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Texas Appellate Law Podcast

Texas Appellate Law Podcast

By: Todd Smith & Jody Sanders
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Welcome to the Texas Appellate Law Podcast—your backstage pass to the Texas and federal appellate systems. Join your hosts, Texas appellate lawyers Todd Smith and Jody Sanders, as they explore the nuances of appellate advocacy with judges, court staff, leading trial and appellate practitioners, academics, and legal innovators. Whether you're immersed in an appeal or building your trial strategy, each episode delivers practical insights to help you enhance your advocacy skills, strengthen your arguments, and stay current with evolving legal trends. Connect with us at texapplawpod.com or on LinkedIn and X (@texapplawpod). Brought to you by Texas Appellate Counsel PLLC, a solo practice dedicated to appellate advocacy, trial support, and consulting for trial lawyers. For more information visit texappcounsel.com. Sponsored by Court Surety Bond Agency and Proceed (formerly Counsel Press.) Produced and powered by LawPods, podcast marketing that converts prospects and drives revenue. The views expressed by the participants on this podcast are their own and not those of their law firms, courts, or employers. Nothing you hear on this show establishes an attorney-client relationship or is legal advice.Copyright 2026 Todd Smith & Jody Sanders Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • What Serving on the Trial Bench Taught an Appellate Judge | Justice Scott Field

    What Serving on the Trial Bench Taught an Appellate Judge | Justice Scott Field
    Oct 8 2026

    Show notes to be added.

    Connect and Learn More

    ☑️ Todd Smith | LinkedIn | X

    ☑️ Jody Sanders | LinkedIn | X

    ☑️ Texas Appellate Law Podcast on LinkedIn | X | Instagram

    ☑️ Texas Appellate Counsel PLLC

    ☑️ Kelly Hart & Hallman, LLP | LinkedIn

    ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

    Produced and Powered by LawPods

    Sponsored by Court Surety Bond Agency and Proceed.
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Confronting Moral Injury: Winning in Law Without Losing Yourself

    Confronting Moral Injury: Winning in Law Without Losing Yourself
    Sep 25 2026
    "In a lot of respects, the legal system is a moral ordering system," says Jody Sanders—one built on competing interests and an outcomes-based way of measuring success that, he argues, rarely tells the whole story. In this episode, Jody and Todd Smith explore a concept most lawyers have felt but never had a word for: moral injury. Jody recently completed the ten-week Moral Injury Certificate Program at TCU's Brite Divinity School and walks Todd through his capstone slides. They connect it to earlier conversations on the show, including E154's look at the existential side of appellate work and E40's pandemic-era episode with TLAP's Chris Ritter, then dig into dehumanization in the legal system and the toll of wrongful convictions like Timothy Cole's. Hear why Jody says lawyers owe themselves more grace than they usually give.Connect and Learn More☑️ Todd Smith | LinkedIn | X☑️ Jody Sanders | LinkedIn | X☑️ Texas Appellate Law Podcast on LinkedIn | X | Instagram☑️ Texas Appellate Counsel PLLC☑️ Kelly Hart & Hallman, LLP | LinkedIn☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by Court Surety Bond Agency and Proceed.
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    55 mins
  • Fee Recovery, Trap Doors, and the Lodestar in the AI Age | Amy Prueger

    Fee Recovery, Trap Doors, and the Lodestar in the AI Age | Amy Prueger
    Aug 27 2026
    An attorney-fee award can sometimes dwarf the underlying recovery—yet, as Amy Prueger says, a party's fee request is often an afterthought. Hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders talk with Amy, a litigation attorney at Clark Hill PLC in Austin, about her recent paper "Taming the Fee Dragon: Attorney's Fees Recovery" and her ongoing research on the topic. Amy walks through the Texas fundamentals—the American Rule, the Rohrmoos framework, the prevailing-party requirement, the Yowell standard for appellate fees—then the trap doors that most often reverse a fee award, including segregation and invoice redactions. The conversation then moves to how the lodestar survives contact with generative AI. While Todd declares "Rohrmoos must die," Amy predicts that it "survives by not surviving." Listen in for an attorney-fee war story and one piece of advice for your next fee application.Connect and Learn More☑️ Todd Smith | LinkedIn | X☑️ Jody Sanders | LinkedIn | X☑️ Texas Appellate Law Podcast on LinkedIn | X | Instagram☑️ Texas Appellate Counsel PLLC☑️ Kelly Hart & Hallman, LLP | LinkedIn☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by Court Surety Bond Agency and Proceed.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 10 mins
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