Texas Appellate Law Blog : Texas Appellate Lawyer & Attorney : D. Todd Smith Law Firm : Appeals, Sanctions, Summary Judgment : Austin, Texas

Today is the fourth anniversary of my firm.

When I first started, even good friends were skeptical.  Austin has far more than its share of lawyers, and a lot of them like to do appellate work.  I made sure people knew who I was and what I was doing, and the business came.  Needless to say, this blog has played a big part in my success.

Appellate practice is one of the areas in which the playing field between small and large firms is quite level, at least in terms of skill.  My work is interesting and intellectually stimulating, and I get to help clients in need.  How could I ask for more?

Related posts:

• Two Years and Counting
• Happy Anniversary

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I'm heading up to my hometown of Fort Worth to attend the 2010 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting Thursday and Friday.  The Bar has put together an excellent program that should be well worth attending, regardless of one's practice area.

I am particularly excited about what is being billed as the "Legal Innovation Track:  The Adaptable Lawyer," which (according to the promotional materials) will address how lawyers can "adapt and flourish in the face of changes in technology and the business of law."  LexBlog's Kevin O'Keefe and author Richard Susskind (The End of Lawyers?) are two of the featured speakers, with Susskind giving the keynote address.

The State Bar Computer and Technology Section and LexBlog are co-sponsoring a "Tweet and Greet" Thursday afternoon, which I will be attending.  I also hope to do some live-tweeting from the seminar.  For those who are interested in following the conference on Twitter, the hashtag is #sbot10.

As my regular readers know, I am interested in how technology and social media impact legal marketing and practice.  The emphasis on those areas in the conference program may have been why the Bar invited me to attend as its guest.  I consider it an honor.

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The lineup is set for the free CLE seminar the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section is sponsoring on the role of appellate counsel in civil litigation.  An e-brochure with details is available here.

This seminar is specifically geared to in-house lawyers and will cover some very timely topics (for example, appellate attorney's fee structures).   We have lined up an outstanding group of panelists, including several sitting judges.

Please consider distributing the e-brochure to your in-house contacts and encouraging them to come.  Better yet, if you're an appellate lawyer, plan on attending yourself and bringing a client or two with you.  The more educated in-house counsel are about what we do and how we can add value, the better for all our practices.

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Governor Perry has appointed Judge Debra Lehrmann (R) (pictured left) to replace Justice Harriet O'Neill, who will vacate Place 3 on the Texas Supreme Court effective June 20.

To retain the seat, Judge Lehrmann, must defeat First Court of Appeals Justice Jim Sharp (D) (also pictured) in the November general election.  Meanwhile, when not campaigning, Judge Lehrmann will get some on-the-job training and will enjoy the benefits of incumbency.

Related posts:

• Lehrmann to Face Sharp for Open SCOTX Seat
• 2010 Primary Election Roundup
• Breaking Down the SCOTX Shakeup

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Yesterday, I had the privilege of getting sworn in to the U.S. Supreme Court bar by the Court's clerk, General William K. Suter (pictured).  The Austin Bar Civil Appellate Section arranged the ceremony for local lawyers who wanted to be admitted and who completed the application process.  It was a unique opportunity I couldn't pass up, especially as an officer of the Section.

General Suter also spoke on "The Supreme Court in Transition" during the Section's last meeting of the bar year.  He discussed some of the Court's recent controversial cases (including Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission), voting patterns (i.e., Justice Kennedy as the swing vote), decisions to watch for as the Court ends its Term, and what we might expect during proceedings to confirm Elena Kagan as a Justice.

Thank you for coming to Austin, General Suter.  We thoroughly enjoyed your visit.

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The State Bar of Texas Appellate Law Section is sponsoring a CLE seminar to be held in Austin geared toward in-house lawyers and the role of appellate counsel.  The event is scheduled for the afternoon of June 24, 2010 at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center and will be followed by a cocktail reception.  Admission will be free to all in-house counsel and a limited number of outside lawyers.

Panels composed of appellate lawyers, in-house attorneys, and judges will address the following topics:

• Introducing clients to the appellate process
• Do I really need appellate counsel, and how do I select the right one?
• Role of appellate counsel in case management and trial
• Technology issues and their impact on appellate practice and briefing
• Fee arrangements for appellate counsel
• Open forum on trial and appellate issues

The program will run from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. and should be worth three hours of CLE credit.  Invitees will receive additional details and speaker/panelist information when finalized.

As co-chair of this event (along with Kimberly Phillips from Shell Oil Company), I invite you to contact me if you, a client, or a colleague would like to be included on the invitation list.  Limited co-sponsorship opportunities are available.

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The Texas Supreme Court has amended its recent order requiring submission of documents in electronic form.  Among the changes to the previous version are requirements that attorneys (1) provide an e-mail address when submitting e-copies, (2) e-mail courtesy copies to opposing lead counsel, and (3) register for CaseMail in cases in which they are lead counsel.  The order—which takes effect on May 31, 2010—also reduces the number of paper copies required whenever a party files a motion with the Court.

For background information on this development, see these related posts:

• Appellate Court E-Filing Becoming a Reality
• More on Appellate E-Filing

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The Associated Press is reporting that Judge Debra Lehrmann (pictured) has defeated Rick Green in the runoff to determine the Republican candidate for Place 3 on the Texas Supreme Court.  Judge Lehrmann will face Democratic nominee Justice Jim Sharp to fill the seat being vacated by Justice Harriet O'Neill.

Judge Lehrmann must have been fairly confident about the runoff, given yesterday's announcement that she is treading new ground by distributing a video message using a new smart phone application made for the GOP.  Meanwhile, the media has criticized Justice Sharp for lacking any significant web presence.  Quite a contrast in approaches, I would say.

Update:  Additional coverage is available at Tex Parte and the Supreme Court of Texas Blog.

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Early this year, I accepted an offer from Texas Lawyer to write a quarterly column on technology issues affecting the publication’s namesake audience.  The first article in this series—an update on appellate e-filing in Texas—appeared in this week’s issue. I am happy to report that Law.com picked it up as well.

I've received some nice feedback about the article since it came out.  One particular commenter, Houston’s Scott Rothenberg (who, by the way, gives great ethics CLE presentations and is one of the funniest appellate lawyers you could ever meet) pointed out to me that the Supreme Court Advisory Committee has been considering how the appellate rules should be modified in conjunction with the TAMES program’s forthcoming launch.  The SCAC’s initial rule re-draft and a proposed order directing the form of the record in civil cases are available through the links provided.

The SCAC thoroughly debated this initial proposal about a year ago (the meeting transcripts are here and here), but apparently has not come back to it since then. Though not an item on the current SCAC meeting agenda, the working re-draft provides a glimpse of the kinds of rule changes we should expect to hear more about soon.

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