Going out with Laughs

Here is another nice tribute of Judge Buchmeyer.  Having been to a number of good Irish Wakes, including a couple for my grandparents, I can attest that Judge Buchmeyer was a wise man when he told a law clerk that he wanted "an Irish wake at Belo."  My favorite line from this Blog is the line delivered by Jones Day partner Wes Loegering, "If life was measured in laughs, he’d certainly outlive everyone in this room."   

H/T Texas Parte Blog

Going Electric in Dallas

Effective October 1, 2009, the Dallas Court of Appeals is now requiring attorneys to file an electronic copy of any brief filed with the Court.  The electronic file can be submitted by CD or by email.  This rule will also apply to amicus curiae briefs.  For attorneys intending to email a document to the Court, they should email it to  ebrief@5thcoa.courts.state.tx.us with the appellate case number on the subject line. 

Attracting Businesses to Texas with a Business Litigation Court

Facing a budget short fall, Massachusetts has apparently targeted its court system to make up the short fall, and businesses have taken notice.  While Boston was one of the first states to develop a specialized business litigation court, which was designed to fast-tract an array of business disputes, it now looks like the state’s budget problems will force it to eliminate some of those fast-track measures.  And some high profile businesses, like EMC Corp, are taking notice and inquiring about whether it might be time to re-locate its business in another state.  This might be a good time for Texas to consider creating its own specialized business court.  Right now, fifteen states have set up specialized courts for business litigation and complex litigation.  Besides attracting businesses from other states, a business litigation court would also promote businesses to utilize the court system more often because a business litigation court could alleviate some of the concerns that motivate businesses to avoid the court system at all costs. 

R.I.P ~ Jerry Buchmeyer

On Monday, September 21, 2009, Jerry Buchmeyer, the founder of the humor column et cetera, died of natural causes at the age of 76.  He was a retired federal judge who was appointed to the federal bench by Jimmy Carter in 1979.  He served as the chief judge of the Northern District of Texas from 1995 to 2001.  Here is a special tribute published in December of 2008 by the Texas Bar Journal concerning his column et cetera.