Posts By: Gregory Cokinos

Twelve Lawyers Named Best San Antonio Lawyers 2020

Posted by & filed under News.

Twelve lawyers in our San Antonio office have been included in the 16th Annual Best San Antonio Lawyers of 2020. For the past fourteen years, San Antonio Scene magazine has asked licensed, practicing lawyers of Bexar County to tell us who they believe are the city’s best lawyers and attorneys at law in 80 districts of practice. They can’t vote for themselves and they can’t nominate their law partners without nominating others outside their practice. The magazine calculated how long each referred lawyer has been in practice and displayed in their appropriate group. This is a coveted distinction by lawyers in San Antonio and we are excited to have twelve of our lawyers included.

You can view the article in the San Antonio Scene magazine by clicking here.

Our Best San Antonio Lawyers of 2020 include:

Stepanie O’Rourke
Construction Litigation
15+ Years[/one_third]

Karen Landinger
Appellate, Construction Litigation
15+ Years[/one_third]

[one_third_last padding=”24px 24px 24px 24px”]

Patricia M. Oviatt
Business Litigation, Construction Litigation
15+ Years[/one_third_last]

[one_third padding=”24px 24px 24px 24px”]

Roland F. Gonzales
Business Litigation, Construction Litigation, Criminal Defense
5-15 Years[/one_third]

[one_third padding=”24px 24px 24px 24px”]

Michael B. Hiddemen
Business Litigation, Construction Litigation
5-15 Years[/one_third]

[one_third_last padding=”24px 24px 24px 24px”]

Jay K. Farwell
Construction Litigation
15+ Years[/one_third_last]

[one_third padding=”24px 24px 24px 24px”]

Andres R. Gonzalez
Construction Litigation
15+ Years[/one_third]

[one_third padding=”24px 24px 24px 24px”]

Bryan Paul Marshall
Construction Litigation
15+ Years[/one_third]

[one_third_last padding=”24px 24px 24px 24px”]

Javier Duran
Business Litigation, Labor & Employment
15+ Years[/one_third_last]

[one_third padding=”24px 24px 24px 24px”]

Gabriel S. Head
Construction Litigation
5-15 Years[/one_third]

[one_third padding=”24px 24px 24px 24px”]

Whitley B. Zachary
Construction Litigation
5-15 Years[/one_third]

[one_third_last padding=”24px 24px 24px 24px”]

Kyle A. Zunker
Construction Litigation
5-15 Years[/one_third_last]

Marc Young Re-Elected to Second Term as a Director of the FDCC

Posted by & filed under News.

Cokinos | Young Founding Principal Marc Young was re-elected for his second term as a Director of the FDCC (Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel). This is Marc’s second term as a Director. Marc heads the firm’s Tort Litigation Section which deals principally with the defense of corporations and individuals sued for claims involving personal injury and property damage. Marc handles a wide variety of claims ranging from product liability, construction defects, premises liability, commercial disputes, and professional liability. Marc is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and he has tried over 100 cases in state and federal court, arbitrated 12 construction cases, and continues to try and arbitrate a significant number of cases each year while remaining active within the defense bar by writing, speaking and chairing important committees and subcommittees.

About the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel

Founded in 1936, the FDCC is composed of recognized leaders in the legal community who have achieved professional distinction.  It is dedicated to promoting knowledge, fellowship, and professionalism of its members as they pursue the course of a balanced justice system and represent those in need of a defense in civil lawsuits.

Pat Wielinski Authors Article as to Dangers of Breach of Contract Endorsements

Posted by & filed under Articles.

The addition of a breach of contract endorsement to a contractor’s commercial general liability (CGL) policy significantly reduces the scope of coverage available for construction defect claims. Pat Wielinski’s most recent article as to recent Texas case law on that issue and how to mitigate the risk is addressed in “Beware the Stunted CGL: Breach of Contract Endorsements” published as Expert Commentary on IRMI.com, the website of International Risk Management Institute. You can find the article at https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/cgl-breach-of-contract-endorsements.

If you would like additional information, don’t hesitate to contact Pat.

Michael Osborne Named a 2020 Northern California Super Lawyer

Posted by & filed under News.

Michael C. Osborne

Cokinos | Young Principal Michael Osborne has been included on the 2020 Northern California Super Lawyers list by Thomson Reuters for Personal Injury-Defense and Business Litigation. Michael has received this recognition every year since 2013. This distinction is held by less than five percent of Northern California lawyers. Independent research consisting of an evaluation of 12 varying indicators of professional achievement combined with peer nominations and evaluations are employed to determine this accolade.

Cokinos Attorneys Secure Significant Appellate Ruling

Posted by & filed under News.

Cokinos Attorneys Karen Landinger, Roland Gonzales, Javier Duran, and Kyle Zunker secured a significant appellate ruling last week that will have far-reaching benefits for contractors in Texas.  In its memorandum opinion, the Thirteenth Court of Appeals ruled that a trial court abused its discretion by refusing to compel Nationwide to arbitration with a Roofing Company even though Nationwide did not sign an arbitration agreement.  In its opinion, the Court ruled that because Nationwide was seeking subrogation, it stepped into the shoes of the insured and was thus limited and bound to the rights of the insured which included arbitration.  The ruling was the second favorable appellate ruling in the case after the Cokinos team obtained mandamus relief compelling the trial court to rule on the Roofing Company’s motion to compel arbitration.  In re Roland’s Roofing Co., Inc., 13-19-00469-CV, 2019 WL 5444399 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi Oct. 23, 2019, no pet.).

Full text of the Court’s opinion can be found at Roland’s Roofing Co., Inc. v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 13-19-00580-CV, 2020 WL 3478658, at *1 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi June 25, 2020, no pet. h.)

Read the full article on Law 360.

Javier Duran
Roland F. Gonzales
Karen L. Landinger
Kyle A. Zunker

Congratulations to Karen Landinger for Being Rated AV Preeminent

Posted by & filed under News, STRUCTURE.

Karen L. Landinger

Congratulations to Karen Landinger for being rated AV Preeminent, the highest possible rating in both legal ability & ethical standards. This is given to attorneys who are ranked at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical standards by their peers. The AV Preeminent Rating is the pinnacle of professional excellence earned through a strenuous Peer Review Rating process that is managed and monitored by the world’s most trusted legal resource, Martindale Hubbell.

For more than 130 years, Martindale-Hubbell has been evaluating attorneys for their strong legal ability and high ethical standards through a Peer Review Rating system. Prior to the 1887 edition of Martindale’s American Law Directory, which was the first publication to provide such ratings to attorneys, there was no way of truly knowing if the lawyer you were considering to do business with was trustworthy, ethical, or skilled in the legal field.

Today – Martindale-Hubbell continues to provide verified ratings for attorneys based not only on their legal ability and ethical standards as judged by their peers but also based on reviews from their clients. While the criteria and format of the Peer Review Rating system have evolved since the 1800’s – the goal of Martindale-Hubbell ratings remains the same: to help keep the public informed when making the decision to do business with an attorney or law firm.

Leader in the Transactional Field Darrell W. Taylor Joins Cokinos | Young in Houston

Posted by & filed under News, STRUCTURE.

Darrell Taylor Senior Counsel

We are pleased to welcome Darrell W. Taylor, a recognized leader in the transactional field, to STRUCTURE, Cokinos|Young’s transactional team, where he will be joining our Houston office as Senior Counsel.

Darrell is an accomplished and creative transactional attorney, who has served as an adviser and leader in his field for over 30 years. Darrell has extensive experience with supervising and documenting mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and investment transactions, as well as debt and equity financing matters for both public and private companies.

“We are thrilled to have Darrell join our growing transactional team” said Cokinos|Young President and CEO Gregory Cokinos. Gregory adds: “Our value lies in our highly-skilled and integrated team within leading practices and working in a teamwork-focused culture. Darrell brings a wealth of knowledge and experience and will be a great contributor to our firm.”

Major Accomplishments:

Halliburton:  Acted as lead securities and financing lawyer for a series of related transactions for Halliburton, including debt and equity financings of over $3 billion to fund asbestos trusts for subsidiaries in Chapter 11 proceedings; followed by separation of KBR engineering, procurement and construction business and related subsidiaries; and KBR’s subsequent $2.4 billion initial public offering and tax-free split-off to shareholders

Pennzoil:  Supervised the legal representation of Pennzoil Company in reinvestment of $3 billion litigation settlement, including $215 million acquisition of Co-Enerco, $440 million investment in Burlington Resources, and $2.1 billion investment in Chevron; followed by:

  • $1.5 billion acquisition of oil and gas properties from Chevron,
  • Separation of Pennzoil upstream oil and gas business into PennzEnergy and subsequent $4.7 billion merger with Devon,
  • Going public transaction and $1.6 billion combination of Quaker State and Pennzoil downstream business to form Pennzoil-Quaker State and subsequent $1.8 billion divestiture to Shell Oil.

Please join us in welcoming Darrell to the firm!

Click here for Darrell’s Full Bio

10 Cokinos | Young Lawyers Listed in the 2020 Edition of Texas’ Best Lawyers®

Posted by & filed under News.

Congratulations to the 10 Cokinos | Young lawyers listed in the 2020 Edition of Texas’ Best Lawyers®. Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected lawyer ranking service in the world. For almost 40 years, Best Lawyers has assisted those in need of legal services to identify the lawyers best qualified to represent them in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. Best Lawyers lists are published in leading local, regional, and national publications across the globe.

Gregory M. Cokinos
Construction Law

Patrick J. Wielinski
Construction & Insurance Law

Stephanie L. O’Rourke
Construction Law

J. Parker Fauntleroy
Personal Injury Litigation

John C. Warren
Construction Law

Charles W. Getman
Construction Law

Shelly D. Masters
Construction Law

W. Patrick Garner
Construction Law

Roger D. Townsend
Appellate Practice

Dana Livingston
Appellate Practice

Stephanie O’Rourke Featured as a 2020 Best San Antonio Lawyer

Posted by & filed under News.

Congratulations to Stephanie O’Rourke for being featured as a 2020 Best San Antonio Lawyer by Scene in San Antonio Magazine. Established in 1999, Scene in San Antonio Magazine has been San Antonio’s Premier City Publication for over 20 years.  Each year, Scene reviews submissions from peers for the Best Lawyer list and scores them based on multiple factors to determine the best lawyers in the city.  Stephanie was also ranked by Chambers on its 2020 list.  Chambers USA ranks the top lawyers and law firms across the United States.

Stephanie L. O’Rourke

Additional PPP Guidance: Some Clarity on Potential Audits and Penalties

Posted by & filed under Articles, COVID-19.

The Small Business Administration (the “SBA”), in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, continues to release guidance in attempts to clarify certain provisions of the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”), established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”).  On May 13, the SBA updated its existing FAQs to provide some much needed clarity on potential penalties and/or audits for companies that already received funding under the PPP loan program. Notably, FAQ 46 provides a “safe harbor” for borrowers who received PPP loan funding in amounts less than $2 million.

The CARES Act suspends the traditional SBA loan requirement that borrowers must be unable to obtain credit elsewhere but does require all applicants to make a “good-faith” certification that their PPP loan request is necessary based on current “economic uncertainty” related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Without any further initial guidance, a number of well-established, publicly traded companies received significant PPP funding resulting in multiple negative media reports and public scrutiny.  Due to such public outrage, the SBA and Department of the Treasury attempted to provide further guidance on what would – and would not – be considered a “good-faith certification” by updating the SBA FAQs on April 23, 2020.  In addition, on April 28, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that any PPP applicant receiving $2 million or more in PPP loans will automatically be fully audited, while recipients of smaller PPP loans may be subject to audits, as well.  The SBA’s response raised more questions than answers and left borrowers (i) in doubt as to whether or not their specific situation met the “good-faith” standard, and (ii) concerned the additional guidance would lead to potential audits and penalties.

To further clarify the SBA’s interpretation of the “good-faith” certification, the SBA issued the following “safe harbor” as a portion of its recent May 13 guidance:

“Any borrower that, together with its affiliates, received PPP loans with an original principal amount of less than $2 million will be deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request in good faith. SBA has determined that this safe harbor is appropriate because borrowers with loans below this threshold are generally less likely to have had access to adequate sources of liquidity in the current economic environment than borrowers that obtained larger loans.”

Accordingly, borrowers who find themselves under the $2 million threshold can rest easier knowing they will not be subject to audits or penalties by the SBA in connection with their “good-faith” certification.  The SBA hopes this guidance will “promote economic certainty” so smaller borrowers can shift their focus toward their business and employees.  For PPP loans exceeding $2 million, the SBA will likely still audit such borrowers, but did emphasize that even such larger loans “may still have an adequate basis for making the required good-faith certification.”  The recent guidance also clarifies the procedure in the event the SBA ultimately determines a borrower fails to meet its good-faith certification standard.  If such a determination is made, the borrower will not be eligible for loan forgiveness, and the SBA will request full payment of the then outstanding balance.  If full payment is made, the SBA will not pursue further penalties or referrals against the borrower.

For those borrowers either (i) under the $2 million threshold, or (ii) determined by the SBA to have met the good-faith certification, the next step in the PPP process will be to begin the Loan Forgiveness Application published by the SBA on May 15.  The loan forgiveness aspect of the PPP is what initially attracted small businesses to the program promising forgiveness of borrowed funds so long as borrowers utilize PPP proceeds for payroll, business mortgage interest, rent and utilities.  Based on the previous track record of the SBA and Department of Treasury, borrowers should be on the lookout for additional materials, guidance and clarification with respect to PPP loan forgiveness over the coming weeks.

While many questions still remain and some are likely yet to arise in connection with the PPP, the recent guidance should at least allow the majority of borrowers to focus on the actual intent of the program: retaining and rehiring employees. This article was written by Alec Herzog, a member of STRUCTURE Cokinos, the transactional team of Cokinos | Young (principal office in Houston, Texas), under the leadership of Tiffany Melchers.

J. Shannon Gatlin

Alec C. Herzog

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