As the Supreme Court of Texas prepares to finalize rules that would allow licensed legal paraprofessionals and court-access assistants to provide limited legal services for low-income individuals, the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors has approved a series of comments on the preliminary rules for the court’s consideration. Meeting in Lubbock for their quarterly … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court of Texas honored the legacy of former Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson by unveiling his official court portrait on September 6 in the Supreme Court of Texas courtroom. Jefferson, who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas from 2004 to 2013, was the state’s first African American Supreme Court … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Executive Committee will meet at 10 a.m. CDT on September 5 at the Texas Law Center in Austin. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on the State Bar of Texas YouTube page. The agenda can be viewed here. The meeting materials are available here. Among … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court of Texas has issued final approval and adoption of amendments to Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct 1.08, 1.09, 3.09, 4.03, 5.01, and 5.05; of new Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct 1.10 and 1.18; and of new Texas Rule of Disciplinary Procedure 13.05. The rules are effective October 1, 2024. Regarding … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court of Texas issued an order on August 6 preliminarily approving rules governing licensed legal paraprofessionals and licensed court-access assistants and inviting public comments. The court’s new and amended rules would allow licensed paraprofessionals to represent low-income individuals facing certain issues in the areas of family law, estate planning and probate law, and … Continue Reading
Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to reflect the court’s addition of Brazoria County to the emergency order. The Supreme Court of Texas has issued an emergency order authorizing the modification of deadlines in certain justice courts affected by Hurricane Beryl. The order states that upon request by local judicial leaders and pursuant to … Continue Reading
The Texas Access to Justice Commission met December 15 to consider the report from the commission’s Access to Legal Services Working Group. After accepting public comment and discussion among the commissioners, the commission voted to approve the following recommendations from the working group’s report: Authorize Supreme Court of Texas-licensed (1) paraprofessionals to represent and assist … Continue Reading
The Access to Legal Services Working Group will present its final report on potential regulatory reforms designed to improve access to justice for low-income Texans during a meeting December 15 in Austin, according to an announcement Wednesday from the Texas Access to Justice Commission. The working group was formed after the Supreme Court of Texas … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court of Texas has debuted new forms that allow individuals representing themselves to create a will. The forms are the result of a change in state law passed by the 84th Texas Legislature and signed by the governor. They assist a person who is single, married, widowed, or divorced and those with or without … Continue Reading
The Texas Board of Legal Specialization’s newly certified attorneys and paralegals were inducted at the annual induction ceremony on March 24 at the A&T Executive Education and Conference Center in Austin. “Congratulations to our newest class of board-certified attorneys. We’re honored to have them be a part of this elite class of legal specialists in … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Executive Committee will meet at 10 a.m. CST on January 10. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on the State Bar of Texas YouTube page. The presiding officer and executive director will be physically present at the Texas Law Center, Stewart Morris Board Room, 1414 … Continue Reading
The Grievance Oversight Committee is seeking public feedback regarding the Texas attorney disciplinary system. The committee will meet on September 16 in Austin. If you have suggestions, observations, or other input regarding the attorney grievance system and are interested in scheduling a time to meet with the committee during its September 16 meeting, please email … Continue Reading
The American Lawyers Alliance, or ALA, has named Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby the 2022 recipient of its Judicial Civic Education Award. The ALA is an American Bar Association affiliate that supports law-related education, and the Judicial Civic Education Award honors judges for their work promoting civic education in their communities or states. Busby, … Continue Reading
The Grievance Oversight Committee is seeking public feedback regarding the Texas attorney disciplinary system. The committee will meet on July 23 in Houston. If you have suggestions, observations, or other input regarding the attorney grievance system and are interested in scheduling a time to meet with the committee during its July 23 meeting, please email … Continue Reading
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht will receive the Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award from the Texas Bar Foundation at the Texas Bar Foundation Annual Dinner on June 10 at the Marriott Marquis in Houston. The award recognizes an active federal or state judge who exudes a reputation for competency, efficiency, and … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas announced the results of its statewide 2022 judicial poll. The results are available at texasbar.com/pollresults. At the direction of the Texas Supreme Court, the State Bar conducted a nonpartisan straw poll of contested Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, and courts of appeals district races on the 2022 election ballot. … Continue Reading
The Texas Supreme Court issued an order January 31, effective immediately, amending Comment 10 to Rule 7.01 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Comment 10 relates to advertising past success and results. Read the order here.… Continue Reading
The Texas Supreme Court issued a unanimous order Friday permitting out-of-state lawyers to provide legal services to indigent defendants arrested for certain misdemeanor offenses. The emergency order, Misc. Docket No. 22-9007, allows attorneys authorized to practice law in another U.S. jurisdiction to provide services as an employee of a public defender office or through a … Continue Reading
Megan LaVoie has been appointed Office of Court Administration administrative director effective December 1. LaVoie replaces Interim Administrative Director Mena Ramón, who has been serving in the role since August 2021 when David Slayton left the position to become vice president of court consulting services for the National Center for State Courts.… Continue Reading
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Evan Young as his appointment to the Supreme Court of Texas on November 1, 2021, to fill the seat vacated by Justice Eva Guzman when she resigned in June 2021. “Evan Young is a proven legal scholar and public servant, making him an ideal pick for the Supreme Court of Texas,” … Continue Reading
By Dylan Drummond For the past several decades, the Texas Supreme Court’s longtime public information staff attorney—Osler McCarthy—lovingly, laboriously, and manually emailed the court’s Friday orders to anyone who had asked to be added to an email distribution list he maintained. With Osler’s retirement last month, the court has now semi-automated this email notification system, … 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
Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman announced her intent to resign effective June 11, 2021, to Gov. Greg Abbott. She is the court’s senior justice, having served for 22 years.… Continue Reading
The Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday issued its 38th Emergency Order of the COVID-19 pandemic. In it, the court permits the modification or suspension of court deadlines and procedures through August 1, 2021. The order permits all courts to hold in-person proceedings, including jury trials, after the adoption of health and safety standards, but encourages … Continue Reading
