RESOURCES

Texas Bar Journal Articles

I. ATTORNEYS / CLIENTS
II. JUDICIAL / LEGISLATIVE REVIEW
III. LEGAL PROFESSIONALISM

I. ATTORNEYS / CLIENTS

Selinger, Jerry R. & Steve Borgman, Archiving Legal Files: Document Retention of Closed Legal Files: Ethical Dilemmas and Hidden Traps, 57 Tex. B.J. 128 (1994).

Topics include: attorneys’ rights to, and ethical obligations regarding, closed files; clients’ interest in closed files; and proposals "that would protect legitimate client interests while reducing the uncertainty that attorneys currently face" in terms of closed files.

Smith, Melinda, Lawyers in Legislature: A Time and Place for Politics, 56 Tex. B.J. 876 (1993).

Discusses public opinion about legislators who are also lawyers.

 

II. JUDICIAL / LEGISLATIVE REVIEW

Burton, Amon, Texas Code of Judicial Conduct: An Overview, 56 Tex. B.J. 838 (1993).

Addresses specific changes brought by the revised Code of Judicial Conduct, effective 1 Jan 1994.

Cook, Eugene A., The Search for Professionalism, 52 Tex. B.J. 1302 (1989).

An informational article about the Supreme Court of Texas’s Lawyer’s Creed adopted in 1989.

Kline, Samara L., Conflicts of Interest: Motions to Disqualify--Identifying the Rules of the Game, 57 Tex. B.J. 240 (1994).

Attempts to outline the standards used to evaluate motions to disqualify attorneys because of conflicts.

 

III. LEGAL PROFESSIONALISM

Adams, Kent M., The Law: Business or Profession?--(Or Is It O.K. to Want to Get Rich Practicing Law?), 53 Tex. B.J. 1090 (1990).

Reconciles the two components of the article’s title, arguing for the importance of sustaining a balance between the professional and business-related faces of the law.

Brock, Melody J., Legal Malpractice: Preventing and Minimizing Claims, 52 Tex. B.J. 828 (1989).

"[D]eals with common legal malpractice errors and with what documentation an attorney needs and what situations to avoid to prevent or minimize legal malpractice claims."

de la Garza, Leland C., Auditor’s Letter: Understanding and Responding to an Audit Inquiry Letter, 57 Tex. B.J. 22 (1994).

Provides important information for lawyers who must respond ethically to an "auditor’s letter" sent by a client.

Powers, Jean Fleming, Lawyer Advertising Past, Present, and Future, 265 Tex. B.J. 1006 (1990).

A survey of permissible and impermissible legal advertising with predictions about future changes.

Reamey, Gerald S., The Crime of Barratry: Criminal Responsibility for a Branch of Professional Responsibility, 53 Tex. B.J. 1011 (1990).

Topics include a history of barratry in Texas, its current status, its differentiation from solicitation, and pertinent rulings from Texas courts.

Spickelmier, Keith D. & Kenric Kattner, Client Attorney Mobility Creates Growing Conflict of Interest Concerns, 53 Tex. B.J. 406 (1990).

Stresses the care attorneys should take in conducting initial client interviews and other attorney-client transactions. Also addressed is the substantial relationship test and its hidden dangers.

Walker, James W. & Laura Cerniglia, American Inns of Court: A Return to Civility in Practicing Law, 56 Tex. B.J. 1306 (1989).

Provides a history of, and some current specifics about, the ethically-edifying Inns of Court.