Episodes

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 h...

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 Proj...

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 ...

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...

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—inclu...

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 s...

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 Atl...

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 firm to in-house to solo practice. Karen provides advice for attorneys who are looking to change their practice or role and how...

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 her co-clerk, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, was confirmed to replace Justice Stephen Breyer. Professor Busby join...

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 helping other lawyers take care of their own well-being. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, Bree joins Todd Smi...

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 Attig, Curran, Steel. Chris and their team are some of our nation’s leading veterans’ advocates and are well-vers...

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 partner at Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann, LLP, has developed a talent for addressing hot legal topic...

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 discuss how he handles those cases and ways to thrive in solo practice. He also discusses the impact ...

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 lawyers and law students. Join us to hear about the podcast and how we can continue to make the legal profession more ...

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 features Katie Rose Guest Pryal, an author, educator, and attorney who researches and writes on disability and m...

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 litigation lawyer Zach Wolfe. Zach shares his experience in litigation and transitioning from working at a law ...

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 specializes in civil appeals, but spends much of his practice helping trial lawyers in state and federal trial courts. In this episo...

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 Smith and Jody Sanders talk with Matthew Wright, an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the North...

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 developed and published every two years. A board-certified civil trial lawyer who spent more than 10 years as judge of Ha...

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 the State Bar of Texas. Seana provides a helpful primer on the attorney disciplinary system and the number and ty...

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 our sponsors: Court Surety Bond Agency Thomson Reuters Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today: t...

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 with appellate specialist Michael Truesdale about pro bono appellate services and programs in Texas, Mike’s involv...

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 what Dennis Van Metre, this week’s guest, aims to do as Chief Information Officer at Vinson & Elkins in Houston. Dennis chat...

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 private practice with a large firm, as a Justice on Houston’s First Court of Appeals, and at the Texas Supreme Co...