (Tex. App.--Fort Worth 2006, no pet.)
- Successfully defended summary judgment in case involving vicarious
responsibility of
governmental entities and VPSI for “vanpoolâ€
volunteer driver.
Straza v. Friedman, Driegert & Hsueh, LLC et al.,
124 S.W.3d 404 (Tex. App.--Dallas 2003, pet. denied).
- Successfully defended summary judgment in $35,000,000 legal malpractice case.
Sandy Creek Investors, Ltd. v. The City of Jonestown,
325 F.3d 623 (5th Cir. 2003).
- Appeal of summary judgment in annexation case, dismissed for want of jurisdiction.
Jones v. Ray Ins. Agency, et al.,
59 S.W.3d 739 (Tex. App.--Corpus Christi 2001),
pet. ref'd per curiam, 92 S.W.3d 530 (Tex. 2003).
- Successfully challenged portions of decision on appeal threatening to
insurance industry
through petition to Supreme Court of Texas.
Irma Gonzalez, et al. v. Mountain Valley Apts., et al.,
No. 05-99-01042-CV (Tex. App.--Dallas 2000, pet. denied).
- Successfully defended summary judgment in wrongful death case.
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Lance Caughfield
