Photo of D. Todd Smith

Drawing on three decades of experience in complex appeals and litigation support, I partner with trial attorneys to develop winning strategies, craft persuasive briefs, and deliver compelling arguments in Texas courts.

This week, I had the privilege of presenting at the 23rd Annual Collections & Creditors’ Rights Course hosted by TexasBarCLE in Houston. My session, Superseding Judgments Pending Appeal, focused on the practical and strategic dimensions of Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 24—and why this rule matters more than many lawyers realize.

For most lawyers

“I give trial lawyers a menu of options,” Andrew Gould explains to hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders about his strategic approach as head of appellate at plaintiffs’ firm Arnold & Itkin. After building their appellate practice from scratch following his years as a federal prosecutor, Andrew shares battle-tested techniques for navigating the trial

Milo Bobbitt built an appellate practice from scratch at his firm. After an internship with then-Justice Willett at the Texas Supreme Court, he successfully defended a significant oil and gas contract victory on appeal, complete with a quote from the movie “Armageddon” in the opinion. “I was writing a new brief about every month for

In this milestone episode, hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. Reflecting on 145 episodes of conversations with judges, practitioners, and legal innovators, they discuss how the podcast has evolved alongside major shifts in legal practice—from the pandemic’s acceleration of virtual proceedings to the emergence of

“Reconsideration” is disfavored in Texas trial courts. The procedural rules don’t contemplate motions to reconsider, but lawyers still file them—usually when they’re convinced the trial judge got an important but unappealable interlocutory ruling wrong.

Motions to reconsider rarely succeed. Once a trial judge has made a decision, it’s difficult to change the judge’s mind. Trial