eCourses

Session 01: Medicaid Update and Other Hot Topics - This presentation identifies and explains recent changes in Medicaid law and policy. Discuss Medicaid advocacy strategies that are “hot,” either because they are new or because they are underutilized but work really well. Session 02: What All Estate and Probate Attorneys Need to Know About Medicaid Planning and Drafting - Issue-spotting and discussion highlighting elder law issues for which every estate planner and probate attorney should be on the lookout. Session 03: Medicaid Planning or Medicaid Avoidance? - Sometimes we can help a relatively wealthy person qualify for Medicaid long-term care. This presentation explores how to help the client determine whether or not they are able to pay privately; and if so, whether they would be better served by doing so or by qualifying for Medicaid. Session 04: MERP Defense - This presentation provides updates on changes in defending against MERP claims and discussion of continuing sticky situations and traps. Discuss where HMS and we disagree and the problems of timelines, statutes of limitations, and the need for legislative change. Session 05: When Your Client May Have Diminished Capacity - In estate planning and elder law, attorneys often have clients that may be in some stage of diminished capacity. This creates ethical and legal issues for the attorney that can’t be ignored. Explore those issues and ways the attorney can navigate these turbulent waters. Session 05: Real Estate Issues in Elder Law - Review issues to better protect your clients, including homestead and agricultural exemptions; recent changes; to inspect or not, what could possibly go wrong; easements; and transactions with an affidavit of heirship within four years of date of death.  Session 06: Role of the Guardian - Examine the duties and responsibilities of a guardian under Texas law and guardianship administration, from initiation to closing, including the code requirements of selling and leasing property, ethical issues, and more. Session 07: Alternatives to Guardianship Including Supports and Services - A discussion of practical considerations in determining whether lesser restrictive alternatives and supports and services are available and feasible in guardianship proceedings. Session 09: Medicaid Planning in Guardianships - A discussion of how government benefits planning for single and married individuals can be accomplished in the context of Guardianships and Community Administrations. Session 10: Medicaid Matters and Probate Proceedings - Join Stephanie as she explores how to protect homes from the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program [MERP] through probate proceedings, in addition to understanding the basics of protecting homes from the reach of MERP in the first place. Independent administrations may not always be the best choice, particularly in cases where no statutory waivers apply.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: 2024 Case Law Update Part 1 - 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: 2024 Case Law Update Part 2 - Continuation of 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 03: 2024 Secretary of State Update - Learn about filing tips and resources that can make your transactions with the Secretary of State (SOS) easier and more predictable; hear updates on our system modernization program, including an overview of online services available in the new SOS Portal. 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 No Materials

Session 01: Important Cases in the Prosecution and Defense of UM / UIM Cases - This presentation addresses recent cases impacting UM/UIM cases, as well as strategies and tips for prosecuting and for defending uninsured and under-insured motorist claims and bad faith litigation. Session 02: 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 03: 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 04: Subrogation and Liens: Medicare, Medicaid and Hospitals - It’s not what they pay, it’s what your client keeps that matters. Session 05: Pre-Suit Negotiation Strategies: Working with your Adjuster - Learn how to ensure you have properly prepared your adjuster, and the insurance company, to get the case settled for your client before mediation or negotiations. Session 06: Recurring Ethics Issues in Car Crash Cases - This session discusses recurring ethics issues in car crash cases affecting attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants. Session 07: 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: ​Anatomy of a Police Report - Police reports are often the beginning of your case, not the end. 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: Developing a Winning Deposition Strategy - Discuss the fail-safe tricks to ensure you have a winning strategy at depositions. Session 08: Proving Causation and Sufficiency of Evidence - Ever wonder why great verdicts get reversed and rendered? Don't learn the hard way: we'll show how to meet your burden of proof, present your expert, when to object, and what ipse dixit means!   Session 09: How to Defend a Corporate Representative -  Session 10: 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 11: Storytelling and Themes - 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 12: Overcoming the Problem Witness - Gain techniques to handle the difficult witness—yours or theirs. Session 13: Beating the Expert - Learn how to avoid being intimidated and how to set realistic, attainable goals when you depose the expert.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

THIS MONTH: Navigating the NIL Landscape: Contracts, Cash, and Compliance • ​Deep in the Heart of the Texas Business Courts: What Attorneys Need to Know • Taking Your Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan to the Next Level • Generative AI: Developments and Ethical Implications

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Session 1: Perspectives from In-House IP Counsel - The panel features three in-house IP counsel sharing their perspectives on a variety of topics including: recent challenging IP issues they’ve confronted, addressing how they’re navigating or benefitting from use of AI, and describing what a successful outside counsel relationship looks like to them. Session 2: When Bad Things Happen to Good Employers: Crisis Management Strategies - Employment law issues can quickly become a crisis. This panel discusses how to manage an issue early and proactively, investigation challenges and strategies, communications planning, external/internal reporting and communications, and privilege implications.  Session 3: Multijurisdictional Considerations: Understanding the Laws Across State Lines - Employers are increasingly dealing with vastly varying laws across state lines that impact how companies do business. Hear from both a defense and plaintiff side attorney on issues you should be aware of to protect your organization and navigate this ever-changing landscape.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

An overview of the basics of special needs trusts and public benefits including selection of appropriate trust option, pitfalls to avoid and case examples.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Gain insight on the topic of the termination of the special needs trust when a beneficiary passes away and there is a Medicaid lien owed. Hear the basics of the requirements of the Medicaid pay-back provision, how to contact the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to verify the Medicaid lien and obtain the lien payoff, and the process of settling the lien with the agency.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Learn about the tax-advantaged Texas Achieving a Better Life Experience Program (Texas ABLE®), a disability savings program created specifically for Texans with qualifying disabilities. This session takes a deeper dive into all things Texas ABLE—from how to open and manage a Texas ABLE account to discovering ways eligible individuals with disabilities and their families are using the accounts, all while helping to preserve state and federal means-tested benefits, including SSI and Medicaid. The session also highlights upcoming legislative changes including the Age Adjustment Act and its impact on program eligibility.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Buying a home for an SNT beneficiary can be one of the largest and most consequential purchases an SNT trustee will make during the lifetime of the trust. In this session, review procedures, considerations, best practices, and potential pitfalls for SNT trustees as they navigate the home-buying process.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Address the basic requirements for special needs trusts, common errors in drafting, the requirements for reforming a trust versus modifying a trust, and the benefits for reformations.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

This presentation covers recent changes to HUD housing programs that impact how income and assets are calculated for families. Learn about the new law and analyze the key updates to better inform your clients. Additionally, the session provides guidance on recertifying tenant income to ensure compliance with the updated regulations and current creative housing trends such as the use of Accessory Dwelling Units.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

In the early days of special needs planning, “supplemental” needs trusts were intended to do just that: provide funds for quality of life enhancements for a person whose primary needs would be met by a wellfunded system of supports. Today, at a time when parents and caregivers are aging and dying, and where Medicaid funded programs are a shell of what they used to be, funds left in trust for a person with a disability will often serve as a primary source of long term support. This presentation highlights the benefits of case management and advocacy services in identifying and addressing the challenges faced by a trustee managing funds in a discretionary trust for a disabled beneficiary whose formal and informal support networks are changing.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Explore drafting strategies to prevent litigation. A drafting attorney and a litigation attorney deliberate the right words, communications, and approaches to provide clear legal drafting, forestall conflicting interpretations and avoid future disputes.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Discuss how to identify what benefits your client has; what additional benefits they may be eligible for; what distributions by a trustee (or anyone) will make them ineligible; and what distributions will keep them eligible for those benefits.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

A review of the Medicare Program Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D including recent changes in Part D.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

A review of recent cases from around the country impacting special needs trusts, trustees and trust beneficiaries.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Focus on the uses of Sole Benefit Trusts, including distinguishing them from other types of special needs trusts. It will include practical application, hypothetical situations, and sample language.

Includes: Video Audio Paper

Attorneys and trustees need to clearly understand their ethical obligations. Using the Jeopardy game show format, in this interactive session, the presenters cover various ethical issues encountered in a special needs practice, providing the answers while the audience provides the questions.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

The centralization of SSI trust reviews business process celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2024. This session provides a look back, including improved quality, accurate and consistent trust determinations, and technical proficiency of employees. In addition, hear the latest regarding the legal opinion process, early termination, 90-day amendment period, and updates to the trust POMS.

Includes: Video Audio Slides