Here’s the video and download from the Ethics of Social Media talk. MCLE approved 0.50 for this talk — Course # 174125665 for self-reporting your credit. The pdf of the power point can be downloaded here: Ethics of Social Media download
The New Discovery Rules Six Months Later — CLE presentation
I heard from several judges that there are many lawyers across the state that aren’t clued into the new discovery rules and are messing things up. They asked me to redo my presentation so there would be one link and one place to go to learn about them. So, I did!
Here’s the link to
Texas Supreme Court authorizes trial court’s unbridled discretion and says family law orders don’t have to be specific or enforceable
In an opinion today that will no doubt cause a Pandora’s Box to open in the family courts, the Texas Supreme Court held that “as agreed” possession orders are authorized, valid, and constitutional. Based on the broad and undefined standards of “good cause” and “best interest”, a possession order that gives one party unlimited and
To Agree or Not to Agree — What’s the Difference?
The in’s and out’s of an agreement in a family law matter can be complex and hotly contested. This is especially true when a party develops “buyer’s remorse” and wants to undo an agreement he or she did.
There are several statutory provisions that address how to reach agreements in a family law case:
- Rule
New Discovery Rules (handout)
I feel like everyone should know by now that we have new discovery rules that have changed the game on a lot of things. Example, we don’t *send* a request for disclosure anymore. Instead, there’s a set of mandatory disclosures that are automatic and have deadlines with
Attorneys Fees After Rohrmoos
Last week I gave a presentation on Facebook live: Attorney’s Fees After Rohrmoos. You can watch the live video here: Attorney’s Fees After Rohrmoos video. The talk is credited by the State Bar of Texas for 1.00 CLE credit. I give the number at the end of the presentation so after you watch it,
Discovery objections after In re Sting Soccer
In 2017, the Dallas Court of Appeals quietly and with zero fanfare released the In re Sting Soccer opinion. It is an unpublished memorandum opinion, but it chocks a huge, unexpected punch to discovery-as-we-knew-it. Basically, it makes a lot of our standard objections illegal, with the effect of broadening the scope of discovery immeasurably. Note
New Discovery Rules as of January 1, 2021 (Updated)
(This post has been updated to reflect the current and final information about the new 2021 discovery rules.)
The Texas Supreme Court has released new discovery rules that will be effective January 1, 2021. While these rules are still under review and subject to change, they are so significant that they warrant review now even
O’Neil interviewed on appellate law podcast
Appellate Lawyers Todd Smith of Austin and Jody Sanders of Fort Worth interviewed O’Neil Wysocki Senior Shareholder Michelle O’Neil about her family law appellate practice for their Texas Appellate Law Podcast. Check out the full interview here:
Appellate Review in Family Law Cases with Michelle O’Neil
Bostock opinion leaps forward with rights for sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression
The United States Supreme Court has moved a giant leap forward in LGBTQ+ rights with the latest opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia. To say this is a HUGE deal is an understatement. In 2015, when the Court solidified same-sex marriage, that right only applied to a smaller subset of people who wanted to