Last week, the United States Supreme Court and Texas Supreme Court issued several high-profile opinions as they cleared the dockets from last year’s terms. With so many rulings issued at once, it could be easy to miss an opinion from the Texas Supreme Court with important practical implications for the attorney-client privilege under Texas law.
Q&A with the State Bar of Texas President
Cindy V. Tisdale, a partner at Goranson Bain Ausley in Granbury, was sworn in June 22 as the new president of the State Bar of Texas. Tisdale, who practices family law, answered questions from The Lawbook about why she sought to lead the organization and what her goals are.
Q&A With the State Bar of Texas President-Elect
Bracewell partner W. Stephen Benesh was sworn in as president-elect of the State Bar of Texas June 22 during the annual meeting in Austin. He answered questions from The Lawbook about why he wanted to take a leadership role and what his goals are.
Texas Supreme Court: ERCOT is Government Agency, Has Sovereign Immunity
A sharply divided Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is a government agency and is entitled to sovereign immunity from civil lawsuits. In a highly anticipated decision, the state’s highest court for civil litigation ruled that “because ERCOT performs a ‘uniquely governmental’ function as part of a ‘larger governmental system’, it is an organ of government.”
The decision to declare ERCOT a state agency and grant it immunity directly impacts thousands of wrongful death, personal injury and property damage lawsuits brought by victims of Winter Storm Uri and currently pending in a multidistrict litigation in Harris County District Court. ERCOT is a defendant in nearly all of those cases.