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TEXAS ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION EMPOWERS LEGAL AID LAWYERS THROUGH TRAINING ON LITIGATION AND APPELLATE ADVOCACY

AUSTIN, Texas --- The Texas Access to Justice Commission has completed two intensive programs designed to give legal aid lawyers access to first-class trial skills training.

The Commission hosted the second annual Texas Trial Academy May 7-11 to enhance legal aid lawyers’ litigation skills in areas such as voir dire (jury selection), direct and cross examination of witnesses, and preparation and delivery of opening and closing statements.

Following each day’s demonstration, participants in the Texas Trial Academy had the opportunity to practice their skills and receive personalized professional critiques designed to develop and refine trial techniques.

During the Trial Academy dinner, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson gave the keynote address. Jefferson praised the Texas Access to Justice Commission and legal aid attorneys for their commitment to ensuring low-income Texans have access to the civil justice system.

Members of the elite American College of Trial Lawyers donated their time to share their extensive trial knowledge and skills with the front-line lawyers who advocate for the poor. Membership in the American College of Trial Lawyers is by invitation only, extended to experienced trial lawyers who have demonstrated exceptional skill and whose careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethics and professionalism.

The course director of the Trial Academy was Mike McKetta of Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody in Austin. Trainers at the Trial Academy included:

Amarillo: Marty Jones (Sprouse Shrader Smith)
Austin: Tom Watkins (Brown McCarroll); Pat Lochridge (McGinnis Lochridge & Kilgore); Don Davis (Byrd Davis Eisenberg Walter & Furman); George Butts (DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US); Dan Bishop (Bishop London Brophy & Dodds); Larry York (York Keller & Field); Terry Tottenham (Fulbright & Jaworski); Shannon Ratliff (Ratliff Law Firm); Broadus Spivey (Law Offices of Broadus Spivey); Steve McConnico (Scott Douglass & McConnico); Tommy Jacks (Jacks Law Firm); and Bill Whitehurst (Whitehurst Harkness Ozum & Brees)
Corpus Christi: Jorge Rangel (The Rangel Law Firm); Tony Canales (Canales & Simonson)
Corsicana: Glen Sodd (Dawson & Sodd)
Dallas: Bob Mow (Hughes & Luce); Jerry Clements (Locke Liddell & Sapp); Jerry Beane (Andrews & Kurth)
Fort Worth: R.H. Wallace (Shannon Gracey Ratliff & Miller)
Houston: Ed Junell (Schwartz, Junell, Greenberg & Oathout); Knox Nunnally (Vinson & Elkins); Tom Cunningham (Cunningham Welsh Darlow Zook & Chapoton); Larry Boyd (Fisher Boyd Brown Boudreaux & Huguenard); Reagan Simpson (King & Spalding); Murray Fogler (McDade Fogler); J. Christopher Reynolds (Gibb & Bruns); Lee Godfrey (Susman Godfrey)
McAllen: Chuck Murray (Atlas & Hall)
San Antonio: Cynthia Grimes (Ball & Weed); Lamont Jefferson (Haynes & Boone)
Tyler: Tom Henson (Ramey & Flock)

The 2006 Motions and Appellate Advocacy Academy, held April 20-21, featured individualized instruction and critiques on writing persuasive briefs and presenting oral arguments. In advance of the training, students were required to submit a bench brief for review by a mock-trial judge.

Each participant received training on writing briefs and oral advocacy, as well as individualized writing critique sessions. The mock oral argument was based on a child custody dispute. Family law comprises 47 percent of the cases handled by legal aid.

The Appellate Academy featured instructors who are experienced appellate practitioners and members of the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section. The course director of the Appellate Academy was William Boyce of Fulbright & Jaworksi in Houston. Warren Harris of Bracewell & Giuliani in Houston and chair of the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section assisted Boyce in structuring the program. Instructors at the Academy included: 

Austin: Elizabeth G. Bloch (Brown McCarroll); Mike Truesdale (Diamond McCarthy Taylor Finley Bryant & Lee); Philip Durst (Deats Durst Owen and Levy); and Elana Einhorn (Law Offices of Deborah Hankinson)
Houston: Robert DuBose (Cook & Roach)

The Texas Trial Academy and the Appellate Academy were held in Austin at The University of Texas Law School. The legal aid attorneys in attendance came from such organizations as Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Women’s Advocacy Project, the Texas Civil Rights Project, Advocacy, Inc., Texas Fair Defense Project, and Lone Star Legal Aid.

The Texas Bar Foundation provided funding for the Texas Trial Academy and the Appellate Academy.
Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $6 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation's largest charitably-funded bar foundation.

The Texas Access to Justice Commission (www.TexasATJ.org) was created in 2001 by the Supreme Court of Texas to develop and implement policy initiatives designed to expand access to and enhance the quality of justice in civil legal matters for low-income Texans. The Commission has created several initiatives to increase resources for and awareness of legal aid, including the domestic violence Protective Order Kit, the Texas Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program, and www.TexasLawHelp.org, an online resource for free legal information.