Join us on Thursday, September 28, 12pm - 1pm, for The Robot Lawyer: Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law. Saskia Mehlhorn, Director of Knowledge Management & Library Services, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP will give specific examples of tools that incorporate AI technology and discuss opportunities for lawyers and other legal professionals. To register, click here.
Fighting Hate Crimes and Bias in Texas - a free CLE event
The fight against violence and bigotry is of perennial concern in American Jurisprudence. Ten Dollars to Hate by Patricia Bernstein brings the story of one such fight from the 1920s into our modern consciousness. The book tells the story of Texas prosecutor Dan Moody, whose efforts against the Ku Klux Klan led to the nation's first successful prosecution of the well-connected group for their violent assaults and criminal acts. Moody's lead was followed around the country, loosening the supremacist group's grip on American politics.
Ms. Bernstein will present her research alongside a panel of attorneys who fight hate and bias everyday at a free CLE event on September 8. The event is cosponsored by the Offices of Vince Ryan, Harris County Attorney, and Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney, and is accredited for both CLE (3.0 hours in Texas; 0.5 hour ethics) and TCOLE credit. Register today at www.harriscountylawlibrary.org/tendollars.
Houston Bar Association & Houston Volunteer Lawyers Help the Community
June marked the end of the Houston Bar Association's calendar of activities. Looking back, it's clear to see that the HBA was quite active indeed, providing valuable service to HBA members, the profession, and the public.
Houston Volunteer Lawyers provided in-person, one-on-one legal advice to more than 6,100 applicants at no expense to those served. Nearly 1,200 cases were referred to pro bono attorneys for long-term representation. Over 2,300 of those helped were U.S. veterans or spouses of deceased veterans.
HVL also assisted 6,561 pro se litigants with family law matters at the courthouse information both on the 17th floor of the Civil Courthouse, and expanded the pro se clinic to the Harris County Law Library where attorneys now meet with self-represented litigants five days a week from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon on a first come-first served basis.
More than 700 LegalLine volunteers answered 5,386 calls from residents of Harris County, and the Houston Lawyer Referral service made over 26,000 referrals to attorneys and other agencies.
These are just a few of HBA's achievements over the last twelve months. Additional successes of the previous year are detailed in the May/June 2017 issue of the Houston Lawyer magazine. See page six for President Neil Kelly's message where he reflects on the HBA's service to its members, its initiatives in educating the public about the law, and its efforts to help the residents of Harris County.
HVL Self Help Divorce Clinic, August 18
August is Self-Help Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library. As a service to the community and the residents of Harris County, the Houston Volunteer Lawyers are hosting a Self Help Divorce Clinic on August 18th at 1019 Congress Avenue. Details are provided below.
Are you filing for divorce? Are you representing yourself because you cannot afford an attorney? Do you and your spouse agree to the divorce? The Houston Volunteer Lawyers can help. Sign up for the HVL Self Help Divorce Clinic, and meet with a volunteer attorney, one-on-one, to prepare what you need to complete your own divorce.
WHEN: August 18, 2017 9:00 a.m.
WHERE: HARRIS COUNTY LAW LIBRARY (1019 Congress Avenue)
To sign up, complete this questionnaire.
If your case qualifies, a Houston Volunteer Lawyers staff member will call you to confirm that you qualify and to schedule your clinic appointment.
Latest & Greatest – Raising the Bar: The Crucial Role of the Lawyer in Society
In his book, Raising the Bar: The Crucial Role of the Lawyer in Society, Talmage Boston challenges his fellow lawyers to “raise the bar” and reclaim the elevated position that lawyers once held in society. Boston begins his look at the individuals that served as role models for the legal profession by examining the life and career of one of our country’s leading examples of honesty and integrity: Abraham Lincoln. He outlines Lincoln’s six points of advice, composed sometime in the 1850s, to assist those desiring to enter the practice of law. These tidbits of advice are reflected to some degree in the ethical rules to which lawyers must adhere, such as diligence, the provision of candid advice, and the importance of being honest in transactions and dealings. Boston also details those characteristics that intensified his greatness. These attributes included his brainpower, his self-control, his emotional intelligence, and his “high sense of purpose.”
Linked with Lincoln for his integrity and wisdom, Atticus Finch, the empathetic small-town lawyer from To Kill a Mockingbird, serves as Boston’s second inspirational role model. He cites examples of how Finch’s words and demeanor inspired many people to join the legal profession. Atticus Finch provided services to the poor, recognized the value of alternative dispute resolution, considered other perspectives, acknowledged the need for color-blind justice, and championed the power of the legal system while still conceding its limitations. Even today, Atticus Finch still ranks high on the list of favorite lawyers.
The author doesn’t simply focus his attention on historical and fictional lawyers; he also analyzes the careers of two lawyers he deems to be the greatest of the last 50 years: Leon Jaworski and James A. Baker III. Boston describes Jaworski as the protector and preserver of the Rule of Law. He supports this notion by highlighting five cases which Jaworski himself believed were the most important of his life, including State of Texas v. Jordan Scott and United States v. Nixon. Baker, on the other hand, Boston portrays as a lawyer who changed the world for the better. Chief of Staff during the Reagan Administration and Secretary of State during the Bush years, Baker utilized and applied the skills he refined as a business lawyer to his positions of diplomacy.
Boston also concentrates his interest on lawyers who became novelists and who not only used their legal experience to tell compelling stories but also to raise awareness of serious questions that affect the legal profession and the public at large. He examined the careers of Louis Auchincloss, whose novels dealt with the upper crust of New York society, Richard North Patterson, whose books increasingly focused upon the political arena, and John Grisham, whose legal thrillers evolved into “issue books” dramatizing social injustices. Still, despite the different paths the writings of these authors took, each drew on their experiences as lawyers and/or litigators to create stories worth reading.
Lastly, Boston turns his sights on Theodore Roosevelt. Though not a lawyer himself, Roosevelt lived and existed on the fringes of the law and various legal situations, having aligned himself with lawyers. However, the author uses Roosevelt as a cautionary tale. Roosevelt’s life stands as a warning to lawyers to keep their exuberance in check so as to avoid a similar crash and burn scenario suffered by Roosevelt. Roosevelt was a larger-than-life character, living in the so-called arena. However, this zeal attributed to his ultimate downfall, a sad end for someone so historically significant.
If you are interested in learning about the achievements of several distinguished lawyers and the characteristics that caused them to “raise the bar,” read Talmage Boston’s Raising the Bar: The Crucial Role of the Lawyer in Society.