Texas Appellate Law Podcast

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 y...

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 mark...

Many attorneys start their careers in a law firm setting. Often, those roles require working with in-house counsel to provide legal services to a company. How can attorneys transition from a client service role into working directly for the client? Join Todd Smith and Jody Sanders as they visit with  Karen Delaney  of  Delaney Legal PLLC  about her experience going from law fir...

For the lucky few who get them, U.S. Supreme Court clerkships provide a lifetime of memories in a single year. But imagine if your clerkship included not only working for a Supreme Court Justice, but also with a future Supreme Court Justice. For  Professor Erin Busby , the Co-Director of the Supreme Court Clinic at the  University of Texas School of Law , that turned into a reality when...

Serving clients as their advocate takes a toll—mentally, emotionally, and physically.  Bree Buchanan , Senior Advisor at  Krill Strategies  and former director of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program, is all too familiar with this problem. After years of representing clients in traumatic cases, Bree relied on alcohol to cope. As she began her recovery, Bree developed a passion for...

The military veteran community has lots of legal needs, including legal assistance in handling veterans’ claims stemming from their service. These brave men and women often lack access to experienced advocates to help in this area, including the appellate process. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders discuss veterans’ claims and appeals with Chris Attig , a founding partner of At...

While lawyers are used to reading and speaking legalese, breaking complex legal concepts into digestible bits is a talent not all lawyers have. But, with legal issues and court proceedings frequently in the news, it’s becoming an increasingly necessary skill set. This is particularly true when attorneys need to speak to the media about legal issues and cases. This episode’s guest, David Coale , a...

Employment cases present unique challenges in both state and federal courts. Attorneys who practice in that area have to operate comfortably in both forums and understand some of the traps that less experienced practitioners might miss. Sole practitioner Jason Smith has been practicing employment law in trial and appellate courts for most of his career. Jason joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to d...

This episode features the Texas Appellate Law Podcast’s first three-time guest, M.C. Sungaila . She joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to discuss her new podcast,  The Portia Project , which chronicles the careers of women judges and lawyers and their impact on the legal profession. M.C. discusses what drove her new project, as well as her goal of inspiring a new generation of women lawye...

To practicing attorneys, the pandemic seemed to change the legal system overnight. These changes, along with preexisting systemic issues, underlie the mental-health crises that affect attorneys throughout the profession—depression, anxiety, burnout, and substance abuse. Attorneys need to acknowledge and understand those conditions, as well as how to address them properly. This episode fe...

Attorneys sometimes struggle to set themselves apart from their peers. One way is to find a niche and develop expertise. This is true for appellate lawyers, who, though already focused on appellate law, can cultivate unique areas of knowledge within that specialty. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders find out what it takes to carve out a niche with non-compete and trade-secret l...

Sometimes an appellate attorney’s most important work never reaches an appellate court. Appellate counsel can play a critical part in trial court proceedings—helping make a record, making legal arguments, and assisting trial counsel with issues that might come up on appeal.  Kirk Pittard , one of the founders of Durham, Pittard & Spalding, LLP , relishes that role. He specialize...

The right to criminal defense counsel is a cornerstone of our justice system. This is particularly true in federal courts, where the stakes in criminal trials are very high. One of the ways we meet this constitutional guarantee is through the federal public defender system, which provides trial, appellate, and post-conviction services to criminal defendants in federal courts. In this episode, Todd...

Texas attorneys know the Pattern Jury Charges as valuable guide to properly instructing a jury at trial. But most don’t know all the work that goes into creating and updating the various volumes. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders visit with  Judge Dan Hinde , Chair of the State Bar’s Pattern Jury Charge Oversight Committee, about the process by which new editions are deve...

The Texas Bar is a self-regulating entity—it handles attorney discipline through a unique procedural process. Although most attorneys steer clear of professional discipline, it’s important for practitioners to know about the disciplinary system and how it works. This week, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders sit down with an expert on this topic,  Seana Willing , Chief Disciplinary Counsel for t...

As 2021 comes to a close, co-hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders pause to thank listeners and followers of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. During the holiday break, we recommend revisiting our 2020 interview with Chris Ritter on Well-Being Strategies for the Pandemic and the Holidays . See you in 2022!   Love the show?  Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » A special thanks to...

Although Texas has more than 100,000 licensed attorneys, many of its residents’ legal needs remain unmet. This is particularly true in appellate courts, where fewer attorneys practice. Luckily, Texas lawyers, judges, and bar leaders have worked to connect unrepresented litigants with counsel willing to handle their appeals pro bono. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders visit...

As technology becomes more sophisticated, so too do the security issues its users encounter. These challenges impact attorneys and law firms particularly, as they regularly deal with confidential data and privileged information. Often, however, attorneys and law firms remain unaware or unprepared for potential traps. But there are resources to address these threats.  That's wha...

People take many paths into the practice of law. These varied experiences provide important perspectives that enrich and improve the legal industry. This week, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders talk with Texas Supreme Court Justice Rebeca Huddle about her path to legal practice and, ultimately, a place on Texas’s highest civil court. Justice Huddle discusses her experience as a teacher, in pri...

Balancing professional obligations with self-care is a major challenge for lawyers. It’s easy for attorneys to overload themselves with work, activities, and commitments, often stretching themselves too thin and straining their personal relationships. This week, Karen Vladeck a partner at  Wittliff | Cutter PLLC  and co-host of the  In Loco Parent(i)s , podcast, joins Todd Smit...

There are many different ways to practice law and many types of law to practice. Law students and young attorneys often don’t know where to turn for advice about their options. Luckily, in addition to his teaching and scholarship,  Jonah Perlin , a Legal Practice Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, provides a unique resource for the public through his How I Lawyer Podcast...

In Texas, district attorneys’ offices appear as counsel in the courts of appeals more than almost any other litigant. Beyond simply appealing or defending appeals, district attorneys have unique responsibilities as prosecutors that impact the positions they take and the arguments they make. In this week’s episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders sit down with Andrew Warthen , an attorney with the Appe...

Attorneys spend a lot of time choosing the right words to use in briefs and motions. But they often neglect thinking about how their words actually look on the page. Layout and typography can impact how legal work product is perceived and read. This week, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders interview an expert on how lawyers can combine solid arguments with visual appeal—writer, typographer...

Lobbying can have an outsized influence on which bills get passed and, sometimes more importantly, which ones do not. But many people don’t know what lobbyists actually do. In this week’s episode, Amy Bresnen  and  Steve Bresnen  of Bresnen Associates explain to Todd Smith and Jody Sanders how their careers combine legislation, public policy, and advocacy in ways that most...

This week, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders welcome back  Jerry Bullard , an attorney at  Adams, Lynch & Loftin, PC ,  for a rundown on new statutes from the Texas Legislature’s regular and special sessions that affect trial and appellate practitioners. In this episode, you'll receive updates on bills concerning business organizations, healthcare for medical workers during the COVID...