Access to justice remains a pervasive problem in the Texas legal system. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders welcome Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby and Kennon Wooten from Austin’s Scott Douglass & McConnico to discuss the latest developments on this front. The conversation focuses on new Supreme Court rules for licensing paraprofessionals
Legislative session years in Texas always bring uncertainty into legal practice. When the Legislature passes new laws impacting courts, the Texas Supreme Court has to make rules to give those laws effect. This week Todd Smith and Jody Sanders discuss several recent rule changes and additions from the Texas Supreme Court that will impact trial
Every two years, the Texas Legislature meets. During that process, legislators file dozens of bills that potentially impact legal practice and the court system. Luckily, Texas lawyers can rely on Jerry Bullard to provide insight and context on the various proposals. In this episode, Jerry joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to talk about what’s
Justice Debra Lehrmann has served on the Texas Supreme Court longer than any woman before her. But even before that historic tenure, she served as a family law judge for many years. She joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders in this episode to talk about her judicial experience and how her family law knowledge has impacted
Public-interest litigation is not for the faint of heart. So often, attorneys find themselves battling opponents with resources and influence or precedent that makes it difficult to prevail. But fighting to preserve rights and help vulnerable clients provides many different rewards. In this episode, Jody Sanders and Todd Smith interview Hannah Mullen, a staff attorney
Few judges in the Texas court system can claim to have served at every level—trial court, appellate court, and Texas Supreme Court. But this week’s guest, Justice Jane Bland, has done all three! Her career of service to the people of Texas gives her a unique perspective on how the judicial system should work. Justice Bland joins
Conducting an effective voir dire is both a science and an art. But ensuring that attorneys ask the correct questions to support challenges and objections requires careful planning and strategy. It also requires on-the-spot evaluations of the individual jurors and their responses. To help attorneys obtain the best jury panel, Robert Swafford, an attorney
This week, co-hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders celebrate the Texas Appellate Law Podcast’s 100th episode! When they started the podcast just before the pandemic hit in 2020, neither of them could have imagined how much they would learn, how much fun they would have, and all the great people they would meet. To celebrate
Many attorneys start their careers in a law firm setting. Often, those roles require working with in-house counsel to provide legal services to a company. How can attorneys transition from a client service role into working directly for the client? Join Todd Smith and Jody Sanders as they visit with Karen Delaney of Delaney Legal
For the lucky few who get them, U.S. Supreme Court clerkships provide a lifetime of memories in a single year. But imagine if your clerkship included not only working for a Supreme Court Justice, but also with a future Supreme Court Justice. For Professor Erin Busby, the Co-Director of the Supreme Court Clinic at