The COVID-19 pandemic experience of shuttered courthouses, restricted travel, and work-from-home arrangements has forced law firms to reevaluate how they do business, particularly when that work is done across state lines. Whether your firm decides to work through local counsel from outside your firm or to act as local counsel for an unrelated, out-of-state firm, … Continue Reading
Debt is the easiest thing to accumulate but the hardest to get rid of. If you’re not careful, the amount of debt you have could be so high that the ability to pay it down could be unreasonable. One aspect of having debt that could be challenging is the process of creditors attempting to collect … Continue Reading
Editor’s Note: The following tribute was originally published by the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section and is reprinted with permission. By Wallace B. Jefferson Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court (Ret.) Lawyers and journalists know why today is important in the life of Texas law. The Supreme Court just issued the term’s final weekly regular … Continue Reading
Money is a powerful thing that can help you build your business and improve your lifestyle. But if you misuse it, it can create problems around you and obstruct your financial growth.… Continue Reading
Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance use or mental health issues. Call or text TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or find more information at tlaphelps.org. My story starts in high school where I was introduced to drugs and alcohol. Where it went off the rails was the fall … Continue Reading
Lloyd Lochridge died at 103 on April 13, 2021, in Austin. His obituary can be read online here. He served as State Bar of Texas president from 1974 to 1975. In recognition of Lochridge, we are reprinting this “Legal Legends” article that was printed in the June 2018 Texas Bar Journal. By Mitchell C. Chaney … Continue Reading
There is a strong likelihood that you, as an attorney, have daily interaction with survivors of sexual violence. Sexual violence knows no boundaries, and your clients, your fellow attorneys, your employees, and your judges may be survivors. A 2015 prevalence study by the University of Texas found 40% (2 in 5) of women and 20% … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on September 22, 2015. Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance use or mental health issues. Call or text TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or find more information at tlaphelps.org. My first experience with clinical depression was at 13. It wasn’t called … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance use or mental health issues. Call or text TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or find more information at tlaphelps.org. I had been a licensed attorney and member of the State Bar of Texas since 1984, almost 35 years. Then, in March 2019, I … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance use or mental health issues. Call or text TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or find more information at tlaphelps.org. I remember a number of years having terrible experiences with New Year’s Eve and drinking too much, doing something that was humiliating or that … Continue Reading
Is it possible, in 2020, to carry on the age-old U.S. tradition of gathering with family and friends during the holidays? As new cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in record numbers across the U.S. and abroad, health experts like Isaac Bogoch, infectious disease expert, fear that since “[w]e know that the vast majority of … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This post was originally posted on July 25, 2018. Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance use or mental health issues. Call or text TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or find more information at tlaphelps.org. A little over four years ago, I believed my life was over. Not … Continue Reading
Let’s face it—lawyers are not the most comforting individuals. We can be intimidating. This stereotype has never been truer than when it comes to clients who are survivors of sexual abuse, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. The area of sexual assault litigation is still in its nascent stages, especially within the state of Texas, and … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance use or mental health issues. Call or text TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or find more information at tlaphelps.org. A DWI is the best thing that ever happened to me. I’m not saying I would do it over again if I had the … Continue Reading
In 2018, Texas made great strides in increasing voter turnout, increasing voter participation by 18 percentage points since the previous midterm election in 2014. However, even with that increase, Texas still ranked in the bottom half of states in terms of voter turnout by state. In fact, fewer than 50% of Texans exercised their right … Continue Reading
The simple answer is a definite “yes.” For many people, a house is their most valuable asset, so adding one to your estate will affect many aspects of how your estate plan should be structured. As with any major alteration to your property holdings, or to any life-altering events—such as a birth, marriage, death, or … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance use or mental health issues. Call or text TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or find more information at tlaphelps.org. I attended my first recovery group meeting on January 27, 1968. I was 10 days past my 27th birthday. I had been an attorney … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance use or mental health issues. Call or text TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or find more information at tlaphelps.org. Every Friday, I drove thirty minutes to the liquor store to purchase my week’s libations: a handle (1.75-liter bottle) of Johnnie Walker Black Label … 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. As I write this on July 28, 2020, at 7:30 a.m., I am at the courthouse square in a small central Texas … Continue Reading
Created as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act, the Payroll Protection Program, or PPP, is a federal relief program intended to provide small businesses with forgivable loans to keep workers employed during the COVID-19 crisis. Since its inception in late March, millions of businesses have applied for PPP loans. … 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 spent my whole life before law school achieving great things academically and trying to be perfect—and to somehow prove to myself … 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 … Continue Reading
The Texas Supreme Court recently provided pointed guidance to litigants seeking attorney’s fees in a fee-shifting setting. “In short, to secure an award of attorney’s fees from an opponent, the prevailing party must prove that (1) recovery of attorney’s fees is legally authorized, and (2) the requested attorney’s fees are reasonable and necessary for legal … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on June 29, 2018. 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 started drinking in high school and immediately liked the way … Continue Reading
