Episodes

Traditionally, the path to appellate practice often came through a judicial clerkship. But, in recent years, lawyers have worked to forge alternative routes. Mia Lorick, a partner at Locke Lord in Houston, is one of those lawyers. With a background in fine arts, Mia paved her own way into both trial and appellate practice by actively seeking out advocacy opportunities. In this week's episode, Mia shares her journey and offers tips for other lawyers and law students looking to establish themselve...

While this podcast focuses primarily on civil appeals, criminal appellate practice takes up a significant portion of appellate court dockets. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders explore criminal appellate work with Naomi Howard, a Houston criminal defense attorney with Rusty Hardin & Associates. Passionate about criminal defense since her law school days, Naomi has handled defense and appellate work in Texas and federal courts, including the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Naomi discus...

Judges, particularly appellate judges, don't get much public interaction in their jobs. So, judges are learning to use social media to connect with and educate the public about their roles. Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Dillard has helped blaze that trail, adopting the mantra that, “If you're a judge and you're not on social media, that's political malpractice.” In this week's episode, Judge Dillard explains why it’s crucial for judges to be actively engaged on social media or to use th...

As courts tentatively start to reopen in person, the extent to which remote proceedings will remain is uncertain. But when COVID-19 shuttered courthouses everywhere, Travis County, Texas took the lead in providing courthouse access virtually. This episode features Judge Karin Crump, of Travis County's 250th District Court, and covers her leadership and experience paving the way for remote proceedings and some of the first virtual jury trials in the nation. Judge Crump discusses how the Travis Co...

The mixing of politics and judicial selection has been a part of Texas history from the beginning. Political parties continue to influence judicial appointments and elections, and money is always a significant factor. In recent years, though, many have sought to reform the system. In this week's episode, former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to discuss the various reform efforts, including the work of the Texas Commission on Judicial Selection. C...

The law in general and appellate practice, in particular, suffer from a lack of diversity. The traditional barriers to both law and appellate practice have left many students of color and first-generation law students lacking opportunities and access to the profession. Luckily, organizations like The Appellate Project recognize this problem and seek to change it. Todd Smith and Jody Sanders sit down with Juvaria Khan to discuss her creation of The Appellate Project, which seeks to provide more s...

In recent years, the amount of time lawyers spend in court and talking to judges has shrunk. As a result, an attorney’s credibility with judges has become increasingly important. Likewise, presenting clear, concise briefing and arguments helpful to judges and their staff has become critical. Rachel Stinson of Wright Close & Barger in Houston has a unique perspective on both issues, having spent time both in private practice and as a staff attorney at a state court of appeals and a federal distri...

Texas's Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney (SPA) may be one of the most important state agencies you didn't know. The SPA is an independent agency that represents the State of Texas before the state's highest criminal court, the Court of Criminal Appeals. While the Texas Solicitor General appears in both state and federal courts, the SPA focuses on monitoring cases of interest throughout the courts of appeals and handling petitions and writs to the CCA. John Messinger, one of the SPA's att...

Trial lawyers and appellate lawyers have different skill sets that compliment each other's practices. But some trial lawyers feel equally at home in both the trial and appellate courts. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders talk to their first trial attorney guest, Carlos Soltero, about his experiences in both courts. Carlos offers his perspective as a trial lawyer on appellate practice, revealing how he handles his own appeals, where most of his work comes from, and how he is doing in th...

Season 1 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast wrapped up with our 50th episode, featuring M.C. Sungaila. We've continued to interview outstanding guests while on hiatus, and we're happy to share that we'll be resuming regular weekly episodes again soon. We're looking forward to trying new things and (hopefully) recording some episodes live and in-person during our second season! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:...

It's difficult for new lawyers to transition into legal practice, but appellate practice is especially tough. This sometimes deters firms from investing the time and resources necessary to train new appellate attorneys, particularly when they are between law school and future clerkships. But, M.C. Sungaila, head of the appellate practice group at Buchalter, has developed a pilot fellowship program that seeks to address these issues. M.C. joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders in this week's episode t...

While they share the Red River as a border, Texas and Oklahoma have lots of differences in their court systems—different court structures, different judicial selection processes, and different federal circuits. But they share one important similarity—they each have a podcast devoted to appellate practice. In a crossover episode between the Texas Appellate Law Podcast and the Oklahoma Appeals podcast, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders sit down with lawyers Gabe Bass and Jana Knott to discuss practicing...

For over a decade, the Texas Supreme Court has tightened the proof necessary to recover attorney fees in Texas. That, coupled with Legislative expansion of fee shifting, makes understanding the standard even more important. This is particularly true about appellate fees, which, unlike federal court, must be estimated and proven before the appeal. This week, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders discuss the evolution of attorney-fee proof in Texas and ways attorneys can make the best record for both trial ...

Every other year, the Texas Legislature meets to take on the State’s challenges. Few people follow that process more closely that Jerry Bullard of Adams, Lynch, and Loftin. Jerry’s years of experience and newsletter keep legal practitioners throughout the state on top of bills and laws that affect the way they practice. In his spare time, Jerry also chairs the State Bar Appellate Section. This week, he talks to Todd Smith and Jody Sanders about bills and potential legislative issues affecting le...

While some counties have many district courts, some district courts have many counties. Few judges have a larger territory to cover than Judge Roy Ferguson of the 394th District Court. Given the size of his district, with few local attorneys, Judge Ferguson served as one of the early adopters of remote proceedings when COVID-19 hit. In this conversation with hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders, he shares how the adoption of virtual technology improved access to justice in his district and benefitt...

Growing up in meager circumstances, Judge Don Willett never imagined he would serve as the Tweeter Laureate of Texas or, more notably, as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court and now on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Willett credits his rise to the work ethic and sacrifices of his mother—a widow who worked long hours as a waitress to support him. Judge Willett applied that work ethic in both legal and policy jobs that put him on the path to the bench. In this week's episode, Judge Wil...

Although private civil appellate practice can be its own niche, there are many ways to do it—solo or in a boutique, mid-sized firm, or large firm. While the basics remain the same, the individual experience may vary greatly depending on the practice setting. Todd Smith and Jody Sanders sit down with Reagan Simpson of Yetter Coleman LLP to compare and contrast each of their experiences in various practice settings. Both Todd and Reagan started at large firms, with Reagan transitioning through var...

Legal writing and literary writing share a common goal—telling stories in a way that engages the reader. But too often, legal briefs get bogged down in detail and technical language. This causes the brief to lose both the story and the reader. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders talk with appellate attorney Jason Steed about how his experiences in creative writing and as an English professor help him prepare legal briefs that combine story with clear, concise legal writing. Jason also d...

For years, appellate attorneys and judges have stayed on top of the latest appellate news with the How Appealing blog. Howard Bashman, the attorney behind the blog, joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to share his journey into appellate law and starting his blog. Howard’s career has seen the full spectrum, starting as a clerk for Judge William Hutchinson of the Third Circuit, working at various sized firms, and finally settling into solo practice. Howard shares stories about maintaining a successf...

When representing clients, attorneys often think of constitutional rights only in terms of the federal constitution. But this narrow focus leaves out the 50 state constitutions, which can offer different and more protective rights than their federal counterpart. From his experience as Ohio Solicitor General through his time on the 6th Circuit, Judge Jeffrey Sutton has seen the impact that state constitutions can have on the rule of law. In his 2018 book, 51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Ma...

Mental health is an important topic that often goes unaddressed in the legal profession. Yet, one study revealed that nearly half the lawyers surveyed had struggled at some point with depression. Now more than ever, in this time of the pandemic, we need to bring awareness to mental-health issues and promote lawyer well-being. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders are joined by the Director of the Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program, Chris Ritter. Chris shares his own struggle with alcohol a...

Technology has changed the practice of law in recent years, but the COVID-19 pandemic completely upended it. Remote court proceedings became the norm overnight. For many attorneys, this change required rethinking the way we practice. Few people have spent as much time examining and critiquing these new proceedings as SMU Law Professor Elizabeth Thornburg and her research team. She joins Jody Sanders and Todd Smith in this week’s episode to talk about their study, the findings, and ways attorneys...

Judge Dustin Howell of Travis County’s 200th District Court took a different path to the trial bench than most. Starting as a Spanish major, he entered the corporate world before going to law school. After law school, he took an appellate path, with a Texas Supreme Court clerkship, private practice, and time at the Texas Solicitor General’s office before ascending to the trial bench. Judge Howell joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders in this week’s episode to talk about how his appellate experience ...

Attorneys—in particular appellate attorneys—spend much of their time thinking about and engaging in legal writing. And, as jury trials and hearings become less frequent, legal writing takes on an increasingly outsized role in deciding legal disputes. So often, though, those attorneys had to learn many of their legal writing skills on the job. But, legal writing education has changed and continues to adapt to teach law students new and better methods for providing the best possible work product. ...