Should our criminal courts exist to punish or reform those who have broken the law? Every case is unique, but in those involving mental health, a rehabilitative approach may be beneficial. Rocky Dhir talks with Judge Brent Carr about his long years of service in the Tarrant County Mental Health Court, which had the overarching goal of improving outcomes for people with mental illness impacted by Texas’ justice system. They discuss the efforts of the Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health, the Specialty Courts Advisory Counsel, and the programs that address mental health issues in many areas of the law, including cases involving sex trafficking, drug offenders, family law matters, veterans, and more.

The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors approved the nominations of Denise Scofield, of Houston, and Santos Vargas, of San Antonio, as president-elect candidates at its meeting on September 30, 2023. Texas lawyers will vote for the president-elect and district directors from April 1 to April 30. The winner will serve as president-elect from June 2024 to June 2025 and as president from June 2025 to June 2026. For more information, go to texasbar.com/elections. 

[The content for this episode was recorded as a live webcast video on March 26, 2024, at the Texas Law Center in Austin, TX.]

Since its inception in 2017, the Committee on Disciplinary Rules and Referenda has been charged with the examination of Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct and Rules of Disciplinary Procedure to determine rule adequacy and necessary changes. After extensive evaluation of existing rules, the committee proposed 12 new rules between 2021 and 2023 which Texas attorneys will now have the opportunity to vote on from April 1-30, 2024. 

Rocky Dhir talks with committee members Lewis Kinard (Chair), Judge Phyllis Martinez Gonzalez, and Scott Brumley, and former member Claude Ducloux about the proposed rules to help Texas legal professionals gain a better understanding of the purpose and implications of the suggested changes. For more information, including links to background information on each rule proposal, go to texasbar.com/rulesvote.

The Texas legislature recently enacted the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, which goes into effect on July 1, 2024. Lawyers have an urgent need to understand this new legislation and its coming impacts on their practice and clients. Rocky Dhir talks with Shawn Tuma, a widely recognized expert in cybersecurity and data privacy law, to help Texas attorneys understand the elements of this act and best practices in security for compliance with new regulations. 

Shawn Tuma is a partner at Spencer Fane LLP in Cyber Risk Management, Cyber Incident Response, and Cyber Security, Hacking and Data Breach Litigation.

AI has been around for a very long time, but 2023 was its renaissance, with ChatGPT and other AI technologies suddenly speeding forward with exponential growth. Attorneys and paralegals should be focused on learning and adapting to this quickly evolving technology to ensure competence in a world where AI is taking greater precedence. Rocky Dhir talks with paralegal Megan Goor-Peters and attorney Joshua Weaver about responsible AI use and its current impacts in legal practice. They address common concerns and discuss the hopeful merging of human and AI elements for greater efficiency and success in the future of our justice system. 

Megan Goor-Peters is a senior paralegal and property manager at Brender Law Firm in Fort Worth. Goor-Peters is the current State Bar of Texas Paralegal Division liaison to the Texas Bar College and a member of the State Bar Task Force for Responsible AI in The Law.

Joshua Weaver is Director of the Texas Opportunity & Justice Incubator (TOJI), a flagship program of the State Bar of Texas focused on supporting attorneys as they build sustainable solo practices serving low-income and modest-income communities.

There were a number of real estate cases in 2023, but only a few were notable enough to be of importance to all practitioners in this area of the law. Rocky Dhir welcomes Roland Love to discuss his article highlighting prominent 2023 real estate decisions in the December edition of the Texas Bar Journal. Roland gives an overview of these cases and their implications, covering PNC Mortgage v. Howard, Lennar Homes of Texas Land and Construction, Ltd. v. Whitely, Mitchell v. MAP Resources, Inc., and the rather humorous Pecos County Appraisal District v. Iraan-Sheffield ISD.

Read Roland’s full article here: Real Estate Law Year in Review 

Roland Love is the 2022 recipient of the State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate, and Trust Law Section Lifetime Achievement Award in Real Estate and the Texas Bar College Patrick A. Nester Award for Outstanding Achievement in CLE.

Mentorships can be very impactful in the lives of attorneys, leading to better lawyering and stronger law firms. As a profession, there is so much we can do to develop and encourage mentorships, and the October Texas Bar Journal examines this subject in detail. Rocky Dhir welcomes article authors Nikki Chargois-Allen, Denise Paul, and Regan Boyce to discuss their thoughts on mentor-mentee relationships and setting up mentoring programs for young lawyers. 

For real-life perspectives from a mentor-mentee pair, check out Nikki and Denise’s article: In Their Own Words: How To Be a Good Mentor and A Good Mentee.  

And, for more on ways to create mentoring programs, read Regan’s article: Set For Success: How To Set Up a Firm Mentoring Program for Young Attorneys 

Nikki Chargois-Allen is a partner with the law firm of Davidson, Troilo, Ream & Garza in San Antonio. 

Denise Paul is regional legal counsel to Jungheinrich, one of the world’s largest suppliers of industrial trucks.

Regan Boyce is a partner in Chamblee Ryan in Dallas. 

A new set of laws has just been enacted by the 88th Texas Legislature, and the September 2023 edition of the Texas Bar Journal is chock full of informative articles on these changes. To look at some of these laws in greater detail, Rocky Dhir welcomes Kristal Thomson and Jerry Bullard to discuss their articles on the areas of family law and civil litigation/appellate law, respectively. Tune in to keep ahead of the latest updates! Kristal explains what did and didn’t change for the Texas Family Code and other updates for family lawyers, and Jerry offers pertinent information for civil trial and appellate practitioners.

Kristal C. Thomson is a partner in the family law practice group of the firm Langley & Banack in San Antonio.

Jerry D. Bullard is a shareholder in the Grapevine firm of Adams, Lynch & Loftin.

Keeping an appellate perspective in mind as you prepare for a trial can do a lot to keep your case on track and avoid future headaches. Rocky Dhir talks with Elana Einhorn and Melissa Lorber, authors of the article, Help Us Help You: Top 10 Appellate Mistakes in the Trial Courts, which appeared in the July/August Texas Bar Journal. Elana and Melissa give an overview of the article and share their top tips for success in trial court. 

Elana Einhorn practices appellate law at Enoch Kever. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law and a former Supreme Court of Texas staff attorney.

Melissa Lorber is a founding member of Enoch Kever and is certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

State Bar President Cindy Tisdale and Texas Young Lawyers Association President Laura Pratt were sworn in at the annual meeting in Austin this June. Rocky Dhir sits down with both to discuss their plans for their presidencies in the coming year. Cindy shares her intention to study AI, focus on civility, and continue to develop more wellness tools for Texas attorneys. Laura discusses TYLA’s focus on public service, her plans to improve and update previous TYLA projects, and her developing website devoted to helping young people with everyday “adulting” topics. 

Cindy Tisdale is a board certified family law attorney and 2023-24 President of the State Bar of Texas.

Laura Pratt is a commercial litigator at Sprouse Shrader Smith PLLC and 2023-24 President of TYLA.

Tune in as Rocky Dhir talks with William Barr about his personal life, stories from his stints as Attorney General, and thoughts on the future of our nation. Mr. Barr opens up about his family and career and shares advice for others as they navigate both personal and professional life choices. They also discuss Mr. Barr’s recently published book, One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General. 

William Pelham Barr is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump.