In October 2022, the Texas Supreme Court directed the Texas Access to Justice Commission (TAJC) to study existing rules and recommend actions that would accomplish two goals: 1. Allow qualified non-attorneys to provide limited legal services directly to low-income Texans; and 2. Allow non-attorneys to have economic interests in entities that provide legal services to low-income Texans while preserving attorneys’ …
The Travis County Women Lawyers’ Foundation (TCWLF) will award approximately $90,000 in grants this year to local nonprofit organizations that provide legal services to women, children, and families. The grants will be awarded at TCWLF’s annual Grants & Awards Luncheon, co-hosted by the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association (TCWLA). This year’s luncheon will take place on Friday, April 26. Register …
At the National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP) Awards luncheon on Feb. 2, 2024, former Austin Bar and State Bar of Texas president Richard Pena was presented with the prestigious 2024 NCBP Fellows Award. Pena is the first Austin Bar president and only the second bar president from Texas to receive this prestigious award. After receiving the award, Pena addressed …
More than $730 million was recovered in fiscal year 2023 as a result of several state agencies’ coordinated efforts to audit and investigate complaints of fraud, waste, and abuse in the Texas Medicaid program. The recently released Joint Annual Interagency Coordination Report for fiscal year 20231 details the efforts of the Texas Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General …
Since the beginning of Western civilization, wills have been the primary tool for individuals to disperse their assets to loved ones at their death. Even the Bible includes several references to wills. Now, seemingly all of a sudden, trusts, particularly revocable living trusts, rather than wills, are the preferred method of many estate planning lawyers. Why? Two reasons stand out: …
The opinions expressed in The Serious and The Salty are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Austin Bar Association membership or the Austin Bar Association board of directors. The Serious Have you heard of The Caselaw Access Project? I had not. The Caselaw Access Project (CAP) was founded at Harvard in 2015. On …
The Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) recently released a report, “Solitary Confinement in Texas: A Crisis with No End,”1 in which the nonprofit calls for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to open an investigation into solitary confinement practices in Texas. An investigation is called for, the report reads, due to alleged violations of the federal Civil Rights of Institutionalized …
Austin Bar member Hon. Rudy Metayer received Leadership Austin’s 2024 Outstanding Alumni Award at the organization’s Community Engagement Awards event on Feb. 23, 2024. Every year, Leadership Austin, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides leadership training, recognizes exceptional individuals who lead with a commitment to improving the community. The Outstanding Alumni Award is given in honor of Polly Scallorn, who was …
You may know Pete Reid as chair of the Austin Bar’s Business, Corporate and Tax Law Section. You may also know him from his award-winning commercials. But you may not know his alter ego: Allaster McKallaster, angry Scottish soccer commentator, who has racked up more than 60 million views on Instagram and TikTok. McKallaster has several famous followers, including Ryan …
During the 88th Texas Legislature, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice received $85 million to install air conditioning in its units. Currently, 31 of TDCJ’s units are fully air-conditioned and 55 are partially air-conditioned for a total of 43,572 ‘cool beds,’ according to TDCJ statistics. Since 2018, 6,948 cool beds have been built, while another 3,437 are currently under construction. …