Inadmissible: Civility in the Court

Nine senators have authored a bill that would require new attorneys to swear to remain civil with the court and all parties. Senate Bill 534 would amend the new-lawyers oath. Currently, new attorneys must swear to uphold the U.S. and Texas constitutions, be honest in practicing law, and do their best in their duty to clients. The bill would add a new line, requiring the new attorney to swear to “conduct oneself with integrity and civility in dealing and communicating with the court and all parties.” The bill also strikes masculine pronouns to make the lawyer oath gender-neutral. In December 2014, the Texas Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates revealed that it would back a bill to add civility to the lawyer oath. Some members of the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee reacted with hostility. “I don’t think it has any place in an adversarial profession where tempers run high,” Richard G. Munzinger, shareholder in Scott Hulse Marshall in El Paso, told his fellow SCAC members. But seven Democratic and two Republican senators, who are all lawyers themselves, might think that there is a place for civility. The authors of SB 534 include: Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin; Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe; Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston; Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston; Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso; Sen. Carlos “Charlie” Uresti, D-San Antonio; Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas; and Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston.

Rescheduling? May Pay for It

A federal magistrate in Dallas ordered a plaintiffs attorney, who called up only one hour in advance of a scheduled settlement conference to report her no-show status, to pay for defendants’ travel expenses. The defendants had paid for travel to Texas from Florida for the scheduled event. Nadine King-Mays of The King Mays Firm, the plaintiffs’ attorney, had told the court one hour before the conference was set to begin that “her clients would not be present because she was not able to locate them,” according to the Feb. 5 court order, written by U.S. Magistrate Paul Stickney of the Northern District of Texas. King-Mays, whose clients filed a complaint against Deustche Bank National Trust Company, believed the conference had been rescheduled to a different date, the order states. King-Mays did not return a call for this story. Nor did Robert Mowrey, a partner in Locke Lord, who represents the defense.

Bill Would Increase Bench Time