Competency to stand trial – Trial court did not err by failing to sua sponte convene an informal inquiry into whether defendant was competent to stand trial. Vaughan v. State, No. 03-22-00038-CR (Tex. App.—Austin Mar. 30, 2023, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication). Vaughan spit on a detention officer while in jail and was charged with the offense

Some people are terrified of heights. Others are scared of public speaking. What should keep attorneys up at night is a little-known law called the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)[1]. The CTA is a new, groundbreaking federal reporting law for business entities that may leave your office inundated with calls from disgruntled clients blaming you for failing to warn them about

The opinions expressed in this article 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 opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Austin Bar Association membership or the Austin Bar

Austin aviation attorney Michael Slack has been appointed to the External Advisory Board for Texas A&M’s Hagler Institute for Advanced Study. The Hagler Institute was established in 2010 by the Texas A&M regents to create an incubator for advanced study in various fields, including medicine, science, architecture, social sciences, business, education, engineering, agriculture, law, and public and foreign policy. The

On July 13, 2023 the Third Court of Appeals hosted a delegation of Egyptian judges as part of the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The IVLP is the State Department’s premier professional exchange program and connects current and emerging foreign leaders with their American counterparts through short-term visits to the United States. The justices visited and discussed their respective

Immediate Past President of the Austin Bar Association Amanda Arriaga will participate in a panel discussion on cultivating and retaining diverse leaders in bar associations on Sept. 20, 2023. Arriaga served as Austin Bar president for 2022-23 and was its first Latina president. The panel discussion is being put on by the National Conference of Bar Presidents. Joining Arriaga in

House Bill 4628 was passed by the 88th Texas Legislature and establishes clear communication requirements between law enforcement and forensics labs. The bill went into effect Sept. 1, and requires crime labs to notify a law enforcement agency within 30 days when they obtain a match from DNA or other forensic evidence. Within five business days of this first notification,

This is the second in a series of eight articles about the Travis County Forensic Mental Health Project. The Travis County Forensic Mental Health Project delivered its recommendations to the Travis County Commissioners in March 2023. The goal of these recommendations is to provide solutions other than jail to address mental health and substance abuse disorders in the county. Recommendation

Two of the bills Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht endorsed in his State of the Judiciary address on April 5, 2023, passed during the 88th Texas Legislative Session. The first, House Bill 19, relates “to the creation of a specialty trial court to hear certain cases; authorizing fees.” Specifically, the bill calls this the “Business Court.” The

The opinions expressed in this article 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. My law school professor for Agency & Partnership Law was Harold G. Reuschlein, former dean of Villanova Law School, and everyone’s “Proper Gentleman.” He appeared for each class