JD Journal » general counsel

News Corp. Hires Williams & Connolly Partner as Counsel

jim — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:05:49 +0000

A partner from Williams & Connolly has been tapped by News Corp. to serve as the company’s group general counsel. The partner, Gerson Zweifach, has experience in litigation, first amendment, media and patent law. He will hold the position of senior executive vice president of News Corp.

Zweifach is taking over for Janet Nova, who served as the interim general counsel for the previous six months. He will report directly to Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch.

Zweifach said that it was a tough decision to leave the firm that he worked at for close to 30 years.

“I’m part of the furniture here. It’s family,” he said of the firm. He also said that he is exited for the “unique opportunity to play an important role in this global media company at a critical time in their history.”

The biggest obstacle he will encounter is the investigation of the phone-hacking scandal by News Corp. He said that it is important for him to find out how and where the activities involved occurred and how they unfolded. He also said that he will put policies and procedures in effect to prevent this from ever happening again.

Zweifach will still work closely with his former firm, which represents News Corp.

Zweifach will be at the top of a team of attorneys that have been hired since the scandal broke back in the summer months. The legal team that has been working with News Corp. includes Joel Klein, the former head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division and Viet Dinh, from Bancroft.

The three attorneys will soon face the task of responding to criminal investigations in the United Kingdom and the United States. Lawsuits have been filed in both countries against News Corp. as well.

Zweifach developed a reputation as a seasoned attorney who handled crises for clients in and out of court while working at Williams & Connolly.

Zweifach defended former chief of the New York Stock Exchange Richard Grasso in one high-profile case. There was a lawsuit filed against Grasso by former New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer. The suit was dismissed by the New York State Court of Appeals in 2008.

“He understands the intricacies of business situations and helps a client make good judgments outside the context of pure litigation,” Robert Barnett, a senior partner at Williams & Connolly, said. “Because of the work he’s done here, he has an extremely good understanding of how corporations work and the challenges they face, economic, regulatory, investigatory, litigation and public relations. He’s a counselor in the traditional sense, not just a litigator.”

“We worked on a lot of high profile cases where media attention is not unusual,” Steven Farina, a partner at Williams & Connolly, said. “The attention to that case was quite intense and the litigation with the AG’s office was hard fought. We are sorry to lose him, but I think he’ll be an extraordinary general counsel. If I needed a lawyer, he would be the first person I would hire.”

Rupert Murdoch added, “We are fortunate to have such a renowned attorney join our Company as we navigate the rapidly changing media landscape.”

Tom Gerke Hired at H&R Block as General Counsel

jim — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:16:01 +0000

Tom Gerke, former Sprint Nextel Corp. executive has been hired by H&R Block Inc. as their senior vice president and general counsel. Gerke is also the former CEO of Sprint Embarq Corp. He will oversee the legal strategy and activities at H&R Block.

“We are fortunate to add someone of Tom’s caliber to our executive team,” H&R Block President and CEO Bill Cobb said. “Tom has guided Fortune 500 companies through a variety of legal and regulatory challenges. He’s also great at helping companies build on opportunities. Tom is the right choice to help us lead H&R Block into the future.”

Gerke recently served as general counsel for YRC Worldwide Inc., a trucking company. He was hired there in January of 2011.

Prior to working at YRC Worldwide Inc., Gerke worked as executive vice chairman for CenturyLink Inc, which he joined back in 2009 when the company was known as CenturyTel Inc. Gerke helped orchestrate an $11.6 million deal to merge the company with Embarq.

In 2007, Gerke became the CEO of Embarq, which offered telephone and internet services to residences and companies in 18 states. He became the CEO after he served as the company’s general counsel and executive vice president. Before he was appointed as CEO, Gerke was also responsible for overseeing the wholesale markets group for Embarq.

While at Sprint, Gerke worked for a decade in multiple legal and business leadership roles. Those roles included executive vice president and general counsel before he joined Embarq. While serving as general counsel, Gerke oversaw parts of Sprint’s merger with Nextel in 2005.

Gerke worked for nine years in private practice before he moved in-house. Gerke focused on strategic corporate matters when working in private practice.

Gerke has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri in Columbia. Gerke also has a Master of Business Administration from Rockhurst University and a law degree from the University of Missouri School of Law. He also serves on the Rockhurst University Board of Trustees.

Siemens Attorney Joins Textron

jim — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:00:10 +0000

It was announced on Tuesday by Textron Inc. that Siemens Corp.’s former general counsel is joining its company as the executive vice president and general counsel. The company is based in Providence, Rhode Island and operates across multiple industries.

Textron said that E. Robert Lupone will join the company beginning on January 31, 2012. Lupone worked as the senior vice president and general counsel for Siemens since 1999 and then worked as general counsel for the Americas for Siemens AG since 2008.

Scott Donnelly, the CEO of Textron, said Tuesday in a statement that Lupone is an excellent attorney with a track record that is also impressive.

“His leadership experience and legal expertise — which spans a diverse range of industries, countries and areas of law — will be a tremendous asset as Textron continues to grow and expand globally,” Donnelly said.

Terrence O’Donnell, a 12-year veteran of Textron, is who Lupone is replacing at the company. O’Donnell served as the head of all legal and litigation functions as Textron’s head of environmental, health and safety organization. According to Textron, O’Donnell has decided to retire from his post to return to his legal practice in Washington.

Donnelly said of O’Donnell, “He has been a highly valued and respected leader who has played an integral role in the strategic decisions that have shaped Textron and positioned the company for future growth.”

Lupone was the vice president and general counsel for Price Communications Corp. before he joined Siemens. Lupone also worked as an attorney at Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP and Rogers & Wells, a New York-based law firm that merged in 2000 with the London firm of Clifford Chance LLP.

Lupone earned his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center after graduating from Brown University. Lupone will be responsible for Textron’s multiple legal matters as the company’s general counsel. As Lupone takes over, Textron is currently facing a class action that claims the company breached its fiduciary duty. The company did this by permitting employees to invest portions of their retirement funds in the inflated stock of the company.

The stock of Textron dropped from a class-period high of $74.40 per share in December of 2007 to a class-period low of $3.57 per share in March of 2009. This occurred when multiple negative incidents came to the forefront, including a $3.5 million settlement with federal securities regulators.

United States District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro, in September, threw out a separate suit by a shareholder against Textron officials. The lawsuit claimed that the company repurchased its stock at inflated prices due to misleading statements the company made about its own financial wellbeing.

A dismissal motion was granted by Barbadoro after it was filed by former CEO Lewis B. Campbell and former Chief Financial Officer Ted J. French. The motion filed by those entities claim that John D. Walker, a Textron shareholder, did not properly demand that the company sue the officials prior to him filing the action.

ConAgra Being Represented by Davis Polk in $4.9 Billion Ralcorp Bid

aostler — Wed, 04 May 2011 22:25:57 +0000

On May 3, ConAgra Foods announced an offer for Ralcorp Holdings in the amount of $4.9 billion. Ralcorp Holdings is a cereal maker, and ConAgra wants to expand into generic foods, which is why it is making the offer.

Representing ConAgra in the bid is Davis Polk & Wardwell. It is being advised by the global head of Davis Polk’s M&A practice, George “Gar” Bason, Jr. and Arthur Golden, corporate partner. Colleen Batcheler is ConAgra’s general counsel.

Davis Polk is close to ConAgra because of Steven Goldstone, current ConAgra chairman of the board, who was senior partner at Davis Polk from 1978 to 1995.

On the other side of this bid, Ralcorp is seeking counsel from Bryan Cave, and is being led by William Seabaugh, the head of global transactions for Bryan Cave. Ralcorp had a third party try and acquire it in March, and is making sure if acquisition by ConAgra is the best move for the company. Gregory Billhartz is Ralcorp’s general counsel.

Google Seeks to Acquire Bankrupt Nortel’s Patents

rebneely — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:13:22 +0000

According to the April 4^th news.cnet.com article, “Google, under legal siege, seeks Nortel patents”, Google has thrown its hat in the ring to the tune of $900 million dollars, for the opportunity to acquire some 6,000 patents and patent applications from the now bankrupt Nortel Networks. The acquisition would fortify Google’s position in legal battles – a position the company seems to be finding itself in more and more as it expands into new markets.

Nortel was quoted as saying that the patents and patent applications would include: “…spanning wireless, wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, Internet, service provider, semiconductors and other patent portfolios,” and also that “The extensive patent portfolio touches nearly every aspect of telecommunications and additional markets as well, including Internet search and social networking.”

Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel, was quoted as saying in a blog post today: “The patent system should reward those who create the most useful innovations for society, not those who stake bogus claims or file dubious lawsuits…But as things stand today, one of a company’s best defenses against this kind of litigation is (ironically) to have a formidable patent portfolio, as this helps maintain your freedom to develop new products and services. Google is a relatively young company, and although we have a growing number of patents, many of our competitors have larger portfolios given their longer histories. So after a lot of thought, we’ve decided to bid for Nortel’s patent portfolio in the company’s bankruptcy auction.”

Skadden Arps Partner David Meister Named Head of Enforcement at U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission

joshua — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:02:50 +0000

Skadden Arps partner David Meister has been named head of enforcement at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The CFTC’s director of enforcement oversees the investigation of instances of alleged fraud, market manipulation and abusive trading practices. The CFTC’s largest enforcement action to date was in 2007, a $303 million settlement with BP for charges of manipulating propane markets.

Meister is a partner in Skadden’s white collar crime practice. A former federal prosecutor, Meister has more than 20 years of white collar experience. He represents financial institutions, other corporations and their senior executives in criminal, enforcement and regulatory matters involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, state attorneys general, and other federal and state regulators. He has extensive experience conducting internal investigations for boards of directors and board committees concerning fraud, corruption, bank sanctions, money laundering and other potential corporate misdeeds. Mr. Meister has been lead counsel in numerous federal criminal jury trials.

Notable cases include his representation of John Landes, who was the general counsel of ImClone when Martha Stewart was accused of trading its shares on inside information. Additionally, as a US prosecutor in the 1990s, he won a guilty verdict in a case of inside trading on stocks of Motel 6, the US hospitality chain.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates was founded in 1948, and is a prominent law firm based in New York City. With over 2,000 attorneys, it is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:56:09 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Monday, August 16th. Here’s a quick look back at Friday’s stories.

Baron & Budd, P.C. will represent Louisianans in upcoming case against BP…

A survey by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association revealed the number of Fortune 500 companies with female general counsels reached an all-time high this year…

King & Spalding applied for government permission to open an office in Singapore…

Skadden added a partner in its Washington, D.C. Office…

Survey: Females Making Headway In-House

joshua — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:15:01 +0000

A survey by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association revealed the number of Fortune 500 companies with female general counsels has reached an all-time high this year.

After a drop to 85 in 2009, the number increased to 94 this year. That is the highest total since the survey began in 1996.

According to the report, one reason for the increase was the volatile economic climate that changed the Fortune 500 list to include more companies with a female general counsel.

“Traditional powerhouses now struggling in the new economic reality were replaced on the list by more recession-resistant companies in the burgeoning healthcare sector,” the MCCA report said. “This is good news for the women who run the legal offices at companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb (Sandra Leung), Pfizer (Amy Shulman), DaVita (Kim Rivera) and St. Jude Medical (Pamela Krop).”

Among states, California had 14 Fortune 500 companies with female general counsel, New York was next with 10 and was followed by Texas with nine.

Morning Roundup

sara — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:56:26 +0000

Good morning! Today is Thursday, March 18, and here’ a quick look back at yesterday’s news…

Polsinelli Shughart announces plans to acquire Hendren Andrae…

Fox Rothschild expands their West Palm Beach office…

Fish & Richardson pick up five lawyers from Darby…

Former Apple general counsel Daniel Cooperman returns to Bingham McCutchen…

Former Homeland Security deputy general counsel Jason Klitenic joins Holland & Knight…

Hawaiian officials consider a bill to ignore repeated and “vexatious” requests for President Obama’s birth certificate…

Former Apple General Counsel Returns to Bingham

joshua — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:37:14 +0000

Former Apple and Oracle general counsel Daniel Cooperman is rejoining Bingham McCutchen’s Silicon Valley office. Cooperman previously served as managing partner of the firm’s San Jose office (then known as McCutchen Doyle Brown & Enersen) before leaving to be in-house counsel at Oracle.

The Wall Street Journal Digits blog reports Cooperman intends to focus on “corporate and transactional matters,” but his main job will be educating the firm on the pressures that face general counsels of major corporations. He told the blog the speed and urgency associated with corporate operations is “really just crazy.”

“They move from one matter to the next in alarming, breathtaking speed. You don’t have a great deal of mindshare,” Cooperman said.

Cooperman expects to represent multinational corporations and private companies in merger and acquisition deals. He added he hopes to help the firm “better anticipate its client’s needs.”

Between Apple and Oracle, Cooperman spent 13 years as a general counsel. When he left Apple in September, the company said he was retiring, but Cooperman indicated he simply needed a break from the high-intensity position.

“It’s an extreme amount of responsibility and accountability and you need to be available fully 24 hours a day. After all that time, I really wanted a bit of sabbatical,” he said.

Bingham McCutchen employs 1,100 lawyers worldwide with offices in 14 locations in the U.S., U.K. and Asia.

Nixon Peabody Appoints Senior Counsel and Team Leader

sara — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:57:24 +0000

Nixon Peabody has appointed William Lasher as senior counsel in the New York City office and Boston partner Robert Coughlin as team leader of the firm’s corporate trust practice. Lasher previously worked for Dorsey & Whitney.

Nixon Peabody is one of the largest general practice law firms in the country with 17 offices in the United States in addition to locations in London, Paris and Shanghai. The firm has more than 800 lawyers in 25 different areas of practice and clients including emerging and middle-market businesses, national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, public entities, educational and non profit organizations, and individuals. The firm was formed in 1999 by a merger of two firms: Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle LLP and Peabody & Brown.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:50:28 +0000

Good morning everyone! I hope you had a terrific weekend. Today is Monday, January 25, and here’s a look back at Friday’s news.

The plaintiff’s have rested their case in the prop 8 trial, and the defense will begin today…

Cooley Godward thawed out salaries, and we look at the current state of the market rate…

McCarter & English brought on Richard Lucash as special counsel…

A Kirkland & Ellis partner is the new general counsel at Phillip Morris…

Penn State has a new general counsel….

David Antzis was reeleceted as managing partner for Saul Ewing…

Sonnenschein partners saw a 3 percent drop in profits last year…

The FBI issued a warning regarding a scam targeting law firms…

Lamba Legal is representing a gay couple in a suit against the Office of Personnel Management…

Duke and the University of Colorado are offering a degree in entrepreneurial law…

And six attorneys in Winston-Salem have formed a new firm…

Penn State Names New Vice President and General Counsel

joshua — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:01:58 +0000

Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved the appointment of one of their own to the position of vice president and senior counsel. In addition to being a former chair of the Board of Trustees, Cynthia Baldwin is a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice and most recently a partner at Duane Morris. Baldwin’s role as general counsel is to coordinate and oversee legal work, perform certain core legal tasks and advise the board.

The university has a long standing relationship with local law firm McQuaide Blasko, which has served as general counsel for the school for five decades, and much of Penn State’s legal work will continue to be done by the firm. “We have been served extraordinarily well by McQuaide Blasko and we will maintain a significant relationship with them well into the future,” said Penn State President Graham Spanier.

Thomas Russo Offered GC Job at AIG

joshua — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:00:39 +0000

AIG has extended an offer letter to Patton Boggs senior counsel Thomas Russo for the position of general counsel. Russo, who was general counsel at Lehman Brothers during its 2008 bankruptcy, is expected to accept pending talks between AIG and the Treasury Department’s pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg.

AIG is looking for a new GC after Anastasia Kelly left the firm over pay cuts imposed by Feinberg. AIG is currently holding $180 billion in government investments.

Law Firm Hirings & Firings

Erik Even — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:22:17 +0000

Recent laterals and layoffs in the legal sector:

Stephen Lamb joins Paul Weiss at the firm’s new office in Wilmington, Delaware as a partner in both the corporate and litigation departments. He was a judge with the Delaware Court of Chancery for 12 years. Lamb earned his JD in 1975 from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Patricia Shiu joins the US Department of Labor as director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. She previously spent 25 years with San Francisco’s Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, where she was vice president for programs. She was also an associate at Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro. Her JD is from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

R. Hewitt Pate joins Chevron as general counsel, from Hunton & Williams where he was head of the global competition group. He was formerly head of the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division. His JD is from the University of Virginia School of Law. Pate clerked for US Supreme Court Justices Lewis F. Powell Jr. and Anthony M. Kennedy.

Law Firm Hirings & Firings

Erik Even — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:36:59 +0000

Recent laterals and layoffs in the legal sector:

Steven M. Goldman joins the New York office of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. He has resigned as New Jersey Commissioner of Banking & Insurance. He was previously a senior member and 22-year veteran of Sills Cummis & Gross. His JD is from the George Washington University School of Law.

Lisa Pitell joins Pittsburgh’s Cohen & Grigsby from the SAS Institute, as an associate in the international business practice. She handles commercial agreements. Pitell earned her JD at the Duquesne University School of Law.

Peter Lieb joins the Aon Corporation from the NCR Corporation, as executive vice president and general counsel. At NCR he was senior vice president and general counsel; previously he was with Symbol Technologies, International Paper Company, and law firm Jones Day. He served as a federal prosecutor, and clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger. His JD is from the the University of Michigan Law School.

Magazine: The Hartford Has ‘Best Legal Department’

Erik Even — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:28:19 +0000

Incisive Media’s Corporate Counsel magazine today announced the selection of the in-house attorneys of The Hartford Financial Services Group as winners of the magazine’s fourth annual “Best Legal Department” competition.

Corporate Counsel’s editors also named the legal departments of Exelon Corporation and IBM as finalists.

The in-house legal department at The Hartford was selected for its work and success in negotiating, structuring and closing a critical deal with global insurance giant Allianz SE in record time. In the midst of the financial service industry’s meltdown last September, the agreement brought The Hartford a crucial $2.5 billion capital infusion that played a key role in saving the company from insolvency.

The legal team later repeated its stellar performance, enabling The Hartford to acquire a troubled bank under a tight deadline, and allowing the company to qualify for participation in the Treasury Department’s TARP program.

The magazine’s editors cited Exelon Corporation’s legal department for its efforts in expanding pro bono work and improving lawyer diversity. The 580 lawyers in IBM’s global legal team were recognized for their groundbreaking work and innovation across a variety of areas.

Winners were selected from responses submitted to a detailed questionnaire developed by the editors and reporters of Corporate Counsel and distributed to the general counsel of all Fortune 500 corporations.

Founded in 1810, Hartford Connecticut’s Hartford Financial Services Group, aka The Hartford, is a Fortune 100 company, and one of America’s largest investment and insurance companies.

Hedgebeth Named General Counsel At Spectra

Erik Even — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 07:54:03 +0000

Last Thursday Spectra Energy announced the appointment of Reginald (Reggie) Hedgebeth as its general counsel, effective March 31, 2009.

“Reggie is a seasoned general counsel and I am excited to add his enthusiasm, counsel and broad business expertise to our senior management team. He brings with him tremendous experience and an excellent track record, and will be a great asset to our company,” said Greg Ebel, president and chief executive officer, Spectra Energy Corp. “I also would like to thank Pat Hester, our current interim general counsel, for so ably stepping in and filling this role these past months.” Hester will continue in his role as associate general counsel, Northeast.
“I am extremely proud to join Spectra Energy and a team of such strong professionals,” said Hedgebeth. “I look forward to helping support and contribute to the company’s strong governance record and its future growth and success.”

Hedgebeth began his career with GE Capital Corporation in 1989. He practiced law with King & Spalding in Atlanta, Ga., prior to joining The Home Depot, Inc., where he held roles with increasing responsibility. He assumed his current position as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary with Circuit City Stores, Inc. in 2005. Hedgebeth is a graduate of Harvard Law School and The Pennsylvania State University.

Paul Weiss Enjoys Solid 2008

Erik Even — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:38:51 +0000

Am Law 100 firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison had a solid 2008, with both revenue and profits on the rise.

Gross revenue reached $692 million, up 6.3% from 2007; and profits per equity partner climbed to $2.65 million, up 2.3%. At $1.07 million, revenue per lawyer was flat. Head count at the firm, a traditional one-tier partnership, grew by 6% to almost 650 lawyers.

In 2008, the firm handled several high-profile matters, most notably its successful defense of Citigroup in a $2 billion lawsuit in which Italian dairy giant Parmalat charged that the bank contributed to the fraud that led to its bankruptcy. Jurors awarded Citigroup $364.2 million; Parmalat got nothing.

Paul Weiss is representing Bear Stearns in securities suits arising from the investment bank’s failure, and also counts two of Bernard Madoff’s sons as clients.

Recent lateral hires, including Beth Wilkinson, the former general counsel of Fannie Mae, and Walter Ricciardi, a deputy director of the SEC, should prove to be client magnets.

Government Lawyer Uses US Marshals as Chauffeurs to Sports Events

Erik Even — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:40:26 +0000

Joseph Band, who was a lawyer in the US Marshals Service’s Office of the General Counsel, enlisted deputy marshals to ferry him and others, including famous broadcasters, to and from sporting events in government vehicles, according to a report released today by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine.

Band allegedly attended a variety of sporting events, such as the 2007 World Series in Boston, the 2007 college football championship game and the 2008 Super Bowl, both in Phoenix, and a 2008 NFL playoff game in Tampa, acting as a Fox Sports statistician. Broadcasters Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, and Troy Aikman accepted the rides in government vehicles.

The report concludes that Band, who was a member of the USMS ethics team, violated the service’s policy and standards of ethical conduct. But the US attorney’s offices in Boston and the Eastern District of Virginia declined criminal prosecution. A spokeswoman for the USMS says Band has resigned, though she did not say when.

Band, who has worked part-time as a statistician for the Washington Redskins for about 30 years, has also done work for various networks besides Fox, including ESPN and CBS.

Band’s lawyer, Jacob Stein of Stein, Mitchell & Muse, said his client had no “control, knowledge or decision making discretion with respect to the use of any government vehicle or government personnel.”

Via BLT.

GC Goes to Work for Firm That “Saved” Her Daughter’s Life

Erik Even — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:44:43 +0000

Via Fulton County Daily Report, the story of a lawyer who has gone to work for the company she says saved her daughter’s life:

Her education, work experience and life uniquely prepared Leslie R. Jones for the job she took in October as senior vice president and general counsel of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a network of hospitals…

“Everything I’ve done in my professional life has led up to working at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta,” said Jones, listing the points on her résumé when she worked as a GC for various health care companies dealing in technology, software, intellectual property, managed care, behavioral health and disease prevention.

But it was something in her personal life that led her to become intimately acquainted with Children’s Healthcare. “In 2002, they saved my daughter’s life,” she said.

Her daughter — then 14 and the oldest of her three children — fell off a retaining wall while playing with friends. It was a 4-foot drop and she hit her head.

“She had a traumatic brain injury. When they took her into the operating room, they said she was more dead than alive,” Jones recalled, crediting the work of a neurosurgery team led by Dr. Andrew Reisner with saving her daughter. “They brought her back from the brink…”

Read the original story.