Update 6/3/2020: We received a report of more scams. A Texas law firm received several emails requesting their services. The scammers used different names but followed similar patterns. They purported to be on behalf of presidents and directors of different companies, two based in Asia and one in New Jersey. The firm tried to verify their identities but was unable to. View copies of the scam emails.
The Dallas Bar Association is sponsoring free LegalLine E-Clinics on Wednesdays in June.
Volunteer attorneys will answer legal questions from 4 to 8 p.m. each week. Volunteers will call participants to provide up to 15 minutes of free legal advice for a legal issue. Space is limited and registration closes at 1 p.m. on the Tuesday prior to the clinic.
Editor’s Note: The State Bar of Texas is providing this collection of important links, blog posts, and media stories to keep its members and the public informed of the latest news and resources related to the novel coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the legal community.
Important links
State Bar of Texas Coronavirus Legal Resources Page — Texasbar.com/coronavirus
State Bar of Texas Coronavirus Public Resources Page — Texasbar.com/COVIDHelp
Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program Well-being Resources page — Texasbar.com/remote-well-being
8 of the nation’s leading lawyers discuss impacts of COVID-19 on their practice areas — For lawyers and the legal system, the issues presented by the novel coronavirus have been as novel as the virus itself. — ABA Journal
Texas lawyers, use this guide today to track your county’s operating plan as courthouses reopen — Learn about new health and safety procedures ahead of your local courthouse’s reopening, using this infographic to search for your county judiciary’s COVID-19 operating plan. (Subscription required) — Texas Lawyer Continue Reading
Editor’s Note: The State Bar of Texas is providing this collection of important links, blog posts, and media stories to keep its members and the public informed of the latest news and resources related to the novel coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the legal community.
Important links
State Bar of Texas Coronavirus Legal Resources Page — Texasbar.com/coronavirus
State Bar of Texas Coronavirus Public Resources Page — Texasbar.com/COVIDHelp
Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program Well-being Resources page — Texasbar.com/remote-well-being
Texas conservatives ask court to strike down Abbott’s coronavirus orders — The emergency petition argues that the law granting emergency powers to the governor during declared disasters violates the Texas Constitution’s Bill of Rights. — Austin American-Statesman
Supreme Court rejects church’s challenge to California’s coronavirus rules — The Supreme Court has rejected a California church’s attempt to overturn the state’s coronavirus restrictions on in-person religious services. — NPR Continue Reading
Editor’s Note: In this blog series, we are getting to know the members of the Texas Young Lawyers Association Board of Directors. TYLA, commonly called the “public service arm” of the State Bar of Texas, works to facilitate the administration of justice, foster respect for the law, and advance the role of the legal profession in serving the public. All TYLA programs are accomplished through the volunteer efforts of its board and committee members, with the cooperation of local affiliate young lawyers associations. Learn more at tyla.org.
Name: Julia Rubio
Firm: Webb County District Attorney’s Office
Area of Law You Practice: Criminal Law
Position Held in TYLA: District 19 Director
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Borunda Firth
Texas attorneys elected Sylvia Borunda Firth of El Paso to be president-elect of the State Bar of Texas.
Borunda Firth received 49.31 percent—9,515—of the 19,298 votes cast during the voting period that ended May 29. Her opponent, Pablo Almaguer of Edinburg, received 49.11 percent or 9,478 votes. Write-in candidates accounted for 1.58 percent of the votes cast. Continue Reading
The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, a joint initiative of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid NorthWest Texas, and local Dallas law firms are hosting virtual clinics every Thursday in June. Continue Reading
Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance use or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP), text TLAP to 555888, or find more information at tlaphelps.org.
I have always struggled with the feeling of “not enough.” Not smart enough. Not nice enough. Not worthy enough. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. What is so interesting to me is that these feelings of “not enough” did not reflect what was objectively happening in my life. I graduated Phi Beta Kappa from college. I had a ton of friends. I received various accolades for being an overall good kid. Still, no matter what validation I received that proved otherwise, that repetitive voice inside my head convinced me that I was a phony unworthy of love.
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Editor’s Note: The State Bar of Texas is providing this collection of important links, blog posts, and media stories to keep its members and the public informed of the latest news and resources related to the novel coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the legal community.
Important links
State Bar of Texas Coronavirus Legal Resources Page — Texasbar.com/coronavirus
State Bar of Texas Coronavirus Public Resources Page — Texasbar.com/COVIDHelp
Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program Well-being Resources page — Texasbar.com/remote-well-being
Judges, attorneys seek ways to alleviate court system back-up — Both prosecutors and defense attorneys agree the system can’t handle much more of a back-up and they have got to find a way to get things moving. — KPRC – Houston
Conference center courtrooms? Harris County judges searching for space for socially distanced voir dire — The courts in Houston, preparing for a June 1 reopening, are also installing sneeze guards and sanitation stations, and rearranging furniture 6 feet apart. (Subscription required) — Texas Lawyer Continue Reading
Editor’s Note: The State Bar of Texas is providing this collection of important links, blog posts, and media stories to keep its members and the public informed of the latest news and resources related to the novel coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the legal community.
Important links
State Bar of Texas Coronavirus Legal Resources Page — Texasbar.com/coronavirus
State Bar of Texas Coronavirus Public Resources Page — Texasbar.com/COVIDHelp
Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program Well-being Resources page — Texasbar.com/remote-well-being
Texas jury trials to resume this summer under experimental program — Jury trials won’t resume in Texas on a wide scale until Aug. 1, but in the meantime, the Texas judiciary will authorize some trial judges to hold experiments with conducting jury trials either in-person or remotely. (Subscription required) — Texas Lawyer
Keeping jurors six feet apart is a challenge for courts to reopen — Many courts are installing Plexiglass “sneeze barriers” and instituting face-mask requirements for litigants and court staff. But one especially vexing problem remains: how to bring back the jury and where to put them. — Bloomberg Continue Reading