In the past year or so, there has been great public debate about whether someone can be considered a successful business person if his or her business has filed for protection under “Chapter 11.” For many people, Chapter 11 is synonymous with bankruptcy, but it is actually only one of several chapters of the Bankruptcy … Continue Reading
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 defined a modernized retirement system, or MRS, for individuals entering military service on or after January 1, 2018. Service members with less than 12 years of service on December 31, 2017, have the option of remaining with the current military retirement system or switching to the … Continue Reading
Recent court of appeals rulings in Texas have been split on issues involving email signatures. The 1st Court of Appeals in Houston issued an opinion March 30 on Khoury v. Prentis B. Tomlinson Jr., No. 01-16-00006-CV, a case that arose from an agreement where John Khoury invested in PetroGulf, a company that Prentis Tomlinson ran … Continue Reading
The Every Student Succeeds Act, enacted by the federal government in late 2015, recently amended the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to address the educational effects of homelessness. The legislation alters the definition of homeless, commissions new methods of identifying homeless students, attempts to keep students in their original school district as long as possible, and … Continue Reading
1. Constructive Receipt and Lawyer Trust Accounts Lawyers often face constructive receipt tax issues, whether they know it or not. Constructive receipt—a tax term used to determine when a taxpayer has received gross income—is one of those subjects that many people think they understand in part because it comes up frequently. Around year-end, chances are, … Continue Reading
A new batch of Texas lawyers was sworn in this past November, and I realized that now would be a good time to share some pointers and direct my fellow colleagues to three key websites in the real estate law field. First, the Texas Real Estate Commission, or TREC, website at trec.texas.gov is your home … Continue Reading
When I teach legal writing to first-year law students, I surprise them with an in-class exercise around halfway through the first semester. I have the students break into groups, tell them to take out pen and paper, and pose this question: “What is the goal of legal writing?” Puzzled, they just stare back. I ask … Continue Reading
For a divorce, it has been as amicable as possible. But the inevitable disputes over property and finances have left everyone drained. With the primary custody questions—such as conservatorship—finally settled, the only thing left to discuss is the holiday visitation schedule. Texas has an established standard possession order, spelling out how school breaks and holidays … Continue Reading
Email interactions among attorneys are prevalent. Very often attorneys send emails with a standard signature block denoting the attorney’s name and contact information. A simple click of the mouse and an attorney’s name is transmitted to another attorney or party’s inbox. You may wonder, now, what’s in a name? But unlike the question Juliet poses … Continue Reading
David is a foreign lead engineer for a major oil and gas company. His successful U.S.-based career has followed a familiar path: Perhaps he attended an American university on an F-1 visa, took advantage of optional practical training to get his foot in the door with a great company, and was lucky enough to get … Continue Reading
During the initial consultation between an attorney and a person or couple considering divorce, matrimonial lawyers frequently encounter issues like alcohol abuse, drug abuse, mental illness, child abuse, infidelity, emotional abuse, psychiatric illnesses, and personality disorders. In addition, clients who are considering divorce often have to talk about difficult issues, such as loss of assets; … Continue Reading
Lawyers are built to succeed. Lawyers love to win. Lawyers understand that we work in an adversarial world, which means that some litigants win and other litigants lose. But are the concepts of victory and loss in the legal arena so straightforward? Is there not room for interpretation, for debate, for dissent? Can we always … Continue Reading
To maintain a thriving practice, lawyers must constantly find ways to grow and expand their client base. In an effort to cast a wider net, especially when work is slow, many expand their list of practice areas. But in today’s world, many people want to work with a specialist, and these clients expect their legal … Continue Reading
For peace is a process—a way of solving problems.” —John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Peace Speech 1963 We lawyers have heard about collaborative law and its array of protections for managing conflict and developing trust … etcetera. Yet we remain hesitant, even after giving bonus points for its 90 percent success rate. At the end of the … Continue Reading
Two Texas attorneys, Grant Sparks and B.J. Goergen, just wrapped up their year as members of the Presidential Leadership Scholars Class of 2016. This six-month educational program is jointly sponsored by the U.S. presidential centers of Lyndon B. Johnson, George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton, and George W. Bush. Of hundreds of applicants, only 61 … Continue Reading
Medical malpractice claims and the ever-evolving Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code are not for the faint of heart. In Passmore v. Baylor Health Care Systems, a recent 5th Circuit opinion, the court stepped into an area most medical malpractice attorneys thought was clear: whether Texas’s “threshold expert report” requirement in … Continue Reading
As a young corporate immigration lawyer, I was consistently surprised by how many of my clients, including high-ranking international managers and successful entrepreneurs, had a criminal record. And I’m not referring to white-collar crime. Petty thefts were most common, followed by assaults. One man, while in college, stole the wallet of a drunk at a … Continue Reading
On February 9, 2016, Magistrate Judge Katherine Robertson issued a 45-page decision denying a motion to dismiss in National Association of the Deaf v. Harvard University, Case No. 3:15-cv-30023-MGM in the District of Massachusetts. She held that the Americans with Disabilities Act governed accessibility for materials presented by Harvard on the Internet. On March 21, Judge Bryan … Continue Reading
This post was originally published on Patently-O. The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA)—arguably the most sweeping change to the nation’s intellectual property laws in a generation or more—is about to become law. The bill recently passed both houses of Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. President Obama is certain to sign the bill into … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This is the 19th story in the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program (TLAP) “Stories of Recovery” series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at (800) 343-8527 and find more information at texasbar.com/TLAP. I knew for some time that I might have … Continue Reading
By Kelley Shannon We Texans have a history of straight talk and openness, and our state’s public information laws reflect it. Shining light on our government allows democracy to flourish. As we celebrate that light during national Sunshine Week from March 13-19, let’s be thankful that Texas laws value the public’s right to know through … Continue Reading
On February 13, 2016, this nation lost one of the greatest legal giants ever to sit on its highest court with the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Regardless of whether one agreed with the opinions he issued over the span of nearly 30 years on the court, one could not deny the … Continue Reading
Most lawyers have a story of how someone or something affected them and gave them a reason to become a lawyer. What about after you became a lawyer? I have been practicing for almost 15 years and owe my career path to two attorneys who had a great impact on my career—and they do not … Continue Reading
