A Mock Supreme Court Argument on Climate Change (and free cle)

This looks interesting. Climate change seems to arouse such strong feelings. I’d love to see these advocates in action. (It is also free CLE and I always love that).

A Mock Supreme Court Argument on Climate Change
University of Houston School of Law
January 19, 2012 from 12:00 — 2:00 PM CST — Law Center Auditorium
This program is CLE accredited for 2 hours in the state of Texas.
At this unique free event, expert appellate litigators argue the issue of climate change with all the formalities and decorum of a real U.S. Supreme Court argument, following all applicable procedures, and with very aggressive questioning by the judges. Afterwards, there will be a moderated discussion by the participants and questions from the audience.

Advocates:
David Axelrad (Partner, Horvitz & Levy)
Richard Faulk (Chair of Gardere Wynne Sewell’s Litigation Section)
Judges’ Panel:
Kenneth Starr (President of Baylor University, former US Circuit Judge and former U.S. Solicitor General)
Tom Phillips (former Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court)
John Cruden (Director of the Environmental Law Institute in DC, former Chief of Environmental Litigation of the US Dept. of Justice)
RSVP to jeberle@central.uh.edu or visit www.law.uh.edu/eenrcenter for more information

Dallas Court of Appeals Hiring Temporary Attorney

TEMPORARY ATTORNEY Closing Date: When Filled
Part Time Salary: $40/Hour
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Looking for a temporary attorney to work exclusively for the Fifth Court of Appeals for a guaranteed period of sixty (60) days with a possible option of extending on a month to month basis. Responsible for legal research, analysis of legal issues, preparation of legal memoranda, assisting a justice in preparation of opinions.

GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS
Superior academic credentials. Excellent analytical and research skills. Proven writing ability. A disciplined work ethic.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Licensed Texas Attorney with minimum of six years of legal experience with significant, proven civil and criminal appellate expertise.

State of Texas Job Application is required which may be obtained at any TWC office or at the address below.

Please send:
(1) State of Texas Job Application,
(2) Resume,
(3) Academic Transcript
and (4) a Writing Sample

to: Gayle Humpa, Business Administrator
George Allen, Sr. Courts Building,
600 Commerce St., 2nd Floor
Dallas, Texas 75202

Call him mister and show a little respect

I was finalizing a brief yesterday and a memory came to me from an oral argument before the Fort Worth Court of Appeals that made me change something last minute.  In my brief, I had referred to an expert by last name only.  For instance, I called him “Jones” instead of Mr. Jones, as I was exploring the fallacies in his opinions.  But, just before I hit save and print, I remembered something.  The last time I was before the Fort Worth Court of Appeals, my opponent referred to a witness by last name only and one of the justices took offense.  He reprimanded the lawyer and told her to please be respectful and refer to the witness as Mr. _____.  So, I revised my brief just to avoid a situation like that or just in case I might inadvertently offend a justice.  That is not something you’ll learn in law school or that you will see in the Rules of Civil Procedure.  But, respect is something we should always consider in how we write or argue.

E-filing soon required at TX Supreme Court – saving us cost and frustration????

Earlier this month, I was getting ready to file a response to a Petition for Writ of Mandamus with the Texas Supreme Court.  When it came time to file, I had to make a decision: e-file or file hard copies.  My first inclination was to just file paper briefs.  I figured that would save me the frustration of dealing with the e-file system.  But, priding myself on running a paper free (as best as I can) office, I thought better of the decision.  I decided to deal with the frustration, learn the e-filing system, and just file electronically.  And that is what I did.  But, in doing so I realized — it really makes no difference.  Why?  Because if you e-file, you have to deliver extra paper copies to the court by the next business day.  And, if you file paper briefs, you have to email an electronic copy to the Court.  The only real benefit I found with e-filing was that I did save the cost of making a few extra copies.  I saved one very very small tree.  And, I guess my Fed Ex package was a little lighter than it otherwise would have been.  So, there was some cost savings too.

Saving appellate practitioners and those dabbling in the appellate arts the challenge of making the decision I had to make, the Texas Supreme Court is making e-filing mandatory as for September 12th.  My only request to the great Court in the future is to find a way to save us non-Austin lawyers the Fed Ex expense by requiring paper copies be mailed to the Court within the next week (instead of the next day).  Really, we know the Court is not going to be looking at the briefs anytime soon, anyway.

For Don Cruse’s article detailing the e-filing requirements, click here.

Giving Westlaw Next a Try

My Westlaw rep has been on me to try Westlaw Next for over a year now. It seems that I am too busy to try out a new product most of the time. But, now I am faced with the need to upgrade my plan anyway, so I have consented to taking Westlaw Next for a spin. I consider myself skilled in the ways of the old Westlaw, so I am not so sure that I will be easily persuaded to change, and to spend more money on the product to boot. But, you never know. I’ll keep you posted with a review once I try Westlaw Next out.

DFW area courthouse directories — thanks Mr. Oliver

A Dallas mediator, Charles Oliver, has been making a little hand-held directory of the names of the judges, their coordinators, their clerks and their phone numbers for the Dallas Courts for years.  I love this little tool and always tape it to my desk.  It is particularly helpful when there has been an election and you are trying to keep up with who is on the bench.  Mr. Oliver is now putting this directory, and ones for surrounding counties, on his website.  I have not been so excited in weeks!  So, I’d like to share the link with you.

http://olivermediations.com/county-courthouse-directory

Breaking into the Appeal Business

I am constantly reminded of how fortunate I am to have a business doing appellate work.  Young attorneys are regularly asking my advice about how to get an appellate position or asking me to hire them.  Well, I am not hiring today, but I do have some advice.  Try some criminal appeals.  The criminal courts have mechanisms for appointing attorneys on criminal appeals, so this is a great way to get your feet wet.  I was also sent a notice today on a seminar that will give you the nuts and bolts.  Best of all, it is free for DBA members.

Criminal Appeals and Post-Conviction Writs Seminar

March 18, 2011, 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Belo Mansion

Sponsored by the Dallas Bar Association Criminal Law Section and CLE Committee.  To register, or for more information, contact Gary Udashen at gau@sualaw.com

 

New Texas laws — get the latest information

Tuesday marked the beginning of the 82nd session of the Texas Legislature. The 140-day session concludes May 30. The State Bar of Texas is emailing Friday updates on matters of relevance to lawyers. If you are interested in receiving these, click here to subscribe.

Bridging the Gap in a Tough Economy

I wrote an article for this month’s Texas Bar Journal about ways to handle a large workload without incurring the expense of brining on new attorneys.  To check it out, turn to page 776 of your October Texas Bar Journal.  I have also provided a link to the article.

http://tinyurl.com/2bvx4t4

Anniversary

This month, I am celebrating the one-year anniversary of my solo law practice. I have learned quite a bit about running a business, serving as my own IT specialist, and juggling deadlines without any backup this year. It has been a great and busy year. Thank you to the attorneys who regularly refer me your appeals and who consult me for litigation and trial research. It has been and continues to be a pleasure.