When an appellate lawyer puts a client in touch with Court Surety Bond Agency, the client is in a tough spot. “They’re going to be facing a verdict, an adverse verdict, or it’s just entered, and they’re coming to us because they need to post a bond” to stay judgment enforcement during appeal, says Arturo Ayala, the
Building a law practice from scratch requires finding your tribe and embracing the paradigm of giving, says KC Ashmore of Ashmore & Ashmore Law Firm in Rockwall, Texas. The Coast Guard veteran transformed his military service ethic into legal practice success through veteran outreach, Habitat for Humanity builds, and active participation in bar associations such
The basic concept – that appellate lawyers face an existential crisis – came to Kevin Dubose in a dream. In this thought-provoking episode, hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders welcome Kevin back to the show to explore this concept and potential solutions to the unique challenges appellate lawyers face. Kevin shares insights from his recent
The world of public defense is traditionally challenged by limited resources. Appellate practice carries weighty time demands. Now comes AI—a disrupting force that can solve those problems and bridge the justice gap, says Joe Stephens. His insights come from several roles, including as chief public defender for the Caprock Regional Public Defender Office, consultant
The marketplace may know Counsel Press as printers, but “we’re a lot more than that,” says Vincent Wiscovitch, senior appellate counsel. “We like to refer to ourselves as ‘appellate support providers,’ because anybody can be a printer. You could go to Staples and get a brief printed.” Counsel Press goes far beyond Staples, as
“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
The Texas Supreme Court has directed the Supreme Court Advisory Committee (known as SCAC) to study and propose rules that would eliminate pre-grant merits briefing and prohibit central dockets like those used in Travis and Bexar Counties.
The Court has signaled its interest in the first potential change for a while now, but the second
What makes you valuable as an ‘appellate’ attorney
Have you wondered how to engage an appellate specialist to help with a critical trial-court hearing without fully bringing them into the case as co-counsel? If you’re in Travis County district court, consider a limited appearance under the Local Rules of Civil Procedure.
Local Rule 20.2 allows an attorney to file a notice of
I get this question periodically. The short answer is that the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure don’t impose a deadline. But that doesn’t mean a relator (the party wishing to challenge a trial court’s order by filing a petition for writ of mandamus) can delay pursuing mandamus relief indefinitely.
Mandamus is an