In August 2014, attorney-mediator Andrew Tolchin started the “Texas Lawyers” Group, or TL Group, on Facebook. Four years later, right after the February 2018 Texas Bar Exam results were released, the TL Group reached a significant milestone, surpassing the 10,000-member mark, and as of this writing constitutes nearly 10 percent of the bar. Tolchin credits … Continue Reading
Warren W. Harris, a partner at Bracewell, is the new president of the Houston Bar Association. Harris succeeds Alistair B. Dawson, a partner in Beck Redden, who will serve on the HBA Board of Directors as immediate past president. Harris chairs the appellate practice group at Bracewell and serves as appellate counsel in major trials … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting will again bring us two amazing days of networking, CLE sessions, and knowledgeable speakers. The event, June 21-22 in Houston, will feature keynote addresses from historian and author Joseph Crespino, businessman Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, and Rice University professor Douglas Brinkley.… Continue Reading
The Task Force on the Texas Bar Examination issued its report to the Texas Supreme Court on May 16, including a recommendation that the state adopt the Uniform Bar Examination. The task force recommended the Uniform Bar Examination, or UBE, but rejected the “diploma privilege” that would allow Texas law school graduates to practice law … Continue Reading
New offerings are available at the State Bar of Texas Knowledge Center, a repository of relevant, vendor-sponsored news and information that practitioners can access for free. Need help drafting a Texas company agreement? Get the information to make it happen from Thomson Reuters. A complimentary e-book from LawPay provides tips to strengthen client communications. The … Continue Reading
Michele Wong Krause, a Dallas-based solo practitioner, was nominated to the American Bar Association Board of Governors by its Nominating Committee at the 2018 ABA Midyear Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, and will be officially elected to her post for a three-year term by the ABA House of Delegates at its annual meeting in Chicago in … Continue Reading
Veterans can receive free legal advice at a clinic hosted by the Houston Northwest Bar Association, the Montgomery County Bar Association, and the Houston Bar Foundation’s Veterans Legal Initiative on Saturday, May 19. The clinic will offer veterans and spouses of deceased veterans advice and counsel from volunteer attorneys in any area of law, including … Continue Reading
The Texas Young Lawyers Association is seeking volunteers to judge preliminary rounds of the State Moot Court Competition on June 19-20 in Houston. Attorneys can receive CLE self-study credit for being a judge. Nine law school teams from across the state will be competing at the competition from June 19 to June 21 at the … Continue Reading
The Fort Worth Library, Tarrant County Bar Association, and Texas A&M School of Law teamed up this spring to educate library patrons in Fort Worth on relevant legal issues and point to available resources.… Continue Reading
The American College of Trial Lawyers, or ACTL, has selected Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice as its 2018 Emil Gumpert Award recipient. The center is being recognized along with its partner, the Dilley Pro Bono Project, or DPBP, for providing pro bono legal counsel to asylum-seeking women with children in Dilley. The … Continue Reading
The Galveston County Bar Association and the Houston Bar Foundation’s Veterans Legal Initiative are sponsoring a free legal clinic for veterans on Saturday, May 5, from 9 a.m. to noon. Veterans and spouses of deceased attorneys can receive one-on-one advice and counsel from volunteer attorneys in family law, wills and probate, consumer law, real estate … Continue Reading
The Harris County judiciary and Houston Bar Association presented the 2018 Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono Awards at the 14th Court of Appeals on April 30. The awards honor law firms, attorneys, and legal departments that encourage legal services to low-income residents and provide outstanding pro bono service through local legal services providers.… Continue Reading
Congratulations to everyone who passed the February Texas Bar Exam! We’re looking forward to seeing you all at the New Lawyers Induction Ceremony at 10 a.m. May 14 at the Frank Erwin Center. The Texas Board of Legal Examiners website has posted the full pass list for exam. Pass-rate statistics are also available on the … Continue Reading
Check out the May issue of the Texas Bar Journal for a recap of SXSW legal panels, the First Amendment and social media, cyberspace estate planning, and lawyers’ role in the future of cryptocurrencies. Don’t forget to catch up on Movers and Shakers, Memorials, and Disciplinary Actions.… Continue Reading
The following article first appeared in the summer 2017 In Chambers magazine and is republished with permission. Serving on a jury—few understand the fundamental importance of jury service more than trial judges and appellate justices. But, how well do we communicate the significance or express our appreciation for those who are answering the summons to … Continue Reading
As Texas’ annual Jury Appreciation Week approaches in the first week of May, the State Bar of Texas wants to warn Texans about the proliferation of jury duty scams across the state in recent months. There have been widespread reports of scammers calling residents and accusing them of failing to show up for jury duty. … Continue Reading
Houston attorney Laura Gibson was chosen to be chair-elect of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors during the board’s meeting in Fort Worth on Friday. Gibson will take office during the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting to be held June 21-22 in Houston. She will serve as chair until June 2019. Read … Continue Reading
Veterans across Texas were honored at the Champions for Justice Gala Benefitting Veterans on April 25. More than $404,000 was raised to provide civil legal services to low-income Texas veterans at the event. The gala, co-sponsored by the Texas Access to Justice Commission and the State Bar of Texas, was held at the AT&T Executive Education … Continue Reading
Thank you to the 28 writers who submitted entries to the Texas Bar Journal Short Story Contest this year. Author names were removed from entries before being submitted to judges in order to keep the contest fair and impartial. Two panels of judges faced the challenging task of selecting the winners, and for each round, … Continue Reading
The Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals have appointed 31 members to lead the newly established Judicial Commission on Mental Health. The commission will examine best practices in the administration of civil and criminal justice for persons with mental illness.… Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas has launched a new program on its website aimed at offering its members a resource for the latest vendor-sponsored whitepapers, case studies, trial reports, and more. The Knowledge Center is a repository of relevant news and information that practitioners can access for free. For more information, go to texasbar.com/knowledgecenter.… Continue Reading
Bree Buchanan, director of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program, was honored for her research and outreach on mental health and substance abuse disorders within the legal profession. Buchanan, who is co-chair of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being and co-authored the task force’s report, “The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change,” … Continue Reading
