This is the sixth and final post in the Flipping the Script series, drawn from Episode 162 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. The series examines what Texas appellate courts could do to make appellate practice better.
The first five posts in this series each featured one suggested reform. This one is different. When my
Wallace Jefferson, former Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court and newly installed President of the American Law Institute (ALI), joins Jody Sanders and Todd Smith for a wide-ranging conversation on appellate practice, judicial leadership, and legacy. Chief Justice Jefferson, a partner at Alexander Dubose & Jefferson LLP, discusses ALI’s mission to modernize
This is the fifth post in the Flipping the Script series, drawn from Episode 162 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. The series examines what Texas appellate courts could do to make appellate practice better.
Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28.1 governs cross-appeals in federal court. It sets a clean four-brief structure: the appellant’s opening
Opposing counsel once called Chris Schandevel a “brief-writing ninja.” He took it as a compliment. Years later, as he considered ways to add value to attorneys coming up behind him, Chris channeled that nickname into a side job: Brief-Writing Ninja, his training platform to help lawyers improve their writing skills. Why? Because good writing
“We have just anything you could think of,” Amy Small says of the Texas State Law Library, where she is executive director. Open to all—no attorney license required—the library serves everyday Texans and the Supreme Court alike. In this episode, hosts Jody Sanders and Todd Smith invite Amy to unpack the library’s often-overlooked resources:
This is the fourth post in the Flipping the Script series, drawn from Episode 162 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. The series examines what Texas appellate courts could do to make appellate practice better.
If you practice appellate law in Texas, you file motions for extension of time. A lot of them. You do
Election law in Texas is “very demanding” and “stressful because of the accelerated nature of the calendar,” says Elizabeth D. Alvarez. Elizabeth is head of civil litigation/election litigation at Guest & Gray and a 12-year election litigation practitioner who has represented state parties, national parties, and candidates on both sides of the aisle. She
Judge Amy Clark Meachum, the Local Administrative Judge for Travis County, joins hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to unpack recent legislation affecting the Texas judiciary and what it means for how courts operate today. Judge Meachum traces the escalating reporting and accountability mandates imposed on Texas trial courts through the 88th and 89th
This is the third post in a series I’m calling “Flipping the Script,” inspired by Episode 162 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. The series examines what Texas appellate courts could do to make appellate practice better.
There’s a conversation appellate lawyers dread. You call your client to report on a mandamus petition in the
This is the second post in a series I’m calling “Flipping the Script,” inspired by Episode 162 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. The series examines what Texas appellate courts could do to make appellate practice better.
The civil appellate docketing statement is outdated, and the case for fixing it is straightforward. It’s a fillable