Texas Appellate Law Blog : Texas Appellate Lawyer & Attorney : Smith Law Group, P.C. : Appeals, Sanctions, Summary Judgment : Austin, Texas

The Austin Bar Association's Civil Appellate Law Section will kick off the new year with a special program featuring chief justices from several of the fourteen intermediate state courts of appeals.  The luncheon meeting, which will take place at noon on January 19, 2012 at Green Pastures, will include the following lineup:

Moderator:

Chief Justice Woodie Jones, Austin (pictured)

Panelists:

Chief Justice Terrie Livingston, Ft. Worth
Chief Justice Brian Quinn, Amarillo
Chief Justice Sherry Radack, Houston
Chief Justice Jim Worthen, Tyler

A number of chiefs from other courts are expected to attend as well.

As Section Chair, I am very excited about this event.  The program will present a unique opportunity to hear the chiefs' views on current issues facing the courts and to visit with judges from around the state in an informal setting.  Space is limited, so reserve your seat by sending Matthew Ploeger a check for $20 payable to "Civil Appellate Section" today.

If you have a topic you would like to see the panel address, please describe it in a comment to this post.  I will collect and pass on the suggestions for the panel's consideration.

1/18/12 Update:  Chief Justice Catherine Stone from San Antonio will substitute for Chief Justice Quinn.

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Below are the slides from my talk on standards of review at the 25th Annual Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course.  This is an important but incredibly dense topic, and I only had 30 minutes to present it.  I therefore focused on two things:  (1) the abuse-of-discretion standard, which defies precise definition; and (2) legal sufficiency of the evidence after City of Keller v. Wilson, 168 S.W.3d 802 (Tex. 2005).

The slides provide some flavor, but my basic point on City of Keller was that appellate lawyers and courts are still trying to sort out what it means six years later.  I wasn't alone in that view.  The case was mentioned repeatedly during the seminar and was even described as the most important Texas Supreme Court decision from the past decade.

For fun, I'm also including @TexasBarCLE's tweets during my talk.  It's true that, in a hotel ballroom packed with appellate lawyers, only one raised his hand.

Thanks to Brandy Wingate for letting me build on her work product in putting this presentation together.

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D. Todd Smith (pictured), founder of the Smith Law Group, P.C., has been elected Chair of the Austin Bar Association Civil Appellate Law Section for 2011-12.  Smith is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and focuses his practice on civil appeals and mandamus proceedings in Texas and federal courts.  He also assists trial lawyers with dispositive motions and preserving error for appeal at the pretrial, trial, and post-trial stages.

The Austin Bar Association was founded in 1893 as a nonprofit professional organization for attorneys.  Its mission is to promote professionalism and camaraderie within the legal community, to aid in the administration of justice, to enhance the delivery of and access to quality legal services, to educate the public about the legal system, and to actively participate in the success of the community at large.

Smith is heavily involved in the Austin Bar, having recently completed a term as Chair of the Solo/Small Firm Section.  He has also accepted an appointment as Chair of the Austin Bar Membership Committee for 2011-12.

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The Texas Board of Legal Specialization is considering changes to the certification criteria for Civil Appellate Law, among other areas.  A redline of the potential revisions is available here.

I have not studied the proposal word-for-word, but it appears to broaden the Board's discretion in determining who is authorized to sit for the exam.  In addition, the proposal would expand the types of dispositions formerly characterized as "final judgments" on appeal and would reduce the required number of oral arguments by one-third.

Although the comment period is technically closed, a certification analyst recommended sending any suggestions to TBLS Executive Director Gary McNeil at gmcneil@texasbar.com.  TBLS apparently intends to seek final Texas Supreme Court approval sometime this fall.

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