RESUME JAMES W. MEHAFFY 4830 FOLSOM DRIVE BEAUMONT, TEXAS 77706

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1 RESUME JAMES W. MEHAFFY 4830 FOLSOM DRIVE BEAUMONT, TEXAS PERSONAL: Date and Place of Birth: November 23, 1940, Houston, Texas Domestic Status: Married to Maris Minton Mehaffy We have four children EDUCATION: Beaumont, Texas public schools through 10th grade; completed high school at St. Stephen s Episcopal School, Austin, Texas, Bachelor of Arts, History, University of Texas at Austin, Doctor of Jurisprudence, the University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, Washington, Many continuing legal education courses thereafter, including 40-hour mediator s course, A.A. White Institute, Houston, Texas, Graduate of Texas College for Judicial Studies, a multi-year voluntary program for Texas trial judges- received a Certificate of Special Competence in Civil Jurisprudence. WORK HISTORY: Various part-time jobs during school years, including work on towboats, in filling stations, as a tile-setter s helper, as a store clerk, and on construction gangs. Began legal career in Beaumont, Texas on July 1, 1965 with the firm Keith, Mehaffy and Weber (now Mehaffy &Weber). Private practice of law in Jefferson County , mostly civil and personal injury trial law on both sides of the docket. Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Judge, 58 th District Court, Jefferson County (Beaumont), Texas, June 24, 1994 to December 31, 2006.

2 Adjunct Professor of Business Law at Lamar University-Beaumont, teaching a daytime course in the School of Business Administration (1993, 2007). Provost Umphrey Law Firm, Beaumont, Texas, January 2007 June Solo mediation and arbitration practice, Beaumont, Texas, as of July 1, PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS: Director of the Jefferson County Bar Association on three separate occasions, ( , , ). Editor of the Jefferson County Bar Journal, President of the Jefferson County Bar Association, Was admitted to practice in the State Courts of Texas, in the Federal Courts for the Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas, in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, The U.S. Claims Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Was Member of Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity. Member, The State Bar of Texas, Judicial Section. Sustaining Life Member, Texas Bar Foundation. Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, since 1978 (The first year certification was available). First President and Founder, Michelle F. Mehaffy American Inn of Court. Now serve as Counselor and Master. Was rated AV (the top rating) by Martindale-Hubbell, the nationwide lawyers directory. Was Executive Member, Mass Tort Litigation Committee of the Conference of Chief Justices. Past Member, Information Technology Task Force of the Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency. Member, College of the State Bar of Texas. Member, Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism. Past Member, Board of Directors, Texas Lawyers Assistance Program. Member, Professionalism Committee of the State Bar of Texas (2006). Chairperson of sub-committee on Increasing Restrictions On Lawyer Advertising.

3 OTHER MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS: Presently honorary member, and past regular member, Board of Directors, Garth House - Mickey Mehaffy Children s Advocacy Program, a local children s abuse investigation and counseling agency. President ( ), Board of Directors, CASA of Southeast Texas, Inc. (Court Appointed Special Advocates, a children s court advocacy agency.) Past member, Friendship Beaumont, a voluntary community relations association. Past Member of the Vestry (governing board) of St. Mark s Episcopal Church, Beaumont. Past Member, Board of Trustees, All Saints Episcopal School, Beaumont ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND HONORS: 1. Outstanding Bar Journal Award, Texas Bar Foundation, 2001: A Few Tips on Jury Selection, published in The Texas Bar Journal. 2. Designed, arranged for, and implemented an electronic filing system the first in the State of Texas in the 58 th District Court later adopted by other courts in other counties in Texas, and now in use in a number of courts. A publication of the Texas Office of Court Administration calls Mehaffy The Pioneer of Electronic Filing in Texas. (per Vogel, P.) 3. Article published in the Texas Bar Journal 2002: Powdered Wigs, Persiflage, and Pro Bono. 4. Wrote the first set of county-wide local rules for Jefferson County, Texas, the same being approved by the Texas Supreme Court. These included the local rule authorizing electronic filing, among others. 5. Organized, founded, and became first president of a local American Inn of Court, which came to be named after my late wife Michelle F. Mehaffy. 6. Tried the first electronic filing case in Texas, a very large insurance coverage case involving the insurance coverage for Bristol-Meyers Squibb relating to the breast implant claims.

4 7. Was executive member of the Mass Tort Litigation Committee of the Conference of Chief Justices, (appointed by Chief Justice Thomas Phillips), under the sponsorship of the National Center of State Courts dealt with mass tort issues, including asbestos, benzene, silicosis, breast implant, and other similar types of cases. 8. Instituted the Asbestos Master File, a means of greatly reducing the paper filings in routine asbestos cases. Did away with filing of discovery in all cases in Jefferson County in 1997, prior to the promulgation of the amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure effective RECENT SPEECHES AND LECTURES: 1. August 1996 Rotary Club of Beaumont, Texas Speech: Ethics and Professionalism in the Legal System in America the Inns of Court. 2. February 1997 Jefferson County Young Lawyers Seminar- Speech: Ethics in the Practice of Law. 3. October 1997 Legal Tech Conference in Chicago, Illinois, sponsored by Price, Waterhouse Speech: Developing and Implementing an Electronic Filing System. 4. January 1998 Legal Tech Conference in New York, New York Speech: How to Develop an Electronic Filing System. 5. July 1998 Texas Association of Court Administrators Conference, San Antonio, Texas Speech: The Role of the Judge in Developing an Electronic Filing System. 6. August 1998 California Supreme Court Committee on Rules Changes meeting in Sacramento California Speech: How to Develop an Electronic Filing System- the Experience in Jefferson County, Texas.

5 7. September 1998 State Bar of Texas Professional Development Program- Seminar in Houston, Texas on Litigating the Automobile Collision Case Lecture: Issues on the Charge in Auto Cases. 8. December 1998 Jefferson County Bar Association Seminar Beaumont, Texas Lecture: Ethics in the Practice of Law. 9. June 1999 San Salvador, El Salvador Conference sponsored by United States Agency for International Development addressed Salvadoran Judges and Lawyers in Spanish Speech: El Uso De Datos Estadisticos en el Determinar de la Necesidad de Tribunales y de Personal de Apoyo. 10. September 1999 Court Technology Conference 6 (CTC6) Sponsored by National Center for State Courts Los Angeles, California one of five panelists addressing plenary session (@ 3000 attendees) and breakout session Speech: Electronic Filing the Judges View. 11. November 1999 National Association of Court Administrators Texas Chapter Annual Meeting Austin, Texas a) panelist in seminar on Handling Pro Se Litigants ; b) speech entitled The Development of an Electronic Filing System the Judges Role. 12. December 1999 Jefferson County Bar Association Seminar Beaumont Lecture: Ethics and the Third Millenium a Paradigm Shift?. 13. February 2000 Mealey s Asbestos Conference, Washington, D.C. Panelist: Recent Developments in Asbestos Litigation. 14. April 2001 Jefferson County Bar Seminar Speech: The Archane Art of Jury Selection. 15. April 2001 Moderator for Special Evidence Seminar

6 16. October 2001 Port Arthur, Texas Rotary Speech: The Current Outlook in the American Legal System. 17. December 2001 Jefferson County Bar Association Seminar for Young Lawyers (1 Hour Seminar) Speech: Texas Lawyers Creed Mandate for Professionalism. 18. December 2001 Mealey s Asbestos Conference, Pasadena, California Panelist: Recent Developments in Asbestos Litigation. 19. April 2002 Seminar From Bench to Bar Speech: The Arcane Art of Jury Selection. 20. August 2002 Orange County Bar Association Speech: Legal Ethics and the Texas Lawyers Creed. 21. March 2004 Environmental Products Liability & Mass Torts, Orlando, FL, Speaker: Mass Torts Issues. 22. September 2004 Mealey s Advanced Skills for Mass Tort Paralegals Conference, Dallas, TX, Speaker: Expert Admissibility and Preparing the Expert to be Trial Ready. 23. October 2004 Product Liability Advisory Counsel, Williamsburg, VA, Speaker: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Problem Jurisdictions in Consumer/Products Cases. 24. December 2004 Mealey s Retail Liability Conference, Las Vegas, NV, Speaker: A View from the Bench. 25. March 2005 Benzene Litigation Conference, New Orleans, LA, Speaker: A View from the Bench. 26. April 2005 Mealey s Environmental Seminal, Houston, TX, Speaker: Litigating Mass Torts.

7 27. April 2005 Andrews Asbestos Litigation Seminar, New Orleans, LA, Speaker: Asbestos Litigation Issues. 28. September 2005 Ninth National Court Technology Conference, Seattle, WA, Speaker: Creating an Electronic Filing System Ideal Features and Characteristics.