The Texas Supreme Court released no new opinions with this week's regular orders. What struck me about these orders is the unusually high number of cases abated in light of bankruptcy proceedings. I suppose that's a sign of the times.
The Texas Supreme Court issued one decision with this week's exceptionally short set of regular Friday orders.
In In re Watkins (No. 06-0653), the Court denied mandamus relief from an order granting the plaintiff a 30-day extension of time for filing an expert report under CPRC § 74.351(a). The Court released concurring opinions from Chief Justice Jefferson (joined by Justice O'Neill), Justice Johnson, and Justice Willett.
Justice Brister's majority opinion acknowledged the concurrences' discussion of whether the plaintiff originally served a deficient report or no report at all—significant to whether the defendant had a right to an interlocutory appeal—but concluded that mandamus was unavailable either way. (The court of appeals dismissed the defendant's interlocutory appeal for want of jurisdiction, a ruling the defendant did not challenge in the supreme court.)
The Texas Supreme Court issued no new opinions with this week's regular orders. It did, however, release a corrected opinion in Columbia Medical Center of Las Colinas, Inc. v. Hogue (04-0575) that clarified when the 2003 amendments to the statutory interest rate became effective. The Supreme Court of Texas Blog provides a redline comparison here.
Today marks the beginning of the 81st Texas Legislature. A number of bills that would affect litigators and appellate practitioners are expected, many of which failed to pass during the last session.
I will be keeping an eye on noteworthy bills as they are introduced and will comment on them as my workload permits. With the House relatively balanced among party lines and a change in Speaker, we could be in for an interesting time.
Having seen some of my blog posts about Twitter, the folks at Texas Lawyer approached me about writing an article explaining it from a hands-on perspective. The result of my efforts, entitled "Marketing Your Practice in 140 Characters or Less," appears in today's issue. I hope readers find it informative.
1/13/09 Update: Law.com has picked up the article on its Legal Technology page and has added some helpful links. Thanks to all who have commented to me about it, both below and elsewhere.
The Texas Supreme Court issued four decisions with this week's regular orders, the first set released in 2009.
All of the opinions and available electronic briefs and oral argument audio files are available through this link. To review Osler McCarthy's summaries, click here.
Updated 1/7/09: Regular readers of this blog know that I'm interested in technology and how it impacts law practice. In keeping with that interest, I wrote an article for the January issue of the Texas Bar Journal entitled "Internet-Based Practice Management Solutions." The article discusses some “software as a service” alternatives to traditional practice-management software programs, particularly those geared toward solos and small firms.
I am proud of the article and think it will help inform scores of Texas lawyers about these new options. I would be remiss, however, if I failed to mention an error in the print version that needs correcting. The article notes that Rocket Matter, one of the service providers discussed, recently unveiled a new pricing structure, but gets the pricing wrong. The correct information can be found here.
As the article concludes, technology helps level the playing field for solos and small firms and is changing the way we all practice law. Here's hoping this change is one for the better.
.jpg)
Two years ago today, I launched this blog—the first of its kind in Texas— to engage folks who are interested in or involved with civil appellate issues. As was the case last New Year's Day, publishing content and interacting with readers remains very fulfilling, and the blog continues to open doors for my practice. I hope it remains a useful tool for its audience.
I wish everyone reading this post a blessed, safe, and productive 2009. As I reflect on the past year and consider my goals for the next, here are some of my favorite posts from 2008:
Enter keywords:
Add this blog to your feeds or put your e-mail in the box below and hit GO to subscribe by e-mail.
