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The following is a summary of a selected criminal opinion issued by the Third Court of Appeals in December 2023. The summary is an overview; please review the entire opinion. The subsequent history is current as of June 3, 2024. AGGRAVATED ROBBERY—EVIDENTIARY SUFFICIENCY AND LESSER-INCLUDED OFFENSE: Evidence was sufficient to prove that defendant committed aggravated robbery, and defendant was not

The following are summaries of selected opinions issued by the Texas Supreme Court in June 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 the opinions; please review the entire opinions. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: Statutory regulations governing public insurance adjusters do not implicate protected speech. 

Editor’s Note: A monthly update on jury trial verdicts in Travis County will also be circulated in Bar Code and posted in the Austin Bar app. CIVIL Ramos v. Regan  Cause No.: D-1-GN-22-007206 Judge: Jessica Mangrum, 200th Civil District Court Trial Date(s): May 13-15, 2024 Attorneys:Plaintiff: Casey Archer and Guilherme Vasconcelos, DJC Law, PLLCDefendant: J. Hampton Skelton and Sean Hoffman,

On June 4, 2024, DeLaine Ward celebrated her 40th anniversary as executive director of the Austin Bar Association. In 1984, when Ward saw the advertisement for the position, she was a recent journalism graduate from The University ofTexas. She intended to become a journalist and took a job with the State Bar of Texas in order to add some bona

Nadia Bettac (R) won the Austin Bar President’s Award of Merit for her efforts in planning the 2024 Austin Bar Foundation Gala. Leslie Boykin (R) won the Austin Bar’s Outstanding Director Award. Alex Conant (R) won the AYLA Volunteer of the Year Award. Ben Evans (R) won the AYLA President’s Award of Merit. Jillian French (R) won the AYLA Outstanding

? Thank You for Making the 4th Annual Equity Summit a Success! ? A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at the Austin Community College Rio Grande Campus for this year’s Equity Summit, led by Ketan Kharod and Matt Garcia. We explored critical issues like intergenerational trauma and racism with insightful discussions featuring Rev. Joseph C. Parker, Jr. and Diana Anzaldua. Panels addressed challenges for first-generation attorneys and rent legislation’s impact on diversity. Special thanks to Manuel Escobar for receiving the Rev. Joseph C. Parker, Jr., Diversity Award and to our sponsor, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble. Your support is vital in advancing inclusivity! ? #EquitySummit #Diversity #Inclusion

The Travis County Women Lawyers’ Foundation (TCWLF) and Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association (TCWLA) held their annual Grants & Awards Luncheon on April 26, 2024, at the Fairmont Hotel.  TCWLF, the grant-giving arm of the association, gave away $90,000 in grants to 13 deserving local providers of pro-bono legal services to women, children, and families in Travis County this year

Property tax foreclosure auctions are older than the Republic of Texas. The battle for Texas independence began in part because the government of Mexico eliminated property tax exemptions for new settlers in 1830.1 For 200 or more years, on every first Tuesday of each month, property foreclosure auctions have been held outside on the steps of county courthouses, whether it

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 to low-income Texans. The topic of nonlawyer ownership in legal entities has been a topic of growing interest in recent years. Currently, Texas

In Part One of this series, I explained the benefits of a revocable living trust on incapacity. However, incapacity is only half the story. Trusts are also popular because of the benefits they can provide on death.   First, trusts can avoid probate. A surprisingly common misconception is that a decedent can avoid probate by having a will. This could