In Texas, small monetary disputes may be brought before the Justice of the Peace or “JP Courts.” Most Texans are probably unfamiliar with the term and know these courts simply as “Small Claims Courts.” However, recent changes to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure have increased the amount of damages claimants may seek in JP
Piercing the Corporate Veil in Texas
Texas has long been one of the best locations to start a business, and a big reason for this is the liability protection afforded by the business-friendly Texas courts. Most business owners seek to limit their personal liability if something goes wrong with the business. This leads to one of the questions I get
Judges Hate “Gotcha Games”
In October, I wrote about How the Practice of Law is Like the NHL. This article was about how rule changes in the practice of law, and changing skill sets in the NHL have made finesse and skill more important than brawling. Recent experience has shown that this trend continues in law, and that
Why do juries matter?
I have been writing on this blog about how Dallas County juries have shifted over the years from pro-defense to pro-plaintiff, or at least to a point where most prospective jurors in Dallas County don’t necessarily consider lawsuits a bad thing. In the era of tort reform, this attitude among prospective jurors in Dallas
Is the Practice of Law Like the NHL?
My father recently sent me a N.Y. Times article describing how the game of professional hockey and the NHL have changed in the last twenty years. According to veteran sports writer Dave Caldwell, the NHL has changed from a game that was equal parts speed and obstruction/fighting to a game that primarily is about
“Certify the Question!” Huh?
The other day I was in a multiparty deposition, with 15 or so lawyers sitting around a long conference room table. One lawyer was asking questions, and two or three lawyers were lodging the obligatory objections to questions that just did not sound right to the lawyers who were actually paying attention. Normally this scenario
Cast a Wide ‘Net: Witness Statement Disclosures in the Era of Social Media
Of all the methods of discovery permitted under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 194 Disclosures are often the most overlooked. Although this type of discovery is exchanged in virtually every civil matter, it is easy for attorneys to become formulaic in their