Posted inTexas Bar Journal

Texas Bar Journal must-reads for November

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November Must-Reads

Tight on time? No worries. We’ve got you covered. Here are this month’s Texas Bar Journal must-reads:

Cyber Breach
Getting ready for your worst tech nightmare
by Jack M. Vaughan and Eben Kaplan

Law Schools
Ten deans describe how their institutions are confronting the changes in legal education
by Texas Law School Deans

Important Work to be Done
Thanks to Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans clinics, attorneys across the state take on pro bono cases that change lives
by Hannah Kiddoo

The Legacy Continues
Dear Judge Buchmeyer, I thought this might amuse your readers. …
by Pamela Buchmeyer

Posted inLocal Bars

Volunteers wanted for Austin pro se clients

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The Austin Bar Foundation is seeking volunteers for its newest initiative, Austin Bar in Action. According to a release from the Austin Bar, while civil filings in the Travis County are down, pro se filings have increased, and beginning November 1, self-represented litigants in the uncontested docket will be required to go to the Travis County Law Library & Self-Help Center before they will be allowed in court.

To account for this expected increase in attendees, the Austin Bar is encouraging volunteer attorneys to be at the center to answer questions and help fill out forms.

Attorneys interested in volunteering at the Self-Help Center, located in the Ned Granger Building at 314 W. 11th St., in Austin, or wanting to learn more about Austin Bar in Action, should contact Doug Lawrence at (512) 472-0279, ext. 100.

Posted inAccess to JusticeLaw Firms and Legal DepartmentsPro Bono

Pro Bono Week Spotlight Day 5: Ralph Miller and Nathan White

By Amy Starnes on
Nathan White

Nathan White

Ralph Miller

Ralph Miller

The State Bar of Texas, the Texas Access to Justice Commission, the American Bar Association, and others proudly support National Pro Bono Celebration Week (Oct. 25-31).

Pro Bono week is an opportunity to educate the public about the good work the legal community is doing to improve the lives of vulnerable Texans and to encourage more individuals to get involved in pro bono support of the legal system.

Today, we are featuring Ralph Miller and Nathan White of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Miller and White are helping the Texas Civil Rights Project represent a South Texas couple, Rolando and Miriam Pérez, in Pérez v. Doctors Hospital at Renaissance. Miriam Pérez is completely deaf and communicates only in American Sign Language (ASL). Her husband, Rolando, has very limited hearing and communicates primarily in ASL, though he can sometimes communicate in English with difficulty.

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Posted inTLAP

Returning to my good life, one day at a time

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Editor’s note: This is the 15th story in the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program “Stories of Recovery” series, featuring attorneys in their own words on how they overcame mental health or substance abuse problems. The State Bar’s TLAP program 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 was generally well liked, had done well in school, had succeeded in jobs before attending law school. But even though things on the outside looked pretty good, I carried around a daily sense of low-grade dread.

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Posted inLocal BarsNewsUncategorized

State, local bars holding new lawyer swearing-in ceremonies

By Lowell Brown on
Erath County Bar Association

Members of the Erath County Bar Association recite the lawyer’s oath with the assistance of Senior District Judge Donald R. Jones on October 27.

A new oath passed by the 84th Texas Legislature designed to advance civility and integrity in the practice of law will be used to swear in Texas lawyers at the next New Lawyers Induction Ceremony at 10 a.m. November 16 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. The State Bar of Texas is inviting all practicing attorneys to attend the ceremony and to join inductees in reciting the new oath.

Some local bar associations are holding their own swearing-in ceremonies to welcome new lawyers. A partial list of those activities appears below.

If your organization is hosting an activity that is not listed, please let us know. Send the time, date, place, and other relevant information to localbars@texasbar.com.

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Posted inAccess to JusticeFamily LawPro Bono

Pro Bono Week Spotlight Day 4: Maria Linda Gonzalez

By Amy Starnes on
Maria Gonzalez

Maria Linda Gonzalez

The State Bar of Texas, the Texas Access to Justice Commission, the American Bar Association, and others proudly support National Pro Bono Celebration Week (Oct. 25-31).

Pro Bono week is an opportunity to educate the public about the good work the legal community is doing to improve the lives of vulnerable Texans and to encourage more individuals to get involved in pro bono support of the legal system.

Today, we are featuring Maria Linda Gonzalez, a solo attorney practicing criminal, family and immigration law in Brownsville.

Gonzalez is a lifelong volunteer. She is active with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, both in maintaining a pro bono caseload and assisting with the Community Justice Program clinics. She can be counted on to stand in for other attorneys in an emergency and volunteers to help on many cases. The Cameron County Bar Association recognized Gonzalez’s contributions by honoring her with the Pro Bono Award in June 2015.

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Posted inAccess to JusticeLaw Firms and Legal DepartmentsPro Bono

Pro Bono Week Spotlight Day 3: David E. Grove

By Amy Starnes on
David Grove 1

David E. Grove

The State Bar of Texas, the Texas Access to Justice Commission, the American Bar Association, and others proudly support National Pro Bono Celebration Week (Oct. 25-31).

Pro Bono week is an opportunity to educate the public about the good work the legal community is doing to improve the lives of vulnerable Texans and to encourage more individuals to get involved in pro bono support of the legal system.

Today, we are featuring David E. Grove a solo attorney with a practice in Beaumont specializing in criminal law, personal injury, family law, toxic torts, and environmental law.

Grove began his volunteer adventure with the Jefferson County Bar Association Pro Bono Program in 2001. Volunteering is second nature to Grove who always has two to three open pro bono cases. He has donated more than 656 hours since 2001, taking cases that involve family law, estate planning, license issues, and expunctions.

Grove volunteers for the bar association’s Veteran Legal Initiative, Pro Bono Program, LegalLine, and the annual fundraiser: Spindletop Spin. Pro bono coordinator Cindy Torrans says if she is in need of a volunteer, Grove is her go-to person.

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Posted inCLENewsSpecial Event

Ethics through entertainment

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In 2006, a group of judges and attorneys (many of whom were members of the South Central Texas Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel) decided to write a series of sketches that mixed legal ethics trainings with humor, music, and pop culture references and perform it at the chapter’s annual ethics conference. They called it Ethics Follies. Since that time, participation has more than doubled and more than 20,000 attorneys, accountants, and other licensed professionals have watched—either in person or via webcast or DVD—spoofs ranging from Rock of Ages to Mama Mia! on topics including workplace discrimination, theft, and data privacy. This year’s production, Scamalot, a riff on the musical comedy Spamalot, promises to be just as entertaining, and attendees can receive two hours of CLE credit after the show.

Lee Cusenbary, one of the men behind the madness and general counsel to Mission Pharmacal Company in San Antonio, plays King Arthur in this season’s production, which will be performed live on October 28 and 29 at the Empire Theater in San Antonio. Here he talks about auditions, applause, and his character’s loyal servant, Putsy.

ethics_follies_two

David Nanny-Isban, Isidro Medina, and Kyle Goetz are cast members of Scamalot.

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