June 2024

The following are summaries of selected civil opinions issued by the Third Court of Appeals in April 2024. The summaries are overviews of particular aspects of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. Subsequent histories are current as of May 8, 2024. PREMISES LIABILITY: Court reverses summary judgment, concluding plaintiffs were not trespassers. Chavez v. Silverleaf Resorts, LLC, No. 03-22-00498-CV

One of the great honors that I have had over the past 13 years is to work as the Director of the State Bar’s Advanced Trial Strategies (ATS) course. This elite course, given in New Orleans each February, is designed for lawyers with 20+ years’ experience. Our committee’s aim is to get the best speakers, to bring important information to

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the Austin Bar Association’s podcast, Council of Firsts, featured the “Ladies of the Austin Bar.”  For the first time in history, all top leadership positions in the Austin Bar Foundation, Austin Bar Association, and Austin Young Lawyers Association are held by women, with women waiting in the wings.  Amanda Arriaga is the Austin Bar Foundation

Judge Clifford Brown, Sylvia Faye Hardman-Dingle, and Dexter Gilford were the honorees at the 2024 Austin Black Lawyers Association Foundation (ABLAF) Andrea Pair Bryant Legacy Luncheon. The trio was honored for their significant contributions to the African American legal community. Judge Eric Shepperd emceed the event,  which was held at Chateau Bellevue. ABLAF President Ayeola Williams and ABLA President Johnathan

The seventeenth annual Color of Justice program was held on April 16, 2024, at the UT School of Law. The event was sponsored by the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), in partnership with the Travis County Women Lawyers Association (TCWLA) and the UT School of Law William Wayne Justice Center for Public Law.  The program was attended by students

At a January 2024 meeting of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, the commission voted against a recommendation to create a pilot program that would have allowed non-attorney ownership of entities licensed to provide limited legal services tolow-income Texans. The topic of nonlawyer ownership in legal entities has been a topic of growing interest in recent years. Currently, Texas Disciplinary

Editor’s Note: A monthly update on jury trials in Travis County will be circulated in Bar Code and posted in the Austin Bar app. Lucy’s Kitchen #2 LLC v. Taylor Plaza, LLC Cause No.: D-1-GN-19-006920 Judge: Hon. Jessica Mangrum, 200th Civil District Court Trial Date(s): April 1 – 3, 2024 Attorneys: Plaintiff:  Russell Frost, Law Office of Russell Frost, PLLC

The following are summaries of selected opinions issued by the Texas Supreme Court in May 2024. These summaries are prepared by court staff as a courtesy and are not a substitute for the actual opinions. The summaries are overviews of particular aspects of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. JURISDICTION – Timely service requirement is jurisdictional prerequisite for suits

The following are summaries of selected criminal opinions issued by the Third Court of Appeals in November 2023. The summaries are overviews of particular aspects of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. Subsequent histories are current as of May 1, 2024. EVIDENCE ADMISSIBILITY – PENDING LAWSUITS FILED BY DEFENDANT: Trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence

Thank you to the nearly 200 people who came out for the 2024 Bench Bar Conference! This year’s conference took place at Kalahari Resorts in Round Rock, and featured plenty of members of the bench.  Bench Bar Committee Co-Chair Scott Brutocao kicked off the morning by introducing Corinne Smith, a life coach and Austin attorney. Smith led the crowd in