Pierce Couch Hendrickson Baysinger & Green, L.L.P.

In March 2025, Pierce Couch partners Robert Lafferrandre and Jeffrey Hendrickson, with assistance from associate Riley Nester, filed a certiorari-stage amicus curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the National Police Association (NPA) supporting Officer Christopher Schurr in his appeal,?Christopher Schurr v. Patrick Lyoya,?Supreme Court Appeal No. 24-886. Officer Schurr seeks review of an order from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denying him qualified immunity in part because the Sixth Circuit, and the District Court before it, failed to undertake a serious evaluation of the evidence Officer Schurr presented to them at the appellate and trial stages. In its brief, the National Police Association writes in support of Officer Schurr’s case by pointing out how the lower courts’ failure to fully consider Officer Schurr’s evidence is a symptom of a problem that has plagued the federal courts since the Supreme Court decided?Pearson v. Callahan?in 2009. Before?Pearson, courts had to rule on qualified immunity claims by analyzing them in a particular order. First, courts had to decide whether there was evidence of a constitutional violation?at all. Then, and only if so, courts had to determine whether the violation was “clearly established” in legal precedent such that an officer could be liable. In?Pearson, the Supreme Court said that courts no longer had to follow this order—they could decide one question, or the other, or both, but nothing mandated the order or content of their review. As a result, many courts—understandably due to the relative scarcity of judicial resources—began skipping the question of whether a constitutional violation had occurred at all and went straight to whether a presumed violation was clearly established. To?the detriment of citizens and law enforcement,?Pearson?ended up depriving the public of nearly 15 years of judicial opinions setting out when the Constitutional was violated and when it was not. The NPA advocates for a return to pre-Pearson?days so as to help its members better understand the nuances of what is permissible under the Constitution. This should, over time, lead to better, more rigorous policing; higher safeguards on constitutional rights; and better positioning for officers defending against civil-rights claims.?? This is Robert and Jeffrey’s eighth amicus curiae filing with the U.S. Supreme Court. The case is Christopher Schurr v. Patrick Lyoya, Supreme Court Appeal No. 24-886, and the brief can be found here: https://lnkd.in/g5KCHiBq

Pierce Couch Partners Jessica Dark and Jeffrey Hendrickson recently attended the USLAW General Counsel and In-House Counsel Forum in San Diego, California earlier this month. Both are active in the organization’s Labor and Employment section. Jessica, along with Adam Grafton of Bovis Kyle in Atlanta, Georgia, and Aretta Barnard of Roetzel & Andress in Cleveland, Ohio, facilitated a timely discussion titled Mental Health Compliance in the Workplace. Jeffrey gave a presentation on the Family Medical Leave Act and when individual supervisors may find themselves liable for violations of the FMLA. If you or your company have any employment-related questions, reach out to Jessica and Jeffrey at 405-235-1611.

Partner Hailey Hopper welcomed to the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel.

Big shout-out to our team of Pierce Couch associates—(L-R) Jessica James Curtis, Madison Hague, Riley Nester, and Makayla Gunter, MS, JD Gunter—for spicing things up at the Oklahoma County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s annual chili cook-off! Pierce Couch prides itself on community involvement, and we’re proud to support the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma through this fun (and delicious) event.

Pierce Couch is excited to announce the addition of several attorneys who have joined our outstanding team. Please join us in welcoming Debbie Davis, Benjamin Honeycutt, and Kadie Wegrzynski. https://lnkd.in/g4Z3WU7A

Hendrickson and Lafferrandre Amicus Curiae Filing In December 2024, Pierce Couch partners Robert Lafferrandre and Jeffrey Hendrickson filed a merits-stage amici curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the National Police Association (NPA) and the United Coalition on Public Safety (UCOPS) supporting the respondents in Janice Barnes v. Roberto Felix, Supreme Court Appeal No. 23-1239. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine at what point in a use-of-force event courts should assess the “objective reasonableness” of the force used, as required by the Fourth Amendment. In the brief, amici curiae urge the Supreme Court to affirm a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which held that courts are to evaluate objective reasonableness at the time moment that force is used, as opposed to the alternative proposed by the petitioner, which would have courts also assess the officer’s conduct leading to the need to use force. The case concerns both the appropriateness of relying on a suspect’s state of mind and own voluntary conduct in determining whether an officer violated the Fourth Amendment, and the impact as whole on policing efforts if the Supreme Court sides with the petitioner. This is Robert and Jeffrey’s seventh amicus curiae filing with the U.S. Supreme Court, and first at the merits stage of an appeal. The case is Janice Barnes v. Roberto Felix et al., Supreme Court Appeal No. 23-1239, and the brief can be found here: https://lnkd.in/giM6THUF

Pierce Couch Partners (L-R) Jessica Dark, Kimberly Stevens, Katie Sommer Lee, and Hailey Hopper participated in the USLAW Women’s Connection Business Development forum in Dallas, Texas earlier this month. Jessica was a co-chair of the event and is the Chair of the Future Leaders, Kim is active in the Medical Law and Professional Liability practice groups, Katie participates in the Workers’ Compensation practice group and Hailey is the education coordinator for the Women’s Connection. The USLAW NETWORK, Inc. Women’s Connection provides a forum for women lawyers to collaborate, develop and advance the status of women involved in the legal arena through the strengthening of personal and professional relationships.??

Pierce Couch associates and University of Oklahoma College of Law graduates, John Austin (2018), JD Weiss (2020), and Jessica James Curtis (2022) recently judged the Daugherty Moot Court Competition at their alma mater. Daugherty Moot Court is an annual intra-school appellate advocacy competition for 2Ls and 3Ls. This year, the competition focused on civil RICO issues pending in front of the Supreme Court. Our attorneys volunteered their time to listen to students advocate, offer encouragement, and provide helpful feedback. Thank you all for your dedication to the law student community!?

Hailey Hopper, Charlie Schreck, Jeffrey Hendrickson, and JD Weiss have been selected to the 2024 Oklahoma Rising Stars lists. Additionally, Jerry Green and Rusty Hendrickson have been selected for the 2024 list of?Oklahoma Super Lawyers. Each year, only a small percentage of lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. Congratulations!

Pierce Couch partners?Rusty Hendrickson and Jeffrey Hendrickson?recently defended a local hospitalist team, including an internal medicine physician and nurse practitioner, in a medical-negligence jury trial in Oklahoma County District Court before Judge Aletia Haynes Timmons. Plaintiff alleged that the hospitalist team prematurely discharged a patient from the hospital, leading to the patient’s death several days later. During the seven-day jury trial, the defendants obtained directed verdicts on punitive damages, informed consent, loss-of-chance, and res ipsa loquitur. At the close of trial and following a jury demand of $10,000,000.00, the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict for our clients and our co-defendant clients on Plaintiff’s negligence claim.?