Non Austin Bar Articles

Seedling, a local non profit, is seeking mentors for children in grades K-8 impacted by parental incarceration in the greater Austin area. Time is running out to support these students in the 2024-25 School Year, and if you've got one lunch hour a week to share, you can help! Here are details on how you can help meet the need of the remaining 30 children who are waiting to be matched with a mentor this school year:

·  Students are matched in K-8th grade in Austin, Del Valle and Hays CISD

·  You meet with the student at school during their lunchtime

·  All training and 1:1 ongoing support provided 

·  Matches made on shared interest and location

·  30 mentors still needed! 

·  Apply by Jan. 17, 2025!

·  Mentor applicants will receive an interview and training prior to being matched. 

Start your 2025 off right by joining one of the most rewarding volunteer opportunities available in Central Texas! Fill out your Seedling Mentor Application today! 

Starting February 19th, Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas (VLS) will host monthly free legal advice clinics at Elroy Community Library in Del.

VLS is seeking dedicated volunteer attorneys to give advice on various legal issues including housing, employment, probate, family law, and more. Your expertise can help empower those who may otherwise not have to access justice.

For more information on how to volunteer, email Hollie Toups at htoups@vlsoct.org.

VLS's Divorce Basic Seminar is a signature CLE training for the Central Texas legal community, providing valuable legal education on the nuts and bolts of family law. Each year, thousands of low-income Central Texans turn to VLS for legal help with family law matters. For many of them, VLS is their only resource.
 
To ensure we can meet this need, VLS offers this seminar at no cost to attorneys who agree to take two family law cases involving domestic violence through VLS during the 2025 calendar year. The cost of the seminar for those not taking two cases is $200.
 
Presenters include: Carlos Salinas of Thompson Salinas Londergan, Katie Valle with the Law office of Jason Wright, Velva Price and Danikae Doetsch with the Travis County District Clerk’s office, Jacob Stokes the Director of Court Management for Travis County Civil Family Courts, Jeana Lungwitz with the UT Law Domestic Violence Clinic, Andi St. Leger of Noelke Maples St. Leger Bryant and a judicial panel with Judge Meachum, Judge Mathews Rodriguez, Judge Mauzy and Judge Arth.

Date: Dec. 13, 2024

Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Location: CFCF, 1700 Guadalupe
 
View the agenda HERE
 
Register below:

I WILL TAKE TWO CASES

I WILL PAY $200

The State Bar's Disability Rights and Issues Committee is hosting a listening session for young lawyers and law students on Friday, Nov. 15, from 12 to 1 p.m. The topic will be how the committee can better serve young lawyers and law students. To sign up for this event, click here.

The committee also has a mentoring program for attorneys with disabilities, which you can join here.

Join the San Antonio Spurs for CLE Night Nov. 19th when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder!

Packages start at $27 and include:

• A panel discussion with the Spurs legal team
• One hour of CLE accreditation
• Two draft beers
• A networking event
• A ticket to the game

Purchase tickets here.

Through November 8, the Austin Bar is providing professional headshots at Hilgers House, 712 W. 16th Street. You will not be charged a sitting fee or for your photo to appear in the online member directory. If you wish to purchase a digital image or portrait you may do so, but there is no obligation. To schedule, call 512-266-8921 or visit goJRussell.com. 

Nov. 16-17, UT will host a college mock trial tournament at the law school. Top teams from all over the nation are heading to Austin, and we need your help ensuring they have top-notch judging.

If you are able, please sign-up here to judge a round (or two!). Breakfast and lunch will be served. If you have associates or staff you can round up, we need them.

 Your experience and feedback is invaluable to these aspiring lawyers. Judging also may be reported for self-study CLE credit (up to 3 credit hours).

Feel free to share the sign-up form with anyone you think might be interested. If you have any questions, email shaspel@nationaltriallaw.com.

LINK: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf5UjZrhQEUIQi3yykvDbjUKsNL2OOumf3k4PJ7XX6zAJxj-g/viewform?usp=sf_link

Attorneys who are appointed to provide representation in adult criminal and juvenile delinquency cases are required to report the percentage of their practice time dedicated to work on those appointed cases (Article 26.04(j), Code of Criminal Procedure). Similarly, attorneys who provide appointed representation of children and/or parents in cases involving the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) must also to report the percentage of their practice time devoted that work (Section 107.0042, Family Code). Reports are due by October 15th.  The report covers attorneys’ work in the prior fiscal year (October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024). 
 
To submit your attorney report, please visit this link: https://tidc.it.tamu.edu/attorney-practice-time. The online report is very short and reflects each county in which attorneys practiced and the percentage of their practice time spent on appointed criminal, juvenile, and family protection cases during the last year.  
 
Detailed reporting instructions are available here. You can also watch a short video demonstrating how to enter your practice time report here. 
 
Please reach out to info@tidc.texas.gov with any questions.

The Texas Education Agency seeks qualified attorneys to act as independent hearing examiners in local school district employment hearings. The independent hearing examiner will preside over hearings involving a nonrenewal or termination of educator employment contracts. The examiner will issue a recommendation for the school district’s board of trustees to consider. Hearing requests are assigned on a regional basis.

Hearing Examiners are paid by the school district and may charge $125 an hour up to $10,000, plus allowable expenses. The number of assignments an examiner will receive varies from year to year and from region to region. One mandatory training session will be held via webcast for qualifying attorneys.

To be considered as an independent hearing examiner, you are required to complete specific continuing legal education requirements throughout the year. Selected hearing examiners will be required to submit to a national criminal history check as a condition of continued certification. For additional information, interested attorneys may review TEC Chapter 21, subchapter F, and 19 TAC Chapter 157, specifically Subchapters D and DD. The application must be submitted by Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, no later than 5 p.m. Applications may be emailed or mailed. Email submission is strongly encouraged. The email address to send your application is HearingsandAppeals@tea.texas.gov.

For questions, contact the Hearings and Appeals Division at (512) 463-0489.

Affinipay will host a Virtual Legal Seminar on Tuesday, Oct. 1. This event will be packed with insights from industry experts you won’t want to miss. Sessions include:

·        Keynote & Event Kickoff: Dru Armstrong

·        Spend & Expense Management Tips: Curtis VanderGriendt, Kelley Brubaker, CPA,

·        AI in the Legal Industry: Catherine Dawson, Tressa Schultze,

·        Q&A on Success and Growth: Kathleen Gasparian, Jared Jaskot

·        Marketing Tips for Lawyers: Gabriela Cubeiro C., Gyi Tsakalakis

·        Legal Practice Trends & Benchmarks [CLE]: Nicole Black

Register today:  https://bit.ly/3Zbvd8x