Congratulations to Austin Bar member Leigh de la Reza, who is one of the recipients of this year’s TexasBarCLE’s Standing Ovation Award. This award honors lawyers who have made exceptional volunteer contributions to CLE programming. “TexasBarCLE is grateful to all our volunteers for their dedication to the continuing education of their peers. But every year, a few go above and …
Justice Lehrmann Named Outstanding Jurist
Congratulations to Texas Supreme Court Justice Debra Lehrmann, who has received the Texas Bar Foundation’s Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award. The award honors a federal or state judge who has served for at least 10 years and exhibits an exceptionally outstanding reputation for competency, efficiency, and integrity. Congratulations, Justice Lehrmann!
Austin Bar Foundation Now Accepting Grant Applications
The Austin Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Austin Bar Association, is now accepting grant applications for its 2025 cycle.
This cycle’s grant-making priorities are projects that will support suicide prevention, as well as projects that support local attorneys and their families when facing mental health and substance abuse challenges.
Language Models Can Serve as Virtual Legal Clerks, Must Still Be Fact-Checked
Lawyers can and should use generative AI tools, particularly generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs). When they do, they can and should use prompt engineering to make the best use of these tools. With a GPT, the lawyer provides inputs, or prompts, regarding various user goals. The basic interface allows a user to type in a query and receive a response. This …
The Robert Roberson Case: A Struggle for Justice and the Role of the Texas Attorney General’s Office and Legislature
The death penalty case of Robert Roberson has captivated attention across the nation, not just for the tragic death of his daughter, Nikki, but for the layers of injustice that have been revealed through the legal process and the evolving understanding of medical science. Roberson’s conviction in 2002 was based on the now-discredited medical theory of “Shaken Baby Syndrome” (SBS). …
Navigating the New Administration’s Immigration Policies: Implications for Employers and Foreign Nationals
The inauguration of a new presidential administration often heralds a wave of executive orders and policy shifts, and the first month of the current administration has been no exception. The new administration’s immigration policies signal heightened scrutiny of visa issuance, trade-related work authorizations, and enforcement actions. Employers—particularly those navigating cross-border mobility, corporate compliance, and workforce planning—must prepare for potential travel …
Recent Austin Bar Systems Improvements
The Austin Bar recently unveiled several systems improvements to give our members more value. The Austin Bar now features a self-service classified ads platform. Do you have office space to lease? Post a classified ad at austinbarclassifieds.com. This simple but powerful website allows you to create an account in the process of creating a classified ad, pay for that ad, …
Austin Bar’s 2025 Award Winners
The Austin Bar has named this year’s recipients for the Professionalism Award, the Regina Rogoff Pro Bono Award, the Larry F. York Mentoring Award, and the Joseph C. Parker, Jr., Diversity Award. These individuals will be honored with their awards at the annual Bench Bar Conference on April 11. Register now at austinbar.org/benchbar2025. Professionalism Award – Michelle Cheng Michelle Cheng …
Texas Supreme Court Update April 2025
The following are summaries of selected opinions issued by the Texas Supreme Court in March 2025. These summaries are prepared by court staff as a courtesy. They are not a substitute for the actual opinions. The summaries are overviews of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. GEO Grp. v. Hegar, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2025 WL ___ (Tex. Mar. 14, …
February 2025 Jury Trial Verdicts
CIVIL/FAMILY CAUSE NO.: D-1-GN-23-002369; DENA SESSIONS v. ABBY ARGO, CHAMPAGNE CAMPAIGN, LLC; AMAZING REALTY, LLC, JACOB SOLIZ, GENA CARTER; KW ATX BROKER, LLC JUDGE: MAYA GUERRA GAMBLE DATES: Feb. 10 – 18, 2025 ATTORNEYS: Plaintiff: R. Alex Conant/Walter Williams/Hayden Prosise… To view the rest of this article, please log into your account. If you’re an Austin Bar member, you can log …