Texas Appellate Law Podcast

Law school is tough—just a few short years to decide the trajectory of your legal career. For Marshall Bowen, testing the legal waters through state court clerkships was the way to go. In this episode, Marshall joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to discuss his experiences clerking at Texas’s two highest state courts—the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Marshall provides an insider’s perspective on the clerkship process at both courts and offers insights from a combined experience few attorneys have achieved. Marshall also offers advice for law students who are thinking about clerking but might not know how to start, where to look, or what to expect. Join us for an episode that takes a deeper look at clerkship and Texas’s two high courts from a unique perspective.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterFacebookInstagramYouTube

The Thirteenth Court of Appeals covers a vast area stretching from near Houston to the US/Mexico border. It even has chambers and hears cases in two locations—Corpus Christi and Edinburg. Thirteenth Court Justice Gina Benavides knows the territory well because she worked throughout it as a successful trial attorney for nearly 20 years before taking the appellate bench. Justice Benavides joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to discuss her career as a litigator, her transition to the court of appeals, and how the court has operated—including its history of virtual operations predating the COVID-19 pandemic. Justice Benavides also shares her candid views on the Texas judicial-selection system, the need for diversity and inclusion in appellate practice and the judiciary, and the challenges courts have faced (and will face) during the pandemic.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Bill Chriss is truly a Renaissance man. A lifelong learner with degrees that include a Ph.D, Bill’s interests range across history, politics, law, and ethics. Bill’s recent research interest focuses on the Texas Constitution, both its origin and evolution. Bill sits down with Todd Smith and Jody Sanders and traces his career journey—from working as a trial lawyer handling his own appeals to becoming an appellate lawyer, with a stop along the way at the Texas Center for Legal Ethics. The conversation covers things attorneys should know about the Texas Constitution, its political history, ways attorneys can raise constitutional issues, changes Bill foresees in the near future, and shifting political winds in our great state.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Paul Green served as an appellate justice for more than 25 years, both at the San Antonio Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court. On the eve of his retirement, Justice Paul Green joined Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to reflect on his past as a litigator in his family’s law practice, his time on the bench, and his future plans after leaving the Supreme Court. Justice Green offers a candid assessment of his career, the judiciary, and the future of judges in Texas. Learn about Justice Green’s many roles both on and off the bench, and his thoughts about advocacy, judging, and the judicial system as a whole.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

In 2011, Texas adopted the Texas Citizens Participation Act,  one of the broadest anti-SLAPP statutes in the nation. Since then, TCPA motions to dismiss and the resulting interlocutory appeals have proliferated, and both trial and appellate courts have struggled to reconcile the statute’s far-reaching language with just and fair results. Joining Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to talk about the TCPA is Amanda Taylor, a civil appellate specialist at Butler Snow and an expert on the subject. Amanda discusses the TCPA’s initial impact on the civil justice system, recent statutory amendments, and strategies for advising clients on TCPA motions and appeals. Listen in to learn about trends in this area and what they mean for present and future appellate law practice.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Practicing law means staying on top of the latest trends and developments to keep yourself educated and provide the best possible service to your clients. Mike Whelan Jr., the CEO of Lawyer Forward, joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to talk about how lawyers can thrive in a changing legal environment and institute changes in their practices that benefit the lawyers, their clients, and the legal industry as a whole. Mike offers tips to rethink the structures and roles of modern legal practices for both solo and big firm attorneys. Mike’s background in both logistics and legal practice provides him with unique insights for attorneys to maximize their strengths and build upon potential weaknesses to create new legal practice structures and relationships. As innovation becomes a necessary survival skill in the ever-changing legal market, lawyers who fail to adapt risk falling behind. This episode can help you identify ways to break through your constraints as an entrepreneur and how to support other parts of your law practice to maximize the benefits for you and your clients.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

So often, trial lawyers are expected to do it all when trying a case—prepping and examining witnesses, arguing motions, making objections, and preserving the record. This translates to early mornings, late nights, and opportunities for things to get overlooked. Having another set of eyes (and a different skill set) can not only lighten trial counsel’s load, but ensure a better outcome for the client. This is where appellate counsel can really add value. In their 25th episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders discuss ways that having appellate counsel involved at different stages of the litigation process can streamline the proceedings, create opportunities to determine legal issues early, and provide a more focused strategy to survive the trial and appellate process. Together, they share their own experiences in working with a trial counsel, what it is like for them individually, and how appellate lawyers bring value to trial teams. Todd and Jody also dive deep into the trial lawyer-appellate lawyer relationship when taking over a case and when it goes up on appeal. Follow this episode to learn tips that benefit trial and appellate counsel and, most importantly, the client.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Texas has adopted standards for appellate conduct that go beyond the disciplinary rules governing all licensed attorneys. Making his second appearance on the show is the resident expert on this topic, Kevin Dubose of Alexander Dubose & Jefferson LLP. With his insider knowledge and insights, Kevin explains the impetus behind the aptly-named Standards for Appellate Conduct, how they differ from the ordinary disciplinary rules, and how they reflect and reinforce the Texas appellate bar’s culture.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Attorneys are skilled at painting pictures with words. But that can only get them so far. As technology has improved, so too has the opportunity to enrich briefing with visual aids—pictures, charts, videos, and animation. As courts move to electronic filings and briefs, attorneys who fail to adapt will get left behind. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders interview Mark Trachtenberg from Haynes and Boone about his article, “Briefing Beyond Words,” and his tips and strategies for using visuals to enhance written advocacy. Mark draws from his own experience using visuals in trial courts and appellate courts and explains how they boosted the effectiveness of his advocacy. Mark also shares his insights about where this method is heading, the need for rules addressing visuals, and more. Follow this discussion to learn how effective visuals can make a huge difference at every stage of a case.

Family law appeals can be tricky because the legal standards differ from ordinary civil cases. Taking us into the appellate component of family law, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders interview Michelle O’Neil of O’Neil Wysocki Family Law to answer some questions about what makes family law appeals special. Michelle dives deep into some of her cases, helping us further understand temporary and final orders, abuse of discretion, and more. Michelle also talks about how COVID-19 has affected family law and the impact it is expected to have in the future.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube