News Update from Richard Pena, P.C.

News Update from the Law Offices of Richard Pena, P.C.

December 2010

Richard Pena

People to People Program Brazil- Richard recently led a delegation of U.S. lawyers to Brazil as part of the People To People Citizen Ambassador Program. The People To People programs were started by Dwight D. Eisenhower when he was President. This delegation of lawyers and guest met with Brazilian lawyers and discussed Rule of Law and other issues of importance to both countries, including the 2016 Olympics which will be held in Brazil. The delegation visited Sau Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Richard is featured on the video on the People to People Website. View the Video

2010 Recipient of Difference Makers Award- Richard Pena, founder of the firm, was recently awarded the 2010 Difference Makers Award by the American Bar Association’s General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division. This award honors an attorney who has made a significant contribution to the legal profession through service to the profession. It is a national award.

Nominating Committee of the ABA- Richard has been appointed to the Nominating Committee of the ABA ( American Bar Association ) by current ABA President Steve Zack of Florida. The Nominating Committee elects the officers of the ABA which in turn runs this Association which is referred to as the voice of the legal profession. The Nominating Committee is considered one of the most important committees in the ABA.

Presidential Appointments Advisory Committee- ABA President-Elect Bill Robinson has appointed Richard to the ABA Appointments Committee. This Committee will recommend and advise the incoming ABA President on the many appointments he will make before he takes office.

Select Committee of the House of Delegates- ABA Chair Linda Klein, of Georgia, has appointed Richard to the Select Committee of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. The Committee reviews the overall functioning of the House of Delegates with respect to the role of the individual delegates.

Brad McClellan

Recent Decision - Brad recently won a case he argued before the Texas Supreme Court. In an 8-1 decision the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brad’s Workers’ Compensation client.

The client/petitioner was a pharmaceutical sales representative officing out of her northwest Austin apartment, drove her company car to business appointments in Bastrop some forty miles southeast, then back to a south Austin restaurant for dinner with clients. Afterward, her route home took her past a company-provided self-storage unit, adjacent her apartment complex, in which she kept drug samples and marketing materials.

She intended to stop at the unit and empty her car of business supplies in preparation for an out-of-town personal trip the next day. But midway there, she ran off the highway and was seriously injured. The Insurance Company denied her claim for Workers’ Compensation. The Supreme Court held that the client/petitioner was in the course and scope of her employment when she was injured. This case will provide significant protection for employees who travel.

Brad recently brought a challenge to the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation adoption of the Official Disability Guidelines ( ODG ) in a lawsuit filed on behalf of an injured police officer. He argued the case in a Travis County trial Court.

Matthew C. Waddell

Matthew has become an Associate with the firm. Matt’s qualifications are outstanding. He graduated Cum Laude from Tulane Law School and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. His academic accomplishments speak for themselves. He was a National Merit Scholar and on the Dean’s List in Undergraduate School and was on an Academic Scholarship in Law School, having scored a perfect score on his law entrance exam ( LSAT ). Matt was an Assistant Attorney General in the Tort Litigation Division and for the past 7 years he has been an attorney with the defense firm of Wright & Greenhill, P.C. in Austin, Texas.