Third Court of Appeals Civil Update April 2025

The following are summaries of selected civil opinions issued by the Third Court of Appeals during February 2025. The summaries are an overview; please review the entire opinion. Subsequent histories are current as of March 7, 2025.  ATTORNEY’S FEES: Court reduces fee awarded in contingent-fee lawsuit. CCR Ro… To view the rest of this article, please log into your account. …

Federal Civil Update April 2025

The following are summaries of selected civil opinions issued by the Fifth Circuit in February 2025. The summaries are overviews of particular aspects of the opinions; please review the entire opinions.  Editor’s Note: This is Jason LaFond’s final Federal Civil Update for Austin Lawyer. We sincerely appreciat… To view the rest of this article, please log into your account. If …

Growing Up with Alcoholism

Hi, I’m Mary Evelyn, and I’m an adult child of an alcoholic. Recently, I was reading about Brooke Shields, with whom I thought I only had one thing in common—that we grew up in the same era. It turns out another commonality is that we grew up with alcoholism. When Brooke Shields was asked in an interview if she would …

AYLA Board of Directors 2025-26 Slate of Candidates

The following candidates are running for the AYLA officers and directors positions. The new board will take office on July 1, 2025, along with Jenna Malsbary, who will serve as AYLA’s president. Malsbary has been on AYLA’s board since 2019, and has served as secretary, treasurer, and president-elect. Voting begins April 11 and concludes on May 1 at 4 p.m. …

Announcing the 2025-26 Austin Bar Board Slate of Nominees

The Austin Bar’s Nominating Committee has released its slate of nominees for the 2025-26 board of directors. Voting begins April 11 and concludes on May 1 at 4 p.m. Per the bylaws, any qualified member not receiving the nomination of the committee may be included on the ballot by submitting a written petition signed by 75 members by Thursday, April …

Norman Santos P.C., Announces Official Launch

Kate Norman and Mark Santos established Norman Santos PC, a new boutique law firm in Austin, Texas focused on representing utility clients. Glenn Adkins and Gene Montes are partners at the firm, and Jade Davis is an associate.

Jackson Walker Names New Partner

Congratulations to Aron Burnett, who has been named a partner in Jackson Walker’s Austin office. Aron is the chair of the real estate section and co-leads the firm’s renewable energy practice. He represents developers, lenders, and investors in all phases of development, financing, and operation of wind, solar, battery storage, and other energy projects. On the weekends, Aron is a …

Norton Rose Fulbright appoints Gina Shishima to Vice Chair of US Management Committee

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright today announced the appointment of Austin intellectual property partner Gina Shishima to vice chair of its US Management Committee. Gina succeeds New York partner Andrew Giaccia, who held this leadership position since Norton Rose Fulbright combined with Chadbourne & Parke in 2017. In her new role, Gina will serve as the top advisor to …

Armbrust & Brown Names 2 New Partners

Armbrust & Brown has named two new partners. Carter Dean practices in the areas of municipal utility district, real estate development, and municipality law. He represents developers and landowners in connection with the creation and administration of municipal utility districts and other special districts. Carter also serves as general counsel to municipal utility districts and other special districts throughout Texas. …