Few judges have sat on a trial-court bench, a court of appeals, and the Texas Supreme Court. Our guest for this episode, Judge Jeff Brown, has done all three and more. Today, he joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to talk about his time as a state trial and appellate judge and his recent transition to the federal district bench. Sharing his career background, Judge Brown touches on how a judicial clerkship helps new lawyers understand how the court operates and makes decisions. Judge Brown also offers his take on advocacy in the courts where he has served and highlights similarities between the skill sets involved in federal trial courts and state appellate courts.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Behind a well-functioning court system is an Office of Court Administration that ensures technology and processes are rightly placed. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders interview the Administrative Director of the Texas Office of Court Administration, David Slayton, about how OCA supports Texas courts and helps streamline appellate practice. He shares with us the technology OCA uses to facilitate the courts’ work and provide a statewide platform for searching and monitoring cases. Addressing the current COVID-19 situation, David then shares how OCA has implemented remote technology to keep courts open and help maintain certainty in these uncertain times.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Appellate law is not exempt from the global technological pivot we are experiencing in these strange times. Lawyers all over the nation are adopting technology in a way that they haven’t been forced to do up until now. Raffi Melkonian of Wright Close & Barger is the contemporary embodiment of the “lawyer of the future” in this age of video technology and social media. Known as the Dean of #AppellateTwitter among his followers, he has made significant inroads in turning the popular social media platform into a positive venue for fruitful collegial discussions. Listen in as he joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders on the show to talk about his experiences in the practice, social media influencing, and advocating in the U.S. Supreme Court. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Jody and Todd talk with Kent Rutter, appellate attorney and current chair of the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section. Kent talks about the State Bar Appellate Section and the numerous benefits that it offers its members. Kent also talks about an empirical study that he and other Haynes & Boone attorneys prepared analyzing reversal rates in the various Texas intermediate courts of appeals. Please contact Todd and Jody with questions, suggestions, or feedback on the episodes: Todd todd@appealsplus.com Jody jody.sanders@kellyhart.com Information on items discussed: Kent Rutter: https://www.haynesboone.com/people/r/rutter-kent Twitter: @kentrutter Lynne Liberato: https://www.haynesboone.com/people/l/liberato-lynne Texas Bar Appellate Section: http://www.tex-app.org/,which includes the Appellate Advocate that both Jody and Todd edited. Kent’s and Natasha Breaux’s article on Reasons for Reversal: https://houstonlawreview.org/article/12201-reasons-for-reversal-in-the-texas-courts-of-appeals Natasha Breaux, Kent’s co-author: https://www.haynesboone.com/people/b/breaux%20natasha Justice Elizabeth Kerr, Second Court of Appeals: http://www.txcourts.gov/2ndcoa/about-the-court/justices/justice-elizabeth-kerr/ Pam Baron, Statistical guru of SCOTX: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-stanton-baron-b2156b29 Please follow us on Twitter (@dtoddsmith @jodyssanders @texapplawpod) and Facebook (@texapplawpod), subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, and reach out—we’d love to hear from you! Check us out on texapplawpod.buzzsprout.com and texapplawpod.com.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Jody and Todd have their first double-guest show with Kendyl Hanks and Kristen LaFreniere a/k/a KVP. They talk about their experiences with appellate practice, social media, and issues affecting women practicing law. They also discuss the #LadyLawyerDiaries phenomenon on social media and bringing the legal community together to improve the practice of law for women and other underrepresented groups. Please contact Todd and Jody with questions, suggestions, or feedback on the episodes: Todd todd@appealsplus.com Jody jody.sanders@kellyhart.com Information on items discussed: Kendyl Hanks: https://www.gtlaw.com/en/professionals/h/hanks-kendyl-t Twitter: @hankskendyl Kristen LaFreniere: https://davidsonsheen.com/lubbock-attorneys/kristen-vander-plas-esq/ Twitter: @KVPTexas Judge Don Willett: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Willett Lady Lawyer Diaries on Twitter: #LadyLawyerDiaries @LadyLawyerDiary Professor Rachel Gurvich: https://law.unc.edu/people/rachel-i-gurvich/ Twitter: @RachelGurvich Jamie Santos: https://www.goodwinlaw.com/professionals/s/santos-jaime Twitter: @Jaime_ASantos Alyssa Leader: Twitter @alittleleader Please follow us on Twitter (@dtoddsmith @jodyssanders @texapplawpod) and Facebook (@texapplawpod), subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, and reach out—we’d love to hear from you! Check us out on texapplawpod.buzzsprout.com and texapplawpod.com.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Todd and Jody talk with the first out-of-state guest, Jeff Richardson, a Louisiana appellate attorney and the person behind the website iPhone J.D. Jeff talks about integrating technology into litigation and appeals, and the many ways that an iPad can streamline appellate practice, from initial preparation to oral argument. Please contact Todd and Jody with questions, suggestions, or feedback on the episodes: Todd todd@appealsplus.com Jody jody.sanders@kellyhart.com Information on items discussed: Jeff Richardson: https://www.adamsandreese.com/people/jeffrey-richardson Jeff’s website, a great resource for integrating Apple technology into your practice: https://www.iphonejd.com/ The Texas and Louisiana Board Certification programs: https://www.lsba.org/Specialization/AppellatePractice.aspx?Area=Standards https://www.tbls.org/specialtyarea/AP PdfExpert: https://pdfexpert.com/ Goodnotes: https://www.goodnotes.com/ TrialPad: https://www.litsoftware.com/trialpad/ TranscriptPad: https://www.litsoftware.com/transcriptpad/ The new Apple Keyboard that Todd is coveting: https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/18/21184929/apple-magic-keyboard-ipad-pro-trackpad-hinge-price-release-date Please follow us on Twitter (@dtoddsmith @jodyssanders @texapplawpod) and Facebook (@texapplawpod), subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, and reach out—we’d love to hear from you! Check us out on texapplawpod.buzzsprout.com and texapplawpod.com.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Todd and Jody talk with Justice Ken Wise, Fourteenth Court of Appeals, the original Texas appellate podcaster. Justice Wise talks about his career on and off the bench, his Texas-history podcast, Wise About Texas, and things he has learned serving on both the trial and appellate benches. Please contact Todd and Jody with questions, suggestions, or feedback on the episodes: Todd todd@appealsplus.com Jody jody.sanders@kellyhart.com Information on items discussed: Justice Ken Wise: http://www.txcourts.gov/14thcoa/about-the-court/justices/justice-ken-wise/ Twitter: @judgewise Wise About Texas, a great Texas history resource: http://wiseabouttexas.com/ Twitter: @wiseabouttexas The Semicolon Court—when punctuation caused a constitutional crisis: https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jps01 Texas Supreme Court Historical Society: https://www.texascourthistory.org/ Taming Texas project: http://www.tamingtexas.org/ Please follow us on Twitter (@dtoddsmith @jodyssanders @texapplawpod) and Facebook (@texapplawpod), subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, and reach out—we’d love to hear from you! Check us out on texapplawpod.buzzsprout.com and texapplawpod.com.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Todd and Jody talk with Former Justice Scott Field, Third Court of Appeals, about transitioning from the bench to private practice and judicial mental health. Justice Field shares insights from the bench on effective advocacy and opens up about difficult times that judges have from some of the issues that they face. Please contact Todd and Jody with questions, suggestions, or feedback on the episodes: Todd todd@appealsplus.com Jody jody.sanders@kellyhart.com Information on items discussed: Scott Field: https://www.butlersnow.com/attorney/scott-field/ On Twitter: @ScottKingField Texas’s Third Court of Appeals in Austin: http://www.txcourts.gov/3rdcoa.aspx Justice Raul Gonzalez, who Todd and Scott clerked for: http://www.justiceraulgonzalez.com/ Amanda Taylor, Scott’s partner and another great appellate lawyer: https://www.butlersnow.com/attorney/amanda-taylor/ The Austin Lawyer article (p. 12): https://www.austinbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/AL_Feb2020_loRes.pdf The Texas Lawyer article: https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2020/02/27/the-mental-challenges-judges-face/?slreturn=20200231130747 Erica Grigg, Texas Lawyers Assistance Program: https://www.tlaphelps.org/ Please follow us on Twitter (@dtoddsmith @jodyssanders @texapplawpod) and Facebook (@texapplawpod), subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, and reach out—we’d love to hear from you! Check us out on texapplawpod.buzzsprout.com and texapplawpod.com.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

A fundamental shift is happening in courtrooms throughout the state in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. More and more judges have taken to allowing remote appearances to promote continued social distancing and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders speak with Judge Emily Miskel of the 470th District Court of Collin County, Texas about her experience with integrating remote hearings through technology. As more courts adopt these practices to keep their dockets moving, it’s important to get more familiar with the technology and decorum for this “new normal,” so don’t miss out on the wisdom that Judge Miskel has to share.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on our institutions on a systemic level, but technology has helped bridge gaps so business and life can go on. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders interview Blake Hawthorne, the Texas Supreme Court Clerk, about the Court’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Blake discusses the emergency orders the Court has issued, access to courts, and tips for remote law practice in this “new normal,” so you definitely ought to listen to what he has to say!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube