Episodes

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 Smith and Jody Sanders to discuss how attorneys can find the right balance for themselves in the law. Karen talks about ways to ...

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 this week’s episode, Jonah trades his role as a podcast host for that of a podcast guest. Sitting down with Todd...

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 Appellate Division of the Bexar County District Attorney’s office. Andrew discusses his background and pa...

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, programmer, and lawyer, Matthew Butterick. Through books like Typography for Lawyers and Practical Typography, Ma...

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 people don’t consider. They share experiences both passing and preventing bills, and how lobbyists can help shape legislation t...

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 pandemic, and more. The discussion includes revisions to Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Section 38.001, which now cove...

Most appellate practitioners deal with direct appeals from trial court rulings. But criminal practitioners know that direct appeals are only part of the process. At the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, writ practice takes up a large portion of the docket. Todd Smith and Jody Sanders sit down with an expert on writ practice, Michael Falkenberg, Supervising Attorney at the Court of Criminal Appeals. Michael overviews the types of writs the Court considers and how the process works. He also explain...

Over the last several decades, appellate practice has transitioned from a part of general legal practice into its own discrete specialty. Luther T. Munford, an attorney in Butler Snow LLP’s appellate and written advocacy group, has been a part of that specialization and has directly influenced its development over the last 40 years, including a term as the President of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. From clerkships on the Fifth Circuit and the US Supreme Court, Luther has seen appell...

In this week's episode, co-hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders visit about ways in which the podcast has helped them engage with other media, including hosting Twitter Spaces with previous guests, appearances on other podcasts, and interviews for online publications. They also discuss their upcoming live oral arguments and try out a "mailbag" segment by answering a question posed over Twitter. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast C...

As technology improves, it opens new opportunities to change the way attorneys practice. From rethinking roles, tasks, and strategies to providing assistance in ways we’ve never contemplated, each year brings new opportunities for change. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders talk to one of the people leading the technological revolution in law, Jake Heller, co-founder and CEO of CaseText. Jake explains his background in technology and law and how it led him and others to develop CaseText...

For more than a century, oil and gas has remained the backbone of Texas’s economic growth. Despite repeated rumors that oil and gas is on the way out as an energy source, the industry continues to adapt and grow to meet new economic and technological developments. As a result, disputes over oil and gas remain an important part of Texas jurisprudence, something that today’s guest, Wesley Lloyd of Freeman Mills, PC, follows closely. Wesley’s practice focuses on litigation and appeals in energy, wa...

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While emerging technology has created new opportunities for the way both lawyers and the public interact with the judicial system, judges haven’t been left behind. On today’s show, Judge John Owens of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders, along with special guest co-host M.C. Sungaila, to discuss just how technology has helped from a judicial perspective. Judge Owens discusses how judges can embrace technology to better engage with attorneys at oral argument and pre...

While trial and appellate practice are different in many ways, attorneys who understand each one are better at both. On the criminal side, Jim Huggler has managed to balance both a trial and appellate practice representing criminal defendants in state and federal courts. This week, he joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to discuss his practice in the different forums, his experience as course director for TexasBarCLE’s Handling Your First (or Next) Criminal Appeal program, and his study of the rea...

When faced with a new legal issue, having a reliable resource to provide background information and a starting point for research is key. These resources create efficiency for clients and allow attorneys to get up to speed quickly in fast-moving matters. But, legal publishing companies have to ensure that the information they provide is trustworthy, user-friendly, and up-to-date in an ever-evolving legal world. Todd Smith and Jody Sanders address the process of writing and compiling legal refere...

Any serious Texas Supreme Court follower knows that the Court isn’t the only institution in that courthouse. Osler McCarthy, the Court’s staff attorney for public information, is another one. Many court watchers wait eagerly on Friday mornings for Osler’s order summary email before reading the Court’s opinions for themselves. But, that position did not even exist before Osler took it on and shaped it into what it is today. In this week’s episode, Osler joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to discus...

People often don’t realize the many nuances involved in criminal appeals. Direct appeals are only part of the process. Later writ applications can raise various issues, including ineffective assistance of counsel. This week, Judge Bert Richardson of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to talk about the many different paths criminal appeals and writs can take. Judge Richardson also discusses his role on Texas’s highest criminal court, the court’s pandemic respons...

COVID-19 created both challenges and solutions for courts and legal practitioners. Fortunately, many states, like Michigan, adapted quickly and were able to provide legal access throughout the pandemic. This week, Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack joins Jody Sanders and Todd Smith to discuss her state‘s response and the tremendous opportunities for increasing access to justice that the pandemic provided. Chief Justice McCormack details the impact that technology can have on ...

Most legal writers know about Ross Guberman, author and founder of Legal Writing Pro. Ross was one of the first legal writing instructors to work with law firms and practitioners across the country. Ross also developed BriefCatch, a software solution that helps legal writers make their briefs and motions better. In this week’s episode, Ross talks with Todd Smith and Jody Sanders about his teaching, his books on legal and judicial opinion writing, and BriefCatch—all with the aim to improve writte...

As a practitioner, federal magistrate, and now Tenth Circuit judge, Judge Robert Bacharach has seen many different types of legal writing. Recognizing that legal writing can always improve, he studied both historical writing and oratory alongside the science of psycholinguistics and found a new way to help legal writers better their craft. In this week’s episode, Judge Bacharach joins Jody Sanders and Todd Smith to share the ideas he compiled in his book, Legal Writing: A Judge's Perspective on ...

The inner workings of courts of appeals are sometimes hard to understand from the outside. Staff attorneys play a critical role in screening cases, assisting the justices, and helping the court handle its workload. This week, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders get an inside look at that process from their guest, the El Paso Court of Appeals’ Chief Staff Attorney, Kirk Cooper. Kirk gives an insider’s view of how the El Paso Court works, how it has handled challenges from the pandemic, and his background...

If the COVID-19 pandemic taught attorneys anything, it’s that technology can change the practice of law and maximize efficiency in ways we never thought possible. But, even before the pandemic, lawyers and innovators were looking at how technology can benefit legal practice. In this week’s episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders visit with Jacqueline Schafer, founder and CEO of Clearbrief, about how her company has combined artificial-intelligence technology with brief writing to help both the lawy...

Unlike many states, Texas has separate high courts for civil and criminal cases. Criminal practitioners follow the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals closely because its decisions impact criminal law in every corner of the state. As a former appellate prosecutor, Judge David Newell brings a unique perspective to that Court. Judge Newell joins Jody Sanders and Todd Smith in this episode to discuss his background, his experience as a prosecutor, and his path to running for statewide election as a fir...

Transitioning from private practice to the bench is an adjustment even in the best of times. But First Court of Appeals Justice April Farris made the switch in the middle of a pandemic when court operations and proceedings were fully remote. In this week's episode, Justice Farris joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to talk about her experiences in the Texas Solicitor General's office, private practice, and as a new appellate justice. She shares insights on helping the court solve problems and ways...