Monday, November 17, 2003
Attorney General Abbott Commends Five Current, Former Employees For Being ' Super Lawyers '
AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today praised five current and former employees of the Attorney General's office for being named to the "Texas Super Lawyers 2003" list. The attorneys - Steve Baron, Greg Coleman, Lisa Eskow, Hal Morris, and Linda Shaunessy - were named to the "Super Lawyers" list after being nominated by their peers."These attorneys represent the best my office has to offer," said Attorney General Abbott. "It's no surprise to me that Steve, Greg, Lisa, Hal and Linda were recognized as 'Super Lawyers,' but it's gratifying that others have noticed their brilliant work, as well. I thank them for their commitment and sacrifice in serving the people of Texas."
Steve Baron, who has worked for the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for 21 years, serves as Administrative Law Coordinator in the Natural Resources Division. Baron has been the State's lead attorney representing the Public Utility Commission in major state and federal court litigation involving the restructuring of the electric and telecommunications industries. Hal Morris, who joined the OAG in 1994, serves as Managing Attorney for the Bankruptcy Regulatory Section, supervising the team of bankruptcy attorneys primarily responsible for all non-tax related bankruptcy matters for the State of Texas. He also serves on the Attorney General's Enron and WorldCom task forces and is lead bankruptcy counsel to the Texas Department of Insurance in the Conseco bankruptcy. Assistant Attorney General Linda Shaunessy has been with the Financial Litigation Division for 16 years. She frequently files briefings with appellate courts and the Texas Supreme Court, represents the Texas Department of Insurance and works on other special projects.
Ed Burbach, Deputy Attorney General for Litigation, commended Baron, Morris and Shaunessy for their service: "We are very proud of the accomplishments of Steve, Hal, and Linda - three extremely talented lawyers in the Attorney General's Civil Litigation divisions. It is my pleasure to work with them and I am happy that those outside the Attorney General's office and state government now have an opportunity to recognize these 'Super Lawyers' who serve in our ranks of numerous very successful attorneys."
Also named "Super Lawyers" were two recent OAG employees, Greg Coleman and Lisa Eskow. Coleman served for three years as Solicitor General, during which time he successfully argued three cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. Eskow served for four years as an Assistant Solicitor General and successfully argued one case in the U.S. Supreme Court. Coleman and Eskow also argued numerous cases before the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Both now work in private practice.
Current Solicitor General Ted Cruz stated, "Greg and Lisa are tremendously talented appellate lawyers, and the State of Texas benefitted enormously from their exemplary service in the Office of the Attorney General. They consistently provided Texas the very best representation in the state and federal appellate courts."
As employees of the Attorney General's office, these and others in public service sacrifice much to serve the people of Texas, often making significantly less than they could in the private sector. The Attorney General's office employs 3,800 people, 640 of whom serve as attorneys. According to the selection criteria, each person named to the "Super Lawyers" list was nominated through mail-in ballot by their fellow Texas attorneys who had personally observed them in action.
