April 2026

In general, the legal and lay communities treat our judges1 with respect. There are also many benefits to donning the robe, sitting on the bench, and serving the community. However, a disturbing trend has emerged. Threats and violence against the judiciary are increasing at an unprecedented rate. It’s reported that the U.S. Marshals Service investigated 564 threats against federal judges in 2025, more than three times the number reported in 2019. 

Each year, in the early months, hundreds of middle and high school students from across Texas gather for the YMCA Texas Youth and Government conferences to debate legislation they have spent months researching, drafting, and refining. These young people—representing communities and backgrounds as diverse as our state itself—arrive prepared to advocate for ideas they believe will make government more effective, equitable, and responsive. It is an extraordinary display of civic engagement, and one that reflects a vibrant future for our democracy.

Before stepping into my current role, I had only a limited understanding of what trust administration involved or how my legal education and practice could benefit it. Like many lawyers, I assumed that special needs trusts existed solely to preserve eligibility for public benefits. I also believed that most other trusts primarily served wealthy clients for tax planning or probate avoidance. Both assumptions were wrong.

Marketing can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re just starting out or don’t have billboard budget. The good news? Effective marketing isn’t about how much you spend. It is about your purpose. Before you launch a website, post on social media, or sponsor an event, take a pause and reflect.

The practice of law is a stressful profession. Lawyers face intense pressure with long hours, demanding clients, high-stakes and high-conflict deals or cases, and high professional and societal standards. As a result, the legal profession faces high rates of depression, substance use, and behavioral addictions. Chronic stress can also strain the body to the point of causing life-threatening diseases, and is known to exacerbate issues with the cardiovascular, autoimmune, and gastrointestinal systems, to name a few.

Travis County Court at Law #3 Judge Bianca Garcia will host a trauma- informed training for judges and legal professionals on April 23 at 1 p.m. in her courtroom, 509 W. 11th St, 5th floor.

Texas recently rewrote essential parts of its child support statutes, and the changes carry real consequences for families across the state. As of Sept. 1, 2025, the Texas Family Code increased the income cap used to calculate guideline child support and adjusted how certain cases move through the system.¹

Texas is projected to become the largest global data center market by 2030, according to new research conducted by real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). In a press release announcing the research findings, JLL said Texas currently has 6.5 gigawatts (GW) of data center capacity under construction. One gigawatt can power about 750,000 homes on average. Last year, total data center capacity expanded by 35 GW.

Travis County Criminal District Judge Dana Blazey declared the four men, wrongfully convicted of perpetrating Austin’s Yogurt Shop Murders in 1991, as actually innocent. The declaration came on Feb. 19, 2026.