Public-interest litigation is not for the faint of heart. So often, attorneys find themselves battling opponents with resources and influence or precedent that makes it difficult to prevail. But fighting to preserve rights and help vulnerable clients provides many different rewards. In this episode, Jody Sanders and Todd Smith interview Hannah Mullen, a staff attorney at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Legal Defense Fund (CAIR LDF), about practicing public-interest litigation and its benefits and challenges. Hannah also shares her experience as a fellow in the Georgetown Immersion Clinic and her perspective on trial versus appellate practice.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »A special thanks to our sponsors:Court Surety Bond AgencyThomson ReutersProudly presented by Butler Snow LLPJoin the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterYouTube

Few judges in the Texas court system can claim to have served at every level—trial court, appellate court, and Texas Supreme Court. But this week’s guest, Justice Jane Bland, has done all three! Her career of service to the people of Texas gives her a unique perspective on how the judicial system should work. Justice Bland joins Jody Sanders and Todd Smith to talk about her career path, from her journey as a Fifth Circuit clerk who later went into private practice with her mentor, and through the Texas judicial system. She also discusses efforts by her and other stakeholders to make the justice system more accessible to people with mental disabilities and her role as liaison to the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »A special thanks to our sponsors:Court Surety Bond AgencyThomson ReutersProudly presented by Butler Snow LLPJoin the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterYouTube

For many attorneys, the prospect of a U.S. Supreme Court argument serves as the capstone of a legal career. But for a select few, like Kannon Shanmugam, chair of Paul Weiss’s Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group, arguing before the Supreme Court is a regular occurrence. Kannon joins Jody Sanders and Todd Smith to discuss his path to Supreme Court advocacy and some of the unique challenges it offers. Kannon also discusses the stiff competition for Supreme Court-bound cases and breaks down advocacy tips for attorneys at every level of the court system. Join us to learn more about practicing before the nation’s highest court.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »A special thanks to our sponsors:Court Surety Bond AgencyThomson ReutersProudly presented by Butler Snow LLPJoin the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterYouTube

The U.S. Supreme Court always remains newsworthy, but the last few years have brought unprecedented change to the institution and the public’s perception of it. Greg Stohr, the Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg News, has maintained a front-row seat for more than two decades. In this episode, Greg joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to recount some of his firsthand observations of history in the making, including his award-winning coverage of the Court’s Bush v. Gore decision. He also recounts his career from law school to journalism, the 2012 case on Obamacare, the CIA leak, and more. Greg then gives his insights on the differences between journalistic writing and legal writing and shares his opinions on the implications of issues currently before the Supreme Court.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »A special thanks to our sponsors:Court Surety Bond AgencyThomson ReutersProudly presented by Butler Snow LLPJoin the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterYouTube

Judicial clerkships have traditionally served an important role in helping attorneys transition into practice and learn from experienced judges and practitioners. But the power imbalance between judge and clerk and the cloak of confidentiality surrounding judicial proceedings sometimes puts clerks in bad situations. Further, employment laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 do not apply to the judicial branch. Aliza Shatzman, Co-Founder and President of The Legal Accountability Project, talks to Jody Sanders and Todd Smith about how she’s working to change that. Aliza advocates throughout the United States for passage of the Judiciary Accountability Act (JAA), which would extend Title VII to federal judicial employees. She also is working through the Legal Accountability Project to collect and provide clerk-based reporting of clerkship experiences in a database available to law students. Join us for a discussion with Aliza about how changes to the clerkship process and judiciary can improve the clerking experience.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »A special thanks to our sponsors:Court Surety Bond AgencyThomson ReutersProudly presented by Butler Snow LLPJoin the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterYouTube

Any Texas attorney who has been to a legal writing CLE knows Chad Baruch of Johnston Tobey Baruch. Chad has taught countless attorneys throughout the United States how to provide engaging and analytical briefing in both trial and appellate courts. In this episode, he joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to share some of his tips and insights for improving your written product, such as the body of the brief, table of contents, flow of the argument, headings, statement of facts, choice of words, and many more. He also shares his journey into appellate law and different adventures he’s had along the way.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »A special thanks to our sponsors:Court Surety Bond AgencyThomson ReutersProudly presented by Butler Snow LLPJoin the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterYouTube

Conducting an effective voir dire is both a science and an art. But ensuring that attorneys ask the correct questions to support challenges and objections requires careful planning and strategy. It also requires on-the-spot evaluations of the individual jurors and their responses. To help attorneys obtain the best jury panel, Robert Swafford, an attorney and jury consultant, created the Strike for Cause jury-selection method. Robert talks with Todd Smith and Jody Sanders about jury selection and the opportunities it presents for both trial and appellate attorneys. Robert also discusses ways that attorneys can use venire challenges and error preservation to prepare for and conduct their examination.  Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »A special thanks to our sponsors:Court Surety Bond AgencyThomson ReutersProudly presented by Butler Snow LLPJoin the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterYouTube

Texas Supreme Court Justice Evan Young’s career has taken him many different places—the United States Supreme Court, Iraq, and now the Texas Supreme Court. Join Todd Smith and Jody Sanders as they host Justice Young for a discussion of his path in the law and his transition from practitioner to judge. Justice Young provides a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on the Texas Supreme Court and its operations. He also discusses potential changes in how the Court handles petitions for review—including granting a petition before requesting merits briefing—that will impact the approach advocates should take.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »A special thanks to our sponsors:Court Surety Bond AgencyThomson ReutersProudly presented by Butler Snow LLPJoin the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterYouTube

This week, co-hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders celebrate the Texas Appellate Law Podcast’s 100th episode! When they started the podcast just before the pandemic hit in 2020, neither of them could have imagined how much they would learn, how much fun they would have, and all the great people they would meet. To celebrate, Todd and Jody count down their top ten tips from their guests—from finding your niche to riding out the arc of despair—and a few bonuses. Please join us to celebrate and hear some of the best the podcast has to offer, plus some takeaways and gratitude!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »A special thanks to our sponsors:Court Surety Bond AgencyThomson ReutersProudly presented by Butler Snow LLPJoin the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterYouTube

Some lawyers start their career knowing that they want to change the legal landscape. One way to make an impact is to embrace legal technology, including artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. This week, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders talk with Rocky Dhir, founder of Atlas Legal Research, about legal innovations and how he scaled his business to meet the changing legal market. Learn how Rocky got his internship with Judge Buchmeyer by doing celebrity impersonations. Find out what he does in Atlas, like writing legal briefs and his side job hosting the Texas Bar Podcast.  Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »A special thanks to our sponsors:Court Surety Bond AgencyThomson ReutersProudly presented by Butler Snow LLPJoin the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterYouTube