May a Plaintiff’s lawyer cause or encourage his client to communicate with a Defendant entity represented by counsel in an employment discrimination case by applying for various positions with the Defendant?
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By Rebecca Johnson on Awardee Madison Post with State Bar Executive Director Trey Apffel, President G. David Smith, and TYLA President Armin Salek. (Photo by Melanie Dragger)
The Texas Access to Justice Commission presented two awards recognizing outstanding pro bono service at this year’s New Lawyers Induction Ceremony, held on Monday at Bass Concert Hall in Austin. On behalf of the Commission, Supreme Court of Texas Justice Brett Busby presented the 2026 Law Student Pro Bono Award and the 2026 Law School Commitment to Service Award.
The Law Student Pro Bono Award recognizes a student or recent graduate whose pro bono work has made a significant impact on the community and reflects a passion in advocacy for underserved populations.
The 2026 Law Student Pro Bono Award was presented to Madison Post, a third-year student at St. Mary’s University School of Law. During her time at St. Mary’s, Post has contributed nearly 400 hours to pro bono and public interest work through clinics, internships, and nonprofit service, far exceeding the law school’s minimum requirement of 30 service hours.
The Law School Commitment to Service Award is presented annually to an accredited Texas law school that has distinguished itself by actively educating its students on access-to-justice issues.
The 2026 Law School Commitment to Service Award was presented to Texas Tech University School of Law, which has long fostered a culture of service and made pro bono work a key component of student leadership development. Of the nine clinical programs offered by the law school, five specifically serve low-income Texans. Students must complete at least 30 hours of pro bono community service before graduation. The Class of 2026 completed more than 11,360 hours of pro bono service, including more than 9,430 hours of law-related service.
The Texas Access to Justice Commission was created in 2001 by the Supreme Court of Texas to develop and implement policy initiatives designed to expand access to and enhance the quality of justice in civil legal matters for low-income Texans. The commission has created several initiatives to increase resources and awareness of legal aid.
Update 10.28.26: We received a report of another scam targeting Texas attorneys. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston issued a warning cautioning attorneys to beware of a scam that’s on the rise. HSI Houston reports that while some of the details may vary, the scammers have typically contacted the attorney through email or online messaging posing as a potential client who needs assistance with a legal matter that can be resolved quickly, such as a debt collection or settlement. The scammers, who also act as the opposing party of the legal matter, send a large check to the attorney by U.S. mail, courier, or FedEx that appears to resolve the legal dispute and may initially appear to clear through the bank. The scammers then contact the attorney as the client, requesting that they quickly wire a portion of the funds to them, a third party, or another account. Immediately after the attorney wires the funds, the scammers remove or transfer the money before the bank realizes the check is fictitious or fraudulent and can reverse the deposit. Below is additional guidance provided by HSI Houston about this type of scam.
Warning signs that attorneys should look for include:
A client who only contacts the attorney by email or online messaging and is reluctant or unable to meet in person or by video
The client needs assistance with a legal matter that involves minimal work and can be resolved quickly such as a settlement, debt collection, or some other dispute that involves a payment of some kind
The client claims to be owed settlement funds from an equipment rental company or another business entity, but the underlying facts are vague or difficult to verify
A large check arrives unexpectedly by mail, courier, or FedEx that purports to be from a company, insurer, debtor, or settlement counter party that the attorney has not independently verified
The opposing party, debtor, or company representative communicates in a manner that appears coordinated with the purported client
The client pressures the attorney to disburse the funds quickly
Attorneys who suspect they have been contacted by scammers should consider taking the following steps before depositing or disbursing funds:
Independently verify the identity of the prospective client
Confirm the legitimacy of the legal matter and all parties involved, including any company or business entity identified in the claim
Contact the issuing bank directly using a verified phone number, not one provided by the client or listed in suspicious correspondence
Independently contact any company named in the matter using verified contact information from official sources
Wait for the bank to confirm that the check has fully cleared and that funds are final before disbursing any money
Be cautious of urgent requests to wire funds
Review applicable trust account rules and firm procedures before handling client funds
Consult with the firm’s bank, ethics counsel, or risk management personnel if anything appears suspicious
If you believe you or your firm has received a fraudulent check or wired funds as part of this scheme:
Contact your financial institution immediately and request a stop payment of the wire transfer
Report the incident to local law enforcement
Preserve all communications, emails, envelopes, shipping labels, checks, bank records, wire instructions, and transaction details
Do not continue communicating with the suspected fraudster except as advised by law enforcement, your financial institution, or counsel
A check that appears to clear is not always valid. Attorneys should not disburse funds from settlement checks or similar payments until the legitimacy of the check, the client, the paying entity, and the underlying matter have been independently verified.
The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, an initiative of the Dallas Bar Association, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, and local lawyers, is hosting free virtual and in-person legal clinics for eligible Dallas County residents throughout November.
All virtual clinics run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
DVAP, O’Melveny & Myers, and SMU Dedman School of Law—Thursday, November 5
DVAP, Haynes and Boone, and St. Mary’s University School of Law—Thursday, November 12
DVAP, DLA Piper, and JPMorgan—Thursday, November 19
Volunteer attorneys will be available to answer legal questions on Wednesdays in November through the Dallas Bar Association’s LegalLine E-Clinic. The clinics are free of cost to participants.
A volunteer attorney will call a participant for up to 15 minutes of legal advice. No attorney-client relationship will be established. Individuals may receive referrals to local, legal, or social service agencies.
Calls from the clinic will remain anonymous. Participants should expect a call from an unknown number labeled “No Caller ID” or something similar. To participate, an online form is available at https://tinyurl.com/DBALegalLine. Registration for e-clinics closes at noon on the Tuesday prior.
Clinics are scheduled for November 4, November 11, and November 18, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Does a lawyer violate the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct regarding conflicts of interest by taking a job as a part-time prosecutor in a district attorney’s office while also representing a private client who is being prosecuted by other lawyers in the same district attorney’s office?
Fueled by renewed interest in analog entertainment, the global tabletop-games market continued to grow. One recent industry market study valued the worldwide tabletop market at approximately 12.7 billion euros in 2023. Major conventions reinforce the scale of the audience: GenCon (U.S.) drew more than 71,000 attendees in 2024, SPIEL Essen (Germany) reported 204,000 visitors in 2024, and the UK Games Expo reported more than 31,000 unique visitors in 2023. Kickstarter likewise reported that $220 million was pledged to successfully funded tabletop-game campaigns in 2024. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Gamefound have helped thousands of independent creators bring games to market, with some projects raising millions of dollars before a single product ships. Behind the eye-catching artwork, rulebooks, and miniatures, however, lies a dense network of intellectual property assets, many of which are unregistered, unprotected, or poorly understood by their creators.
Volunteer attorneys will be available to answer legal questions on Wednesdays in October through the Dallas Bar Association’s LegalLine E-Clinic. The clinics are free of cost to participants.
A volunteer attorney will call a participant for up to 15 minutes of legal advice. No attorney-client relationship will be established. Individuals may receive referrals to local, legal, or social service agencies.
Calls from the clinic will remain anonymous. Participants should expect a call from an unknown number labeled “No Caller ID” or something similar. To participate, an online form is available at https://tinyurl.com/DBALegalLine. Registration for e-clinics closes at noon on the Tuesday prior.
Clinics are scheduled for October 7, October 14, October 21, and October 28, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, an initiative of the Dallas Bar Association, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, and local lawyers, is hosting free virtual and in-person legal clinics for eligible Dallas County residents throughout September.
All virtual clinics run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
DVAP and St. Mary’s University School of Law—Thursday, October 1
DVAP and O’Melveny & Myers—Thursday, October 8
DVAP, DLA Piper, and Hunton Andrews Kurth—Thursday, October 15
DVAP and Troutman Pepper Locke—Thursday, October 22
DVAP, Haynes and Boone, and UNT Dallas College of Law—Thursday, October 29
