Posted inNews

New scam targets attorney through online member directory

By Adam Faderewski on October 19, 2018

Editor’s note: The State Bar of Texas publicizes scams targeting attorneys so that others may be aware and take precautions. If a scam has targeted you or your firm, please leave a comment below describing the scenario or tactics used.

A Texas attorney, who recently relocated to Missouri, was contacted by a scammer seeking the attorney’s bank information. The scammer sought the information in the guise of a method of payment for the attorney to act in the settlement of a defaulted loan.

The attorney was contacted from a Gmail account belonging to “James D Templeton,” who claimed to be from Springdale, Arkansas, and that he was owed $685,000 from his friend, “Dennis Robert,” allegedly of Houston. Templeton found the attorney through the State Bar of Texas’ Find A Lawyer service and was able to contact the attorney by the “Email Now” feature on the page.

Posted inMember Benefits Member Benefits and Services Member Discount Program

Discounts on everyday items

By Staff Report on October 19, 2018

Find offers on sunglasses, fragrances, headphones, and other great everyday items on your Member Benefit Program. Check out the Retail, Health & Wellness, and Electronics pages for more info.

Posted inGuest Blog News

Guest blog: I am living proof that learning CPR can save lives

By Guest Blogger on October 18, 2018

By Ricardo Garcia-Moreno

Rolando Ramirez, left, was the waiter who performed CPR on Ricardo Garcia-Moreno, helping save his life on February 4, 2018.

I was lying on a stretcher, unable to talk or move as I went into full cardiac arrest the afternoon of February 4, 2018. My heart had stopped beating for approximately 20 minutes, and I was not breathing when emergency medical personnel loaded me into an ambulance. As I faded in and out of life over the next few hours, all I could think about were my wife, Ana; and our two sons, Emilio, 7, and Adrian, 5; and how the boys would grow up without their dad if I died that Super Bowl Sunday.

But my will to survive—and the determination of several strangers who knew cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR—kept me alive so I can be here today with my family.

Posted inNews Texas Young Lawyers Association

TYLA launches Shero podcast

By Adam Faderewski on October 18, 2018

The Texas Young Lawyers Association, or TYLA, launched the Shero podcast, its first foray into podcasting, with the first episode dropping on October 3.

The Shero podcast is inspired by the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers’ Continuing the Conversation and features discussions with female attorneys who have served as an inspiration, or shero, for women practicing law.

Posted inNews

DBA honors legal news reporting at Stephen Philbin Awards

By Eric Quitugua on October 17, 2018

The Dallas Bar Association hosted its 35th annual Stephen Philbin Awards at the Belo Mansion on October 12, honoring the best legal news reporting in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Photo courtesy of the Dallas Bar Association

The Dallas Bar Association hosted its 35th annual Stephen Philbin Awards at the Belo Mansion on October 12, honoring the best legal news reporting in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The awards focus on journalism that shows educational value, accuracy, and resourcefulness, as well as the reporter’s initiative in pursuing the story and the story’s role in public debate.

Posted inSponsored Content

The Honorable John Frank Onion Jr.

By Guest Blogger on October 16, 2018

The Honorable John Frank “Jack” Onion Jr., former presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals who died in September at 93, was one of the longest serving, prolific, and consequential judges in the history of the state of Texas. But “honorable” was not just Judge Onion’s title. It captured his character, his work, and his essence for more than five decades of public service.

Posted inAccess to Justice American Bar Association News Special Event

Texas lawyers able to assist North Carolinians recovering from Hurricane Florence

By Amy Starnes on October 15, 2018

Lawyers across the nation can provide pro bono assistance to North Carolinians in the wake of Hurricane Florence thanks to a recent order of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

After Hurricane Harvey several hundred out-of-state lawyers volunteered their services to residents of this state.

ABA President Bob Carlson reminds lawyers that ABA Free Legal Answers, an online portal that remotely connects low-income individuals with pro bono lawyers, has adapted its North Carolina site to accept out-of-state volunteer registrations. This provides a convenient way for U.S.-licensed attorneys to offer pro bono legal advice to Hurricane Florence survivors from wherever they live. After following the instructions on this link, volunteers can log in and provide answers at their convenience.

Texas lawyers interested in pro bono work within their own state can always volunteer at texaslegalanswers.org, Texas’ ABA Free Legal Answers online portal. Sign up here.

Posted inNews People Texas Bar Journal Texas Young Lawyers Association

Texas Bar Journal wins 2018 Luminary Award

By Adam Faderewski on October 10, 2018

Texas Bar Journal Managing Editor Patricia McConnico accepts the 2018 Luminary Award for excellence in authored articles from Mike Leme, of Fastcase, during the 2018 NABE Communications Section Workshop.

The Texas Bar Journal Board of Editors received a 2018 Luminary Award for excellence in authored articles from the National Association of Bar Executives Communications Section Workshop, held last week in Omaha, Nebraska.

Each year the workshop brings together bar associations from across the country to network, learn about new industry trends, and recognize their communications and marketing projects from the past year.

The winning article, “Surviving the War Within” (November 2017, Page 700), was authored by current TBJ Board of Editors member and Texas Young Lawyers Association President-elect Victor A. Flores, a U.S. Marine Corps Iraq War veteran who interviewed a panel of veterans about living with post-traumatic stress.

Posted inAccess to Justice Pro Bono Special Event State Bar

Have you RSVP’d to pro bono week?

By Guest Blogger on October 9, 2018

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the September 2018 issue of Circuits and is reprinted with permission.

By Hannah Allison

Texas is RSVP’ing YES to pro bono week this year. How about you?

Not sure what it is? The Celebrate Pro Bono homepage reads, “…this initiative provides an opportunity for legal organizations across the country to collaboratively commemorate the vitally important contributions of America’s lawyers and to recruit and train the many additional volunteers required to meet the growing demand. With the enthusiastic involvement of national, statewide and local partners, from all components of the legal profession, the National Pro Bono Celebration is creating a wave of positive energy about the pro bono movement in this country…”

The year marks the 10th anniversary of National Pro Bono Week, October 22-26. American Bar Association President Bob Carlson is encouraging organizations to plan and participate in events focused on disaster resiliency. Continue Reading