eCourses

Session 1: The Grievance Process and Most Common Violations - The presentation is intended to provide general information regarding the amendments made to the grievance process in 2018, the proper way to respond to a grievance identifying attorney misconduct, and common problems to avoid in practice. Session 2: So You Think You Know Your Evidence and Procedure? - An interactive and entertaining presentation testing your knowledge of the Texas Rules of Evidence and Procedure. Session 3: Research on Legal Writing - Get information about empirical research on legal writing techniques. Research supports plainer writing, reduced use of intensifiers, reduced use of “emotional” words, and use of narrative. Research also supports “connectives” (transitions), priming, and the value of resources, i.e. money. Session 4: Dealing With the Problem of Opposing Counsel - How to avoid intimidation and manage the disruptive, disreputable, and overly zealous opposing counsel in an ethical, civil, and professional manner.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: 2023 Case Law Update - A survey of recent Texas cases addressing significant issues (fiduciary duties, piercing the entity veil, and more) in the context of LLCs and partnerships (including limited partnerships and LLPs). Session 02: Texas Legislative Update for Partnerships and LLCs - Summary of selected bills passed in the 2023 Texas Legislature affecting partnerships and limited liability companies. Session 03: 2023 Secretary of State Update - Learn about filing tips and resources that will make your transactions with the Secretary of State easier and more predictable; hear updates on notable legislation and our system modernization initiative. Session 04: Updates from Delaware - A survey of recent Delaware cases addressing significant issues, including fiduciary duties, elimination of fiduciary duties and contractual interpretation in the context of LLCs and partnerships (including limited partnerships and LLPs). Session 05: S corporations: A Cautionary Tale about Squaring the Circle - A discussion of some of the motivations driving the use of LLCs as S corporations, some of the potential issues and some of the drafting and structuring issues that should be considered if an LLC is taxed as an S corporation.  Session 06: Updated Model LLC Agreements - Review three model agreements tailored for a closely held company, including a discussion of some recent changes in the models as well as decisions that the authors made in drafting the models to help improve your drafting skills and result in better operating agreements. Session 07: Drafting Net Profit Agreements - Net profits agreements are used in transactions where the parties have an interest in sharing in profits but do not want to create or participate in an entity arrangement with the parties involved.  Net profits agreements raise a number of issues which may be as basic as the very definition of what the parties intend to share, as well as the methods of payout, the impact on tax consequences of these arrangements and concerns relating to the unintended partnership. Review the issues lawyers may need to consider with their clients to draft an effective net profits agreement.  Session 08: Provisions Limiting Liability and Duties in Partnership and Company Agreements - This panel will discuss the effectiveness and limitations on provisions of partnership and company agreements which provide for the modification of duties, exoneration from liability and indemnification with respect to claims against managers, members and other employees and agents.   Session 09: Effective Engagement Letters and Other Simple Risk-Management Tools - This ethics CLE presentation will look at engagement letters and how they can be used as a risk management tool. Along they way, the presentation will provide practical tips to help lawyers avoid conflict of interest pitfalls and to assist in controlling client expectations about the scope of the representation. Session 10: Multiparty Representation —Entity Formation - A deep-dive into the knurly problems of multi-party representation of start-up companies, including whether the client is the founder or founders or the company is yet to be formed. The ethical difficulties for the lawyer continue after formation as the company and its founders, directors and officers move beyond formation of the entity into the realm of operations.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: First Contact, Case Evaluation, and Client Expectations - Learn how to assess who has a claim, potential conflicts, how to evaluate the potential liability, damages, and costs of the case, and how to manage your client's expectations about their case. Session 02: Investigation and Insurance - Examine critical aspects of the crash investigation, including the identification of potential parties and the myriad of potentially applicable insurance coverages. Session 03: ​Important Cases in the Prosecution and Defense of UM / UIM Cases - A review of recent cases impacting UM/UIM cases and the strategies for prosecuting and defending uninsured and under-insured motorist claims. Session 04: Low Property Damage Cases - Prosecuting and defending personal injury cases with minor property damage can present challenges. This session discusses the experiences and strategies from the plaintiff and defense perspectives. Session 05: Commercial Vehicle Accidents 101 - Learn about commercial vehicle litigation from the plaintiff and defense perspective. The presentation includes litigation involving tractor-trailers, commercial vehicles, and commercial buses. Session 06: Subrogation and Liens: Medicare, Medicaid and Hospitals - Health insurers and providers compete with claimants for personal injury recoveries. How do attorneys protect plaintiffs and defendants from subrogation interests and medical liens? The CLE paper covers all state and federal topics (ERISA, worker’s comp, child support, attorney liability, etc.) but the presentation drills down on three big subjects. Session 07: ​Negotiating with Insurance Adjusters - Learn how to maximize case value through preparation and presentation of the demand package. Session 08: Recurring Ethics Issues in Car Crash Cases - This session discusses recurring ethics issues in car crash cases affecting attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants. Session 09: Recent Changes to the Advertising and Solicitation Rules: The Highlights - Comprehensive changes to the Texas Disciplinary Rules governing advertisements and solicitations became effective in 2021. This presentation highlights some of the most notable changes.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: Trial Preparation 101 - Stressed in trial prep and at trial? Inevitable? Yes. Manageable? Absolutely. Learn tips and strategies from an experienced plaintiff and defense attorney for developing a case and preparing for trial. Session 02: Discovery: Beyond Bullet Points - A discussion about the discoverability and admissibility of medical records, medical bills, and related data that focuses on the increasing role of “reasonableness” in the determination of what is discoverable and admissible and the added complexity and expense this adds to the litigation process. Session 03: Discovery: Best Practices and A View from the Bench - Practical advice for how to conduct effective, ethical and efficient discovery. Session 04: Overcoming “Bad Facts” A Plaintiff and Defense Perspective - Tips and tricks to deal with low property damage, pre-existing conditions, gaps in treatment, lack of medical bills, DWI, criminal clients, and more at trial. Session 05: ​Seatbelts and Police Opinions: Two Outcome Determinative Issues - Evidence about seatbelts and the investigating officer’s opinions has the potential to be outcome-determinative in a car crash case. What evidence should come before the jury, and what should be kept out? Session 06: Medical Bills in Car Crash Cases - Whether you’re an experienced trial lawyer or tackling your first car crash case, proving and challenging medical expenses can be daunting. Break down the nuts and bolts of this critical damages element, as well as more advanced strategies and recent case law impacting this ever-evolving area of the law. Session 07: Trying Cases Without Medical Bills - Texas law has made it difficult to try cases with our medical bills. That burden creates an avenue to trying cases without them and opening doors to greater potential verdicts. Session 08: Jury Selection: What, Why, and How? - What information are you truly trying to obtain during voir dire, why do you need that information for your specific case, and how are you asking questions to get it? Intentional strategies to help plan your approach to jury selection and execute it. Session 09: Storytelling and Themes - How to use stories and themes from voir dire through rebuttal to expose the defense’s use of psychology in trial. This presentation includes real-world, trial-tested stories and story techniques that have been successfully used all over the country in red, blue, and purple counties for car wreck verdicts big and (relatively) small. Session 10: Proving Up Future Damages - Including medical and lost wages. Session 11: Developing a Winning Deposition Strategy - Discuss the fail-safe tricks to ensure you have a winning strategy at depositions. Session 12: Overcoming the Problem Witness - How to handle the difficult witness, yours or theirs. Session 13: Beating the Expert - Find out how to take an expert’s deposition—how to avoid being intimidated and how to set realistic, attainable goals when you depose the "expert." Session 14: Developing Your Trial Cross Through the Adverse Deposition? - Learn to take admission-seeking depositions of adverse witnesses so that they are effectively limited in their testimony at trial. Session 15: Preparing Your Witness for Deposition - Witnesses win cases—and lose them. Learn how to keep your witness from giving it all up in a deposition and how to use the deposition to help prepare your witness to be a winner at trial.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 1: Lawyers Behaving Badly - The hosts of the Lawyers Behaving Badly podcast share true but outrageous stories about lawyers being less than their best selves. Session 2: The Unruly Client - Ethical duties and practical advice for working with clients who don’t see eye to eye with you. Session 3: DOJ Hot Topics and Recent Developments - Panelists discuss recent enforcement trends by the DOJ and how announced priorities are playing out in the real world. Session 4: Does Intelligence Equal Competence? Navigating Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law - Artificial Intelligence may be embedded in tools, or may even be a tool itself, that helps lawyers better meet client needs. But, it is no different than other conventional tools and technologies used by lawyers—they must be used in conjunction with a lawyer’s duty to provide competent representation. Session 5: Persuasive Oral Argument Techniques - Hear tips from two of Texas’s best on what to do (and not to do) in oral argument.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

THIS MONTH: ChatGPT Ethics • On The Road Again: Legal Issues with Music Touring • Arbitration is NOT Litigation • Leasing and Real Estate Issues - Are We Prepared for the Office Apocalypse? • Leasing and Real Estate Issues - Are We Prepared for the Office Apocalypse? • What You Need to Know About the Corporate Transparency Act

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

THIS MONTH: Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in College Sports, Year Three • Humanitarian Relief & Border Issues • Dealing with Loans in the Context of Divorces, Death, and other Family Disruptions • Licensure with a Criminal Record • Ethics Issues for Transactional Practice

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 1: Ted Lasso Ethics - Five lessons lawyers should learn from Ted Lasso. Session 2: Consideration of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Agency Affairs - The 88th legislature and directives from the Governor banned offices and programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion at publicly funded colleges and universities. This mandate will reshape what agencies can and cannot do. Examine recent legislation and its potential impact on agency affairs. Session 3: Mediation Strategies, Solutions and Lessons Learned - The success of mediation is influenced by the information exchanged in advance, the type of mediation (remote or in-person), the inclusion or exclusion of a joint opening session, and many other factors. This panel discusses best practices for opening lines of communication, getting past the impasse, and finding a resolution. Session 4: Texas Public Information Act and Texas Open Meetings Act: How They Work - An overview of the requirements and procedures under Texas’ government transparency statutes and a look at some common issues.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 1: Intro to AI: Registering Works that Incorporate Artificial Intelligence - The last year has seen a dramatic expansion in the use of generative AI technologies, which has prompted questions about the copyrightability of AI-generated works. Get up to speed on the U.S. Copyright Office’s AI initiative, walk through the Office’s views on registering works generated in whole or in part by AI, and answer some frequently asked questions. Session 2: Navigating the Minefield of AI-Generated Content - The spread of generative artificial intelligence has raised a host of questions in areas of law spanning copyright, right of publicity, privacy and others. Hear perspectives on those emerging questions and where the law may be headed. Session 3:Chatting ChatGPT - Get a fast-paced introduction to emerging AI technologies that lawyers need to know about, including a demonstration of these breakthroughs with a focus on the risks of using these technologies without understanding how they work.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

What do clearance attorneys need to think about when drafting opinion letters regarding rights issues for their clients? Hear from an expert who has written rights clearance opinion letters for hundreds of projects, ranging from true crime documentaries to scripted films based on or inspired by true stories. Learn what clients, insurance companies, distributors and other stakeholders come to expect when reviewing an opinion letter for films and television programs.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 1: Case Law Update - An annual roundup of notable court rulings, including Texas judicial decisions, that impact the practice of entertainment law. Session 2: LIVE EDITION! Entertainment Law Update Podcast - Join us for a special live edition of the Entertainment Law Update Podcast, where you'll get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look as co-hosts Tamera Bennett and Gordon Firemark produce the November episode of our groundbreaking podcast. Don't miss this unique opportunity to see the magic happen and stay up-to-date on the latest legal developments in the entertainment industry! Session 3: Tales from the Trenches: Recurring Litigation Practice Minefields in Entertainment Law Cases - Enjoy tales of litigation in entertainment and media cases including net profits in motion pictures and TV, theft of idea and copyright infringement cases, libel, and class actions against record companies, talent unions and movie studios.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

An overview of business entities and how they may be used by music labels, music publishers, managers, promoters, venues or others in the music business, followed by a discussion of the deluge of data that labels, publishers and managers must deal with in the modern music business.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Understand the basic copyright and trademark principles and identify where they apply in music,television/film, podcasting, and influencer deals.

Includes: Video Audio Paper

Gordon Firemark, The Podcast Lawyer™ provides an in-depth analysis of the legal landscape, issues and considerations that arise when producing true crime podcasts, including intellectual property, plagiarism, defamation, privacy concerns, and more. Gain valuable insights that can be applied to your practice and clients in the podcasting industry.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

A discussion of where things stand in the world of NIL and where they could be headed. Topics include NCAA policy, state and federal legislation, IRS and tax issues, international student-athletes, donor collectives, group licensing, and more.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

The realm of termination and recapture rights under the U.S. Copyright Act presents a labyrinth full of pitfalls for practitioners which can result in their clients losing their "second bite at the apple." Hear an overview of Sections 203 and 304 of the Copyright Act, discuss the termination process in the context of music from providing notice to potentially settling and negotiating new deals with publishers and labels, and examine the results of recent court cases in this ever-evolving area of copyright law practice.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Whether they’re taking an Econoline van or a Gulfstream private jet, your music clients are bound to have questions relating to their tours. From insurance coverage to crew agreements to immigration issues and more, discover what you need to know to advise your clients properly.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Discover the untold consequences of neglecting estate and IP succession planning as a recording artist/songwriter and delve into the complex web of copyrights, trademarks, and publicity rights arising posthumously. Hear practical steps and real-world examples to make a plan and to tackle a failure to plan.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

District courts and parties continue to grapple with issues relating to litigation funding and the funders themselves. This panel discusses some of the more prominent challenges including disclosure requirements (e.g., Delaware), how to get a funded litigant to settle, and patent aggregation by funded entities.

Includes: Video Audio Paper

THIS MONTH: Contracting with Third-Party Vendors: Top Risk and Privacy Law Considerations • IRAs In Estate Planning, or Trust Me, I'm an EDB for RMDs After the RBD • Beating the Expert • Running Your Law Firm as a Business • The Unruly Client

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides