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The latest from Texas Lawyer

• Safe Travel Tips for Bankruptcy Court
• Pins and Needles: Quilting Helps Judge Relax
• Inadmissible
• Efficient E-Discovery: How Will Model Order Impact Eastern District Practice?
• House Committee to Look at Lawsuit Lending
• Newsmakers
• Man Alleges IVF Done With His Sperm, Without His Consent
• Litigator of the Week: Proof and Loser Pays
• Discipline
• Tread Lightly With Footnotes
• Fulfilling Document-Preservation Obligations
• Commentary: Banishing the Word "Bossy" From Women's Vocabularies
• A Four-Phase Formula for Strategic Planning
• Commentary: Reel in Discovery Disputes in Travis County District Courts
• Don't Let Life Imitate Art
• Three Things Never to Write in Court Papers
• Identity and Meaning in and Outside Law
• Letter to the Editor: Success Is Based on Competence, Not Looks
• I Like Being a Lawyer
• Commentary: Handling Clients With Personality Disorders
• Commentary: Let "Jersey Shore" Pick Your Practice
• I Like Being a Lawyer!

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Safe Travel Tips for Bankruptcy Court	Top
Although Texas is doing better than most states, it and the nation as a whole are experiencing a difficult economy, writes U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Harlin D. Hale. Bankruptcy filings dramatically have increased over the past couple of years and just now are starting to level off. There may be light at the end of the tunnel, but at least for the next several years, chances are high that an attorney may find himself in bankruptcy court for a client.
Pins and Needles: Quilting Helps Judge Relax	Top
When Judge Migdalia Lopez spends time around Harlingen waiting for a doctor or dentist appointment, there's a good chance she'll be perfectly patient with a needle in her hand. The judge of Cameron and Willacy County's 197th District Court has a serious quilting hobby, and she takes projects along on errands, although she doesn't pull out her sewing on the bench.
Inadmissible	Top
"Motions to Dismiss" and "Lawyer, Novelist, Moviemaker"
Efficient E-Discovery: How Will Model Order Impact Eastern District Practice?	Top
In September, the Advisory Council for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a model order that limits electronic discovery in patent litigation. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Love of Tyler has granted an order limiting e-discovery in at least one case pending in his court based on the model order.
House Committee to Look at Lawsuit Lending	Top
Tort reformers and trial lawyers expect to offer input to Texas lawmakers at hearings during the Texas Legislature's interim session about the practices surrounding "lawsuit lending," a term used to describe third-party financing of litigation. Brad Parker, a vice president for TTLA, says TTLA members would bear the consequences of any proposed changes.
Newsmakers	Top
Man Alleges IVF Done With His Sperm, Without His Consent	Top
A Long Island, N.Y., man filed a suit Nov. 21 that alleges a Houston fertility clinic "obtained" his sperm without his consent or knowledge and performed in vitro fertilization in 2007 on a woman "purporting to be his wife when she, in fact, was not." The plaintiff alleges he's suffered mental and economic injuries as a result of the actions of the clinic. Defendants deny the allegations.
Litigator of the Week: Proof and Loser Pays	Top
Because the plaintiffs lost on their Texas Theft Liability Act claim in an oil-patch suit, they were ordered to pay $400,000 in attorneys' fees to a Frisco defense lawyer. And the defense lawyer may receive another $100,000 in attorneys' fees if the plaintiffs appeal.
Discipline	Top
A Harris County lawyer has been disbarred, a Travis County lawyer has been placed on probation, and a Bexar County lawyer has received a public reprimand.
Tread Lightly With Footnotes	Top
Footnotes can be distracting. But avoiding them entirely is not the answer, writes Martin J. Siegel. Used incorrectly and excessively, footnotes tax the reader and reflect poor writing. Used properly and sparingly, they add to a brief's overall effectiveness. Here are seven lessons for footnotes done right.
Fulfilling Document-Preservation Obligations	Top
In the age of email, metadata, flash drives and cloud computing, most attorneys are acutely conscious of their duty to ensure that their clients appropriately preserve documents, writes Barbara S. Nicholas. An attorney should issue a written litigation hold immediately upon notice of a triggering event (e.g., potential claim) or a suit, whichever comes first. In a perfect world, the initial demand for litigation hold would contain the universe of information necessary to capture all systems and parties relevant to the claim or suit.
Commentary: Banishing the Word "Bossy" From Women's Vocabularies	Top
One of the reasons women seem to hit a wall in their careers goes back to a word they've heard consistently since elementary school: bossy, writes Kathleen J. Wu. Two studies report that when women who work in professions traditionally held by men are successful, they are less liked than similarly successful men.
A Four-Phase Formula for Strategic Planning	Top
Over the past decade, significant changes have occurred within the legal profession that have required law firms to do long-range planning. The market for legal services has become, and will continue to be, more competitive, writes Joel A. Rose.
Commentary: Reel in Discovery Disputes in Travis County District Courts	Top
Want to know what Travis County District Court judges probably think about these disputes? Sara M. Foskitt writes that, typically, they're related to a slew of overly broad, irrelevant requests that equate to a fishing expedition (although that isn't always the case). A quick look at some local district court history can offer a few clues as to how the judges will probably proceed in discovery disputes and can provide a few lessons for lawyers.
Don't Let Life Imitate Art	Top
Articles that focus or comment on the physical characteristics of women are so commonplace that our society no longer questions or is offended by them, writes Linda Bray Chanow, executive director of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. These articles perpetuate cultural definitions of gender that have a deep impact on the way women relate to and use power in the workplace.
Three Things Never to Write in Court Papers	Top
James M. Stanton writes that his experience on the state district court bench taught him that trial judges are a conscientious lot who read the briefs and want to get their rulings right. In light of that, he offers three things a lawyer should never write in court papers for fear of turning off the judge and hurting a client's chances of prevailing at a hearing.
Identity and Meaning in and Outside Law	Top
Been to a singles bar lately? Checked out an Internet dating site? Not that he would know, writes Michael P. Maslanka, but he hears that the No. 1 question is, "So, what do you do?" The question enslaves if used as a proxy for valuing people, but it liberates if used as a starting point for understanding them. Art illuminates the contrast between life and work. It can teach values, provide clarity and generate understanding, he says.
Letter to the Editor: Success Is Based on Competence, Not Looks	Top
Elizabeth Poole of Austin takes issue with a Texas Lawyer article titled "Pretty Power: Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful." The author of that article "writes from the point of view of a woman who is succeeding in a male-dominated profession by pandering to males. Her method of navigating this testosterone-laden minefield by donning the protective gear of 5-inch heels, pink suits and makeup is not without its drawbacks," Poole writes.
I Like Being a Lawyer	Top
Susan Morrison lists the top five reasons she likes being a lawyer.
Commentary: Handling Clients With Personality Disorders	Top
In contemporary law practice, particularly in litigation, the expert witness in psychology — psychiatrists, forensic psychologists, psychotherapists and so on — increasingly is a member of the teams on opposite sides of a courtroom. Litigators need at least a passing sense of some of the language used by experts in this field, writes James Dolan.
Commentary: Let "Jersey Shore" Pick Your Practice	Top
For the benefit of recent law school graduates, Kip Mendrygal has created a personality test to help new lawyers match themselves to the right fields. For the test, he picked a platform the intended audience would relate to: MTV's "Jersey Shore," the heartwarming tale of eight soft-spoken and introspective men and women brought together to live in a house and, mostly, fight and party.
I Like Being a Lawyer!	Top

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