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Happy New (Fiscal) Year!
By:  Brandy Wingate Voss

For most lawyers, the end of August means the end of the summer and back-to-school time for the kiddos. For litigators, it also means the end of judicial vacations and an increase in docket activity. And for appellate lawyers, it means the end of the Texas judiciary’s fiscal year.

Ok. So what does that mean?

August is the month when the courts of appeals hand down tons of opinions in an effort to meet their expected disposition rate for the year. For example, in the month of August 2013, the Texas Supreme Court issued twenty-one opinions, and all combined, the fourteen Texas intermediate courts of appeals issued a whopping 1,216 opinions/decisions in active causes. You heard right—1,216 in one month.

For appellate lawyers, the August hand-down rush means motions practice and further appeals—motions for rehearing and for reconsideration en banc, and considering whether to file a petition for review with the Texas Supreme Court or a petition for discretionary review with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. For trial lawyers, however, it means that most likely, any research previously done in a case may need to be updated, as the relevant law may have changed.

Here are some tips to stay on top of it all.

CaseMail: Sign up for CaseMail. CaseMail is a free service from the Texas Supreme Court and courts of appeals that will send e-mail updates about case activity for specific cases you have chosen to track. If you have a case pending in an appellate court, it is critical to sign up for this service. You can use the service to track significant cases pending in the courts of appeal that affect your practice. CaseMail will send you a notification each time a selected court issues an opinion or takes any action in the case, and you can sign up for as many cases and courts as your heart desires. To register, simply create a free account here.

Osler’s Summaries: Every lawyer should stay up to date on the recent opinions issued by the Texas Supreme Court. And fortunately for us, the Supreme Court’s excellent staff attorney for public information, Osler McCarthy, sends an e-mail every Friday containing a link to the Court’s orders, summaries of the Court’s opinions and petitions granted by the Court, and notices of upcoming oral arguments and significant events. To sign up for the e-mail listserve, contact Osler McCarthy at 512.463.1441.

The Appellate Advocate: Another excellent resource is produced by the State Bar Appellate Section. The section’s quarterly newsletter, The Appellate Advocate, provides summaries of all Texas Supreme Court opinions issued during the term and selected cases from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the Fifth Circuit, and the intermediate courts of appeals. Additionally, appellate lawyers from around the state submit articles on hot topics in appellate and trial practice. The Appellate Section of the State Bar costs only $25, and information about the section and joining can be accessed here.