The Texas Supreme Court is taking comments on its rewritten summary judgment Rule 166a before the rule goes into effect on March 1. To help practitioners understand its implications, hosts Jody Sanders and Todd Smith provide context for the rewrite and take a deep dive into the rule’s requirements. Tune in as they break down, among other details, how the rule defines traditional and no-evidence summary judgments, what it requires when those motions are combined, and how it changes the timing of the non-movant’s response to within 21 days after the motion is filed.

As Jody explains, the Court concluded that summary judgment motions “were either sitting around too long without being heard or without being ruled upon” and set out to address that problem. Todd adds, “This is a huge change from the old rule” that will “require non-movants to be far more proactive in getting their responses done and ready than they were before.”

Email your comments about Rule 166a to [email protected] by February 28.

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Keep your brief to 10,000 words, and you'll get more investment from Texas appellate justices. Those are just a few words of wisdom from Justice David Gunn in this conversation with hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders. After a clerkship, where he observed lawyers making mistakes and judges making decisions, Justice Gunn spent over three decades in private practice before joining the First Court of Appeals in October 2024. Tune in as he reflects on his “accidental” path to law, explains how his court decides when cases get argued, and describes his wish for a “fast track” system for some cases. Make sure to stay for his war story about a lawyer who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

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When an appellate lawyer puts a client in touch with Court Surety Bond Agency, the client is in a tough spot. “They’re going to be facing a verdict, an adverse verdict, or it’s just entered, and they're coming to us because they need to post a bond” to stay judgment enforcement during appeal, says Arturo Ayala, the company’s vice president. In this conversation with hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders, Arturo takes a deep dive into this type of bond, starting with the initial conversation with the client. “With supersedeas bonds, the underwriting – what I tend to explain or compare it to – it's very similar to banking,” he says. “It's strictly a financial guarantee.” Arturo goes on to describe the timing necessary to put a bond in place, the factors that play into a client’s premium rate, and the pros and cons of each type of collateral. Tune in as he explains why his key tip is what not to do: “Don't wait ‘til the judgment is entered.”

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The Texas Supreme Court is on the verge of eliminating the practice of requesting merits briefs before granting petitions for review—a change that will fundamentally reshape how the high court handles cases. In this deep dive into Misc. Docket No. 25-9092, hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders break down the proposed rule changes, which aim to make the process quicker, more efficient, and less costly for the parties. Todd takes listeners back to the era when every case bound for the Supreme Court required a full brief, a practice that ended in 1997 when the Court shifted to the petition-for-review process. Jody brings the conversation to the present by explaining the current procedure in a way that’s accessible to those who don’t regularly handle matters before the Court. Both hosts dissect the proposal to arm listeners with what they need to know before the new rules take effect in early 2026.

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When he started his solo appellate practice in Louisiana, Tad Bartlett had to educate trial lawyers about the utility of having an appellate attorney on their team. Today, 18 attorneys are certified appellate specialists through the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. “It’s nice to know when I sit in a room with the other 17, these are really well vetted, well qualified, highly experienced appellate lawyers who care about appellate law, care about appellate procedure, in the very nerdy kind of way that I do,” Tad tells hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders. Now a partner at Fishman Haygood in New Orleans, Tad shares his journey of building a successful appellate practice and creating his influential Take the Fifth blog, which digests every Fifth Circuit opinion and tracks comprehensive statistics on the court. He reveals some gems from his research – including that the Fifth Circuit is not as antagonistic toward plaintiffs as myth would have one believe. And he opens up about his remarkable recovery from a serious cycling accident and traumatic brain injury that temporarily derailed his practice, demonstrating the power of professional community and resilience.

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Building a law practice from scratch requires finding your tribe and embracing the paradigm of giving, says KC Ashmore of Ashmore & Ashmore Law Firm in Rockwall, Texas. The Coast Guard veteran transformed his military service ethic into legal practice success through veteran outreach, Habitat for Humanity builds, and active participation in bar associations such as the Texas Bar College. KC shares his journey from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to insurance defense work and ultimately to running a general practice firm, emphasizing his "10-year apprenticeship" approach inspired by John Grisham novels. With hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders, KC discusses mentoring, continuing education beyond minimum requirements, and professional networking through service that creates sustainable success.

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The basic concept – that appellate lawyers face an existential crisis – came to Kevin Dubose in a dream. In this thought-provoking episode, hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders welcome Kevin back to the show to explore this concept and potential solutions to the unique challenges appellate lawyers face. Kevin shares insights from his recent paper, including the unique pressures in this practice area and how redefining success can lead to a more fulfilling career. Tune in to discover strategies for managing client expectations, improving advocacy skills, and finding personal satisfaction as an appellate lawyer. For more insights from Kevin about appellate practice, check out his previous appearances on the podcast: “Setting the Appellate Bar in Texas” and “Understanding the Texas Standards for Appellate Conduct.”

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The world of public defense is traditionally challenged by limited resources. Appellate practice carries weighty time demands. Now comes AI—a disrupting force that can solve those problems and bridge the justice gap, says Joe Stephens. His insights come from several roles, including as chief public defender for the Caprock Regional Public Defender Office, consultant for Steno, a court reporting services firm with an AI-powered “Transcript Genius” tool, and clinical lecturer at Texas Tech University School of Law. “I just think that if you deploy it effectively, the results are just going to be incredible,” he tells hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders. Tune in for Joe’s reflections about his recent experience using AI on a pro bono civil rights case and some takeaways about the new Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act.

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☑️ Texas Tech University School of Law

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The marketplace may know Counsel Press as printers, but “we’re a lot more than that,” says Vincent Wiscovitch, senior appellate counsel. “We like to refer to ourselves as ‘appellate support providers,’ because anybody can be a printer. You could go to Staples and get a brief printed.” Counsel Press goes far beyond Staples, as Vincent and colleague Janet Bennett, appellate counsel, explain. From brief preparation and electronic filing to record compilation and hyperlinked e-briefs, they help lawyers navigate the complex maze of court rules across all 50 states and federal courts, providing everything from bluebooking and citation verification to ghostwriting and brief critiques. Tune in to this conversation with hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders for insights about how Counsel Press gives lawyers what Todd describes as “peace of mind.”

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"If everyone can take out the fancy words from their language, we would all do better—law students and seasoned professionals alike." That observation comes from Christina Crozier, clinical assistant professor at the University of Houston Law Center and of counsel at Haynes Boone. In this conversation with hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders, Christina reveals four simple hacks that can improve legal writing, from the “lunch test” for word choice to guidance on sentence and paragraph length. Tune in for her insights about AI's impact on research and writing, the importance of verification in an era of hallucination, and her work rebooting the Appellate Advocate publication.

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