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Texas Lawyers’ Insurance Exchange Appoints Steve Couch, JD as Next President & CEO
August 28, 2023August 28, 2023 – Austin, Texas Texas Lawyer’s Insurance Exchange (TLIE), the premier provider of legal malpractice insurance in the State of Texas, has elected Steve Couch, JD as the company’s next President & CEO. Mr. Couch will succeed Mike Yarber who will retire in October after 38 years with Read the full post
The Ethics of Referrals, Part 1
August 22, 2023PART I: ATTORNEY-TO-ATTORNEY REFERRALS Business generation consumes the minds of every attorney responsible for ensuring a consistent pipeline of clients and work. General and attorney-focused networking, digital marketing, bar events, speaking engagements, public and nonprofit service, and community sponsorships fill many calendars and budgets. These business development efforts present a Read the full post
4 Common Mistakes That Can Lead to a Legal Malpractice Suit
July 18, 2023Lawyers never want to make a mistake, but juggling deadlines, long hours, and personal and professional demands can make it difficult to produce a flawless work product in every case. And even the most meticulous lawyer is human and thus bound to make a mistake at least once in their Read the full post
TLIE mourns the passing of its founding father, Jim Lovell
July 17, 2023James (Jim) Reed Lovell, TLIE’s founding father, passed away on July 4, 2023. Jim was 96 years old, and had recently moved from Dumas, TX to Amarillo, TX. He lived a long life, filled with family, service, education, productivity, leadership, willpower, good times, bad times, resilience and unrelenting optimism. His Read the full post
Avoiding Ethical Issues with Third Party Payors
June 19, 2023Consider the following hypothetical. You represent a client in a child custody dispute. The client’s parents offer to cover your legal expenses. As you delve into the case, you realize that the grandparents’ interests may not align with the best interests of the client or the client’s child. While third-party Read the full post
Ethical Implications of using AI for Texas Attorneys
May 17, 2023The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered tools, like ChatGPT, has the potential to transform various industries and how tasks are performed. And many proponents argue that the legal industry is no exception. While the emergence of these technological advancements has the potential to deliver better client service and increase Read the full post
ABA Formal Opinion 503 Finds Implied Consent to “Reply All” Responses
April 18, 2023Should I “reply all”? Wait–did I just inadvertently “reply all”?! We’ve all asked ourselves these questions. For lawyers, “reply all” raises more than just questions of workplace etiquette (or possible sources of mortification), but ethical questions as well. In this Article, we discuss the recent formal opinion from the American Read the full post
Attorney Grievances Part 2: 5 Avoidable Mistakes
March 20, 2023In last month’s Article, we provided an overview of the grievance process. We discussed that most grievances (about 70% last year) were dismissed as “inquiries” at classification and not investigated. But when there are sufficient allegations of attorney misconduct that would violate the ethics rules, the Texas Chief Disciplinary Counsel Read the full post
Attorney Grievances Part 1: An Overview of the Grievance Process
February 20, 2023During the 2021-2022 bar year, 7,175 ethics complaints (or grievances) were filed against Texas attorneys. A grievance can expose attorneys to discipline ranging from reprimand to suspension to disbarment, not to mention reputational harm. Given the significant impact an ethics complaint can have on an attorney, it’s necessary to understand Read the full post
Safekeeping Property: Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls with Client Funds
January 19, 2023A surprising number of disciplinary actions stem from the mismanagement of client’s funds or property. In fact, according to the State Bar of Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline’s 2020-2021 annual report, failing to properly safeguard client property as required under Texas Ethics Rule 1.14 (Safekeeping Rule), rounded out the top Read the full post