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Podcast - "Ready for Trial?"
Sunday Book Review: May 11, 2025, The Celebrating Texas Writer’s Month Edition
Daily Compliance News: April 7, 2025, The Whistleblowers Awarded Edition
12 Days of Regulatory Insights: Day 8 - Inside the Texas AG's Office — Regulatory Oversight Podcast
Legal Alert | Reign It In: Federal Court Enjoins DOL's Expansion of Davis-Bacon Coverage
Prelude to the Business Court and 15th Court of Appeals: More Questions Than Answers | Tyler Talbert | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Exploring Procedural Justice | Judge Steve Leben | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Focus Groups as a Trial-Preparation Tool | Elizabeth Larrick | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Tips for Persuasive Legal Writing | Luther Munford | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Winning Cases on Legal Issues Before and During Trial | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Why Judges Should Take the Legal Accountability Project Pledge | Judge Doug Nazarian & Aliza Shatzman | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Tackling Bullying in the Legal Profession | Scott Stolley | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
How Lawyers Should Approach Implementing AI into Their Practices | Tim Armstrong | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Emerging Ethical Issues For Lawyers Using AI | Derek Bauman | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Inside the Fourth Court of Appeals’ Clerk’s Office | Michael Cruz | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Business Courts and Other Highlights of the 88th Texas Legislature | Jerry Bullard | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
The Portia Project Podcast Crossover Episode | M.C. Sungaila | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
The Hill Country Podcast - Carter Keating - Advocating for Texas Agriculture
Don’t California My Texas! | Tim Kowal & Jeff Lewis | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
What happens when a court reads your contract literally for one issue but decides what 'makes sense' for another? A geophysicist just found out. In early April 2025, the Amarillo Court of Appeals reversed in part and...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in United States Trinity Energy Services., L.L.C. v. Southeast Directional Drilling, L.L.C., 135 F.4th 303 (5th Cir. 2025) ruled that "manifest disregard of the law" is not a...more
In Barnes v. Felix, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that courts evaluating Fourth Amendment excessive-force claims in Section 1983 lawsuits against law enforcement officers must consider the “totality of the...more
An analysis of Lawton Candle v. BG Personnel LP and Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 108. In a recent case, Lawton Candle v. BG Personnel LP, the Dallas Court of Appeals overturned a default judgment against an Oklahoma LLC...more
In affirming a district court’s denial of a petition to vacate an arbitration award, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently rejected the argument “that manifest disregard of the law remains viable as an...more
Raoger Corp. v. Myers, No. 23-0662 (Tex. Apr. 11, 2025) – one of the Texas Supreme Court’s most recent opinions on the summary judgment standard – highlights the importance of diligent discovery practices and the potentially...more
A pending case in Texas illustrates why COVID-19 business interruption claims need to be decided by juries in light of case-specific facts, not by judges using a one-size-fits-all approach. Originally published in Law360 -...more
In In re Estate of Carr, the court of appeals dismissed an appeal from a probate court order due to a lack of jurisdiction. No. 04-23-00287-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 7827 (Tex. App.—San Antonio November 6, 2024, no pet....more
Since opening its doors on September 1, 2024, the Texas Business Court has seen 86 cases1 cross the docket of its five active divisions,2 with the scope of the court’s jurisdiction being a common—and hotly contested—issue. In...more
On February 7, 2025, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice James D. Blacklock asked the Supreme Court Advisory Committee (the “Committee”) to “study and make recommendations on eliminat[ing] [ ] the Court’s current practice of...more
In ConocoPhillips Co. v. Hahn, the Supreme Court of Texas addressed whether a “fixed” nonparticipating royalty interest (“NPRI”) was later converted to a “floating” NPRI. The court weighed two possible means of this...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) ruled on December 31, 2024 that Serta Simmons Bedding’s (“SSB”) 2020 uptier exchange included a transaction that, contrary to the assertions of...more
Let’s assume you own a 135 acre farm in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. In 2020, you negotiate a new oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling Company. During the negotiations, you insist on a cost free, no deduction royalty of 17%. ...more
Legal standing to sue is central to various state challenges to immigration policies. A party can only bring a lawsuit if they can demonstrate sufficient connection and harm from the challenged policy. The U.S. Supreme Court...more
Let’s assume that you purchase a 105 acre farm in Greene County in 2022. You purchase only the surface estate while the seller, Farmer Jones, retains the underlying oil and gas rights. You intend to grow corn and winter...more
On June 11, 2024, Governor Greg Abbott appointed the three inaugural justices for the new Fifteenth Court of Appeals, which will hear appeals from business courts statewide....more
Texas Governor Greg Abbott continues to announce the first wave of judicial appointees to the Texas Business Courts and the intermediate court of appeals which will oversee them—all of which are slated to go into effect on...more
The Texas legal landscape will change significantly on September 1, 2024, with the launch of the Business Court and the 15th Court of Appeals. While the start date is set, many details are still uncertain. In this episode,...more
Judges represent not only their judicial office, but also the legitimacy of the judicial branch as a whole. For many Americans, their only interaction with the legal system may come from a single trip to the courthouse. This...more
Preparation is the key to winning at trial, and focus groups are a powerful tool for ensuring that a case is trial-ready. In this episode of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast, hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders visit with...more
Lawyers are professional writers, and the ability to write persuasively is more important than ever. In this episode, Luther Munford, an appellate expert and former law professor, joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders for an...more
As civil trials become more expensive and less frequent, proactive attorneys should look for ways to streamline or end their cases before trial. Luckily, both Texas statutes and court rules provide some helpful tools. In this...more
Judicial clerkships can provide unparalleled access and prestige to young lawyers just entering practice. But because the judiciary requires confidentiality and secrecy to operate properly, often law students don’t know what...more
In this episode, seasoned appellate practitioner Scott Stolley sits down with Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to confront the issue of bullying in the legal profession. Scott explores the multifaceted nature of bullying, from...more
Artificial intelligence is a technological evolution that’s reshaping the future of law. But its rapid ascent contains both benefits and potential pitfalls for the unwary. In this episode, former Vinson & Elkins executive Tim...more