Mike Farris

Farris

Direct Dial: 214.979.7435

E-Mail: mfarris@vilolaw.com

MIKE FARRIS is a 1983 cum laude graduate of Texas Tech University School of Law, where he was an associate editor on the Texas Tech Law Review and was inducted into the prestigious Order of the Coif. Mike joined Vincent Lopez Serafino Jenevein as Of Counsel in 2010, where his practice includes complex commercial litigation as well as entertainment law, focusing on the movie and publishing industries.

In addition to his law practice, Mike and his wife, Susan, also an attorney, run Farris Literary Agency, Inc. As an agent, Mike has placed several award-winning novels for publication, including Balaam Gimble’s Gumption by Mike Nichols, winner of the 2004 Texas Institute of Letters John Bloom Humor Award, and Sheldon Russell’s Dreams to Dust: A Tale of the Oklahoma Land Rush, winner of the 2006 Langum Prize for Excellence in American Historical Fiction. Mr. Russell’s mystery novel The Insane Train was named as one of the top six mysteries of 2010 by Publisher’s Weekly. Mike also represents various university presses and has successfully placed subsidiary rights to their published books, including negotiating the sale of movie rights to producers and Hollywood studios.

Mike is the 2012 Chair of the Dallas Bar’s Sports and Entertainment Law Section, after serving as the Vice-Chair in 2011 and the Chair in 2009, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas in its Sports & Entertainment Management MBA program, where he serves on the Sports & Entertainment Advisory Board. He has taught trial advocacy as an adjunct professor at Texas Wesleyan University Law School and creative writing at Richland College in Dallas.

Mike is much in demand as a presenter at writers’ conferences around the country, speaking on topics ranging from legal issues for writers and understanding publishing contracts to how to get published. He created and taught a seminar sponsored by the Dallas Bar’s Sports & Entertainment Law Section entitled Beyond Briefs: Other Forms of Fiction Writing for Lawyers, and he has presented at the State Bar’s Entertainment Law Institute. As a regular presenter at the Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe, he has taught seminars on the art and craft of adapting source material into screenplays, teaching alongside his collaborator and former Air Force U-2 pilot-turned-New York Times-best-selling novelist Patrick A. Davis, whose novels Mike has adapted to screenplays. He was quoted extensively in Les Edgerton’s book Hooked: Write Fiction that Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go, published by Writer’s Digest Books in 2007 and re-released in 2009.

As a book writer, Mike collaborated with former ABC-TV anchorman Murphy Martin to write Martin’s memoir of his years in journalism, entitled Front Row Seat: A Veteran Reporter Relives the Four Decades That Reshaped America (Eakin Press). In 2009, the University of Oklahoma Press released Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood, Mike’s collaboration with rodeo cowboy-turned-actor/producer/director Robert Hinkle on Hinkle’s memoir of his years in show business. His Hawaiian thriller, Kanaka Blues, was released in 2010 by Savant Books and Publications  of Honolulu, and his novel Manifest Intent was released in December 2010, also by Savant Books and Publications. He has two more novels slated for release in 2012, Wrongful Termination from Cool Well Press and Rules of Privilege from Savant Books and Publications

Mike is also an award-winning screenwriter, having been optioned multiple times. His short film adaptation of the award-winning novel Balaam Gimble’s Gumption was released in 2010.

Mike is AV® Peer Review Rated by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell

Education

Texas Tech University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1983
Honors: Order of the Coif, Phi Kappa Phi, Texas Tech Law Review
University of Texas at Arlington, B.A. in Political Science, 1977
Honors: Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society

Bar Admissions

Texas, 1983
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit

Professional Associations and Memberships

Dallas Bar Association
Dallas Bar Association Sports & Entertainment Law Section, Chair 2012 and 2009, and Vice-chair 2011
State Bar of Texas
State Bar of Texas Sports & Entertainment Law Section

Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation
Construction Law
Entertainment Law
Publishing Law
Surety and Fidelity

Representative Cases

  • Performance HR, Ltd., Inc. v. Archway Insurance Services LLC, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86683 (E.D. Pa. 2008)
  • Porcari v. OMDA Oil & Gas, Inc., 2007 Tex. App. LEXIS 8360 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2007)
  • Pinnacle Oil Co. v. Triumph Oklahoma Limited Partnership, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8985 (SDNY 1997)
  • Federal Deposit Ins. Co. v. United States Fire Ins. Co., 956 F. Supp. 701 (ND Tex. 1996)
  • Federal Deposit Ins. Co. v. United States Fire Ins. Co., 50 F.3d 1304 (5th Cir. 1995)
  • First Texas Sav. Ass’n. v. Reliance Ins. Co., 950 F.2d 1171 (5th Cir. 1992)
  • T.M.S. Mechanical Contractors v. Millers Mutual Fire Ins. Co., 942 F.2d 946 (5th Cir. 1991)
  • Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. v. Murchison, 937 F.2d 204 (5th Cir. 1991)
  • Neeley v. Bankers Trust Co. of Texas, 848 F. 2d 658 (5th Cir. 1988)
  • Marcus Stowell & Beye Gov’t Sec., Inc. v. Jefferson Investment Corp., 797 F.2d 227 (5th Cir. 1986)
  • Western Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Spears, 730 S.W.2d 821 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1987, no writ)

Articles, Interviews, and Published Works

  • Wrongful Termination (Cool Well Press 2012)
  • Rules of Privilege (Savant Books and Publications 2012)
  • Manifest Intent (Savant Books and Publications 2010)
  • Kanaka Blues (Savant Books and Publications 2010)
  • Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood (University of Oklahoma Press 2009)
  • Front Row Seat: A Veteran Reporter Relives the Four Decades that Reshaped America, ghostwritten with Murphy Martin (Eakin Press 2003)
  • License to Steal: Good Ideas, Bad Ideas, and Copyright Infringement
  • Perspectives: Conference Etiquette – Agents Share Good and Bad Experiences, 2007 Guide to Literary Agents (Writers Digest Books 2007)
  • Interviewed in Hooked: Write Fiction that Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go, by Les Edgerton (Writer’s Digest Books 2007)
  • Authors, Agents, and Publishers: Who, What, Where, When, and How,State Bar of Texas 13th Annual Entertainment Law Institute: Legal and Business Aspects of the Film and Music Industries
  • Beyond Briefs: Other Forms of Fiction Writing For Lawyers, sponsored by Sports & Entertainment Law Section of Dallas Bar Association
  • Insider’s Interview: Mike Farris of the Farris Literary Agency, Inc., by Lynne Marie Zerance of The Editorial Department, www.editorialdepartment.com
  • Master the Art: An Interview With Robert McKee, (http://www.absolutewrite.com/screenwriting/robert_mckee.htm); (http://www.screenplayers.net/robertmckee.html)
  • Co-authored Texas Construction Law, Federal Publications, Inc.
  • Co-authored Defending Insurers and Their Agents, Advanced DTPA – Consumer Law Course, State Bar of Texas
  • Co-authored “Defending an Arnold Claim: One Alternative—Separate Trials,” Vol. 13 Caveat Vendor, No. 2 (Consumer Law Section, State Bar of Texas)

Classes/Seminars Taught

  • Legal Issues in Sports and Entertainment Management, University of Dallas Sports and Entertainment Management MBA, Adjunct Professor
  • Member, University of Dallas Sports and Entertainment Advisory Board
  • Beyond Briefs: Other Forms of Fiction Writing For Lawyers, sponsored by Sports & Entertainment Law Section of Dallas Bar Association
  • Trial Advocacy, Texas Wesleyan University School of Law
  • Creative Writing, Richland College

Speaking Appearances

  • La Jolla Writers Conference, Paradise Point Resort & Spa, San Diego, CA November 4-6, 2011
  • East Texas Christian Writers Conference, East Texas Baptist University, Marshall, TX October 28-29, 2011
  • La Jolla Writers Conference, Paradise Point Resort & Spa, San Diego, CA, November 5-7, 2010
  • Add a Dash of Lawyer: Recipe for Successful Film and Television Production, Dallas Bar Association Sports & Entertainment Law Section, October 29, 2010.
  • The Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM, June 1-6, 2010
  • Dallas International Film Festival - Legal Issues in Film, April 13, 2010
  • East Texas Christian Writers Conference, East Texas Baptist University, Marshall, TX, April 9-10, 2010
  • Dallas Bar Association Sports & Entertainment Law Section, January 27, 2010
  • The Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 26-May 31, 2009
  • Women Writing the West Conference, San Antonio, Texas, October 23-26, 2008
  • East Texas Christian Writers Conference, East Texas Baptist University, Marshall, Texas, June 6-7, 2008
  • The Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 27-June 1, 2008
  • Tony Hillerman Writers Conference: Focus on Mystery, Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 1-4, 2007
  • East Texas Christian Writer’s Conference, East Texas Baptist University, Marshall, Texas, June 1-2, 2007
  • The Brazos Writers Spring 2007 Mini-Conference, P. David Romei Arts Center, 2275 Dartmouth Street, College Station, Texas, May 26, 2007
  • Writer’s Inspiration Conference, sponsored by the Oklahoma Writer’s Federation, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, May 4-5, 2007
  • Writer’s League of Texas 13th Annual Agents and Editors Conference, Austin, Texas, June 23-25, 2006
  • East Texas Christian Writer’s Conference, East Texas Baptist University, Marshall, Texas, June 3, 2006
  • Writer’s Inspiration Conference, sponsored by the Oklahoma Writer’s Federation, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, May 3-4, 2006
  • Sleuthfest, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 2-5, 2006
  • Women Writing the West Conference, Fort Worth, Texas, October 21-23, 2005
  • ConMisterio Mystery Writers Conference, Austin, Texas, July 22-24, 2005
  • Women Writing the West Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 22-24, 2004
  • 21st Annual Colorado Gold Conference, Denver, Colorado, September 10-12, 2004
  • Dallas Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section, July 23, 2004
  • The Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe, The Institute of American Indian Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, June 2-6, 2004
  • Writer’s Quest 2004, sponsored by the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, April 30-May 1, 2004
  • Dallas Bar Association Sports & Entertainment Law Section, January 28, 2004
  • State Bar of Texas 13th Annual Entertainment Law Institute: Legal and Business Aspects of the Film and Music Industries, Austin, Texas, October 10-11, 2003
  • Black Hills Writers Conference, Rapid City, South Dakota, September 19-21, 2003
  • Ozark Writers League, College of the Ozarks, Hollister, Missouri, August 16, 2003
  • The Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe, The College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 28-June 1, 2003
  • Pike’s Peak Writers Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 25-27, 2003
  • Texans . . . Writing to the World 2002 Conference, Hurst, Texas, September 27-28, 2002
  • Bay Area Writers League Conference, University of Houston – Clearlake, May 10-11, 2002
  • Writer’s Journey 2002, sponsored by the Oklahoma Writer’s Federation, Inc, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, May 3-4, 2002