Avoiding Sexual Harassment Claims in a #MeToo World
By: Ashley B. Harshaw Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion. Title VII applies to employers with fifteen or more employees, local, state, … Continue reading
J.D. Bashline Announces His Retirement
After 38 years with MAPA James D. “J.D.” Bashline has retired effective January 31, 2018, JD will remain as Of Counsel to the Firm. The Firm will miss JD’s day to day presence in the office. JD served three tours … Continue reading
Lee Mencacci and Ashley Harshaw Join the Firm
McLeod, Alexander, Powel & Apffel, P.C. welcomes Lee Mencacci and Ashley Harshaw to the Firm as associates. Lee is a native Galvestonian. He received a Bachelors of Business Administration from Texas A&M, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from South Texas … Continue reading
MAPA Wins in the Valley
On August 4, 2017, in Cameron County, Texas, a jury decided that an insurance client of MAPA did not breach its agreement with a policyholder from Brownsville by failing to pay for any damages alleged to have been caused by … Continue reading
SCOTUS MAKES FORUM SHOPPING HARDER
By: James B. Galbraith with Amanda D. Wright Many lawsuits today are very expensive to prosecute, often document and expert intensive. This is true of Pharmaceutical Drug cases and Toxic Tort Chemical Exposure cases, to name a few. With tort reform, … Continue reading
Which Business Structure is Right for You?
By Amanda D. Wright Of all the choices you will make in starting a business, one of the most important will be choosing the type of legal business structure for your company. This decision can affect the amount … Continue reading
MAPA Founder Bob Alexander
It is with a heavy heart that MAPA announces that one of its founders, Robert “Bob” Warren Alexander, 96, passed away peacefully January 31, 2017, in Muleshoe, Texas. He was born February 19, 1920 in Paris, Texas to Morgan Provine … Continue reading
FMC Affirms Access Fees Ruling in Favor of Port of Galveston
By: Amanda D. Wright On June 16, 2014, three private parking lot operators filed a legal action with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (“FMC”) against The Port of Galveston and its subsidiary, the Galveston Port Facilities Corporation (“GPFC”) alleging that … Continue reading
MAPA Law receives “Best Law Firm” Recognition
U.S News & World Reports’ Best Lawyers ® has selected McLeod, Alexander, Powel & Apffel, P.C. as one of its 2017 Best Law Firms. The Firm was nationally recognized as a “Tier 1” law firm in Railroad Law. The Firm also received … Continue reading
Water Rights: “The Supreme Court Giveth and it Taketh Away”
By: Jocelyn A. Holland and James B. Galbraith In a watershed decision issued in May 2016, the Texas Supreme Court established that groundwater rights, like mineral rights, are a dominant estate over the surface rights. See Coyote Lake Ranch, LLC … Continue reading