“We have just anything you could think of,” Amy Small says of the Texas State Law Library, where she is executive director. Open to all—no attorney license required—the library serves everyday Texans and the Supreme Court alike. In this
Texas Appellate Counsel, published by D. Todd Smith, focuses on appellate advocacy and strategic consulting for trial lawyers across Texas. The blog covers topics such as preserving appellate issues, handling complex legal motions, and trial support strategies to position cases for success at every litigation stage. It provides analysis of appellate court procedures, including changes in Texas Supreme Court rules, mandamus petitions, and appellate briefing. The blog also discusses practical trial court issues like attorney fees, jury charges, dispositive motions, and supersedeas bonds. Additionally, it features insights on legal technology, case notifications, and professional development within appellate practice. The content includes podcast episodes with interviews of judges and attorneys, offering perspectives on appellate law and trial court interactions.
“We have just anything you could think of,” Amy Small says of the Texas State Law Library, where she is executive director. Open to all—no attorney license required—the library serves everyday Texans and the Supreme Court alike. In this…
This is the fourth post in the Flipping the Script series, drawn from Episode 162 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. The series examines what Texas appellate courts could do to make appellate practice better.
If you practice appellate law…
Election law in Texas is “very demanding” and “stressful because of the accelerated nature of the calendar,” says Elizabeth D. Alvarez. Elizabeth is head of civil litigation/election litigation at Guest & Gray and a 12-year election litigation practitioner who…
Judge Amy Clark Meachum, the Local Administrative Judge for Travis County, joins hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to unpack recent legislation affecting the Texas judiciary and what it means for how courts operate today. Judge Meachum traces the…
This is the third post in a series I’m calling “Flipping the Script,” inspired by Episode 162 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. The series examines what Texas appellate courts could do to make appellate practice better.
There’s a conversation…
This is the second post in a series I’m calling “Flipping the Script,” inspired by Episode 162 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. The series examines what Texas appellate courts could do to make appellate practice better.
The civil appellate…
When a lawyer messes up by using an AI platform that produces mistakes, they might get sanctioned by a judge. When a judge messes up using an AI platform, “it could become precedent. So, it’s a much different conversation.” Judge…
This is the first post in a series I’m calling “Flipping the Script,” inspired by Episode 162 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. The series examines what Texas appellate courts could do to make appellate practice better.
Two Texas Supreme…
I have clients who don’t know where I live. Not my home address—the city.
That reality became clear when I recently saw a client in person for the first time since before we started working together several years ago. Great…
The final version of rewritten Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 166a—the summary judgment rule—became effective March 1, 2026. In this episode, Michael Duncan, an appellate and motions practitioner in Austin who clerked for a Texas Supreme Court justice, unpacks…