In this installment of Mike’s comprehensive Evidence series, he finishes discussing relevance, covers competence and begins discussing witness & testimonial evidence. The main topics covered will be: character evidence in criminal cases, tips for approaching MIMIC evidence, writings & the Best Evidence Rule (BER), competency and lay opinion testimony & expert opinion testimony.
Judges apply the rules of evidence to determine whether to admit or exclude physical evidence, oral testimony & exhibits, and if admitted the jury decides how much weight to afford the evidence. As a starting point, the rules of evidence permit only relevant and trustworthy evidence to be make it in front of the jury. This CLE will focus on specific problems involving logical relevance, character evidence in civil cases and character evidence in criminal cases.
An in-depth review of the pre-due diligence process can maximize business value and ensure a seamless sale and transition. This CLE course presents a proven process that evaluates potential risks, validates investment return and identifies opportunities to enhance business value in preparation for business sale or transition.
Unconscious bias can lead to bad decisions that violate an attorneys’ ethical duties of Competence, Communication & Diligence. It can also lead to bad press for law firms, malpractice lawsuits and possibly disbarment.
Todd Fichtenberg will walk you through the wonderful world of trademarks and trademark law protections. Todd will mainly talk about what every attorney needs to know about trademarks, how trademarks protect brands in today’s marketplace and counseling your clients on trademark registration and protection. Todd will also cover recent case law involving: Starbucks, Mutual of Omaha, Chewy Vuiton, NFTs, Jack Daniel’s, Walmart vs. Kanye West (Yeezy) and Nike vs. StockX.
What should go into an IOLTA Account… what should NOT go into an IOLTA Account? What is good recordkeeping? And why do I always have a negative balance? Jessica Zoraida will answer all your key trust accounting questions and show you the best practices to remain compliant in your legal practice. The bottom line for attorneys: it pays to know the basics of trust accounting.
Are you familiar with the Hero’s Journey, archetypes and universal story themes? Powerful storytellers use time-tested techniques to weave engaging stories and attorneys can deploy these to build rapport to help persuade the judge & jury.
A Special Needs Trust (SNT) allows for a disabled person to maintain his or her eligibility for public assistance benefits, despite having assets that would otherwise make the person ineligible for those benefits. These types of trusts are a vital component of estate plans when clients have beneficiaries with disabilities.
How often does opposing counsel take cases to trial? What is your judge’s summary judgement record? How can analytics help you write more persuasive motions? How can legal information make you a better lawyer? Attorney Nicole Clark will show you how legal research, data & analytics can help you win your cases in state trial court.
Texas CLE Requirements for Attorneys Every active State Bar of Texas member must complete at least 15 hours accredited CLE during each minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) compliance year. Of the 15 required CLE hours a minimum of 3 hours must be in legal ethics/legal professional responsibility. For newly admitted attorneys or additional information, please see our Texas State Requirements page. Texas attorneys must take…
