About a year ago, I released a video entitled “Automated Certificates of Service Are Coming.” The wait is over. As of this week, automated certificates of service will be rolled out in every Texas court set up for e-filing.
What is an automated certificate of service?
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21a(e) and
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Virtual Jury Trials Are Here to Stay . . . for Now
For a while, we seemed headed toward resuming in-person jury trials here in Travis County. A few live trials took place under the civil district judges’ pilot program, including a two-week proceeding before Judge Amy Clark Meachum that resulted in a record-setting plaintiff’s verdict.
With the rise and persistence of the Delta variant, the Travis…
Attorney Fees for Seeking Attorney Fees?
I’ve been thinking about attorney fees a lot lately, mostly from the perspective of how clients can recover and hold onto appellate-fee awards approximating what defending an appeal would actually cost. Doing so is no small feat, given that trial lawyers tend to ask for too little, fact-finders often decline to award the full amount…
What Is the Deadline for Filing a Mandamus Petition?
I get this question periodically. The short answer is that the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure don’t impose a deadline. But that doesn’t mean a relator (a party wishing to challenge a trial court’s order by filing a petition for writ of mandamus) can delay pursuing mandamus relief indefinitely.
Rooted in Equity
Mandamus is an…
A Rohrmoos Guess? Proving Conditional Appellate Attorney Fees
In Rohrmoos Venture v. UTSW DVA Healthcare, 578 S.W.3d 469 (Tex. 2019), the Texas Supreme Court adopted the lodestar method for proving reasonable and necessary attorney fees when seeking an award under a fee-shifting contractual or statutory provision.
The lodestar is the product of two factual determinations: the reasonable hours worked and the reasonable hourly…
A Rohrmoos Guess? Proving Conditional Appellate Attorney Fees
In Rohrmoos Venture v. UTSW DVA Healthcare, 578 S.W.3d 469 (Tex. 2019), the Texas Supreme Court adopted the lodestar method for proving reasonable and necessary attorney fees when seeking an award under a fee-shifting contractual or statutory provision.
The lodestar is the product of two factual determinations: the reasonable hours worked and the reasonable hourly…
Adaptable Focus Is the Key to Long-Term Practice Success
Fourteen years ago this month, I left Big Law and went out on my own.
I was a “true solo” at first. I was fortunate to find an office sublease downtown, so I wasn’t completely alone. I had a few clients, but no staff, no one to answer my phone, and no dedicated support. I…
When Will Jury Trials Resume in Texas?
I’ve heard this question asked repeatedly: When will jury trials resume here in Texas?
Several counties have issued emergency orders addressing the issue. For example, Travis County’s Second Amended Emergency Order Regarding COVID-19 postpones all jury trials scheduled before August 17, 2020. In a recent Austin Bar webinar covering this order, the judges’ message…
Appellate Courts Issue Blanket Briefing Extension Orders
The Texas appellate court websites suffered a ransomware attack on May 8, 2020. To minimize the damage, the Office of Court Administration immediately took the websites and the TAMES system offline.
This was a major event for both courts and practitioners. With the sites down, parties with pending appellate matters could not view online dockets,…
Do Appellate Deadlines Apply During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
To date, the Texas Supreme Court has issued thirteen emergency orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These orders have helped provide stability and set affected parties’ expectations about court proceedings and issues like child custody, evictions, garnishments, and attorney discipline during this unprecedented time.
But some confusion about court deadlines has persisted.
The first…