TexasBarBooks would like to congratulate Austin attorney Claude E. Ducloux for being selected as recipient of the 2011 Gene Cavin Award for Excellence in Continuing Legal Education. Claude has served on countless CLE planning committees and is one of the State Bar’s most popular speakers and authors. He has chaired numerous professional organizations, including the Texas Bar Foundation, the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism, and the College of the State Bar of Texas. He has served on the editorial committee of the Texas Bar Journal, edited the Travis County Practice Handbook, and authored multiple professionalism videos, among many other accomplishments.

Upon being notified of winning the Gene Cavin Award, Claude announced, “I am absolutely dumbfounded and terribly happy!” Claude will be presented with the award on July 22nd in Galveston at the State Bar College Summer School Program.

The number of low-income Texans in need of civil legal aid for help with issues such as veterans’ benefits, domestic violence and home foreclosures continues to increase significantly as a result of the on-going economic downturn. Currently, 5.7 million Texans qualify for legal aid, but the funds available to support legal aid have declined drastically. However, even before this dramatic decline in funding, legal services providers were only able to help 1 in 5 people in need of basic civil legal services.

Texas’ attorneys are stepping up to meet this challenge by increasing their pro bono work. You can find volunteer opportunities in your area at www.texaslawyershelp.org or by calling the Legal Services Support Division of the State Bar at 800-204-2222, ext. 1855.

Texas attorneys can also support access to justice by making the Access to Justice contribution when paying their annual dues or on-line at any time through MyBarPage. Support Access to Justice with your contribution today!

Adam Goodheart of the New York Times’ Opinionator offers tantalizing historical tidbits on divorce in antebellum America, when the country was gearing up for civil war.

“We separated North and South because of incompatibility of temper,” the South Carolina diarist wrote in March 1861. “We are divorced because we have hated each other so. If we could only separate, a ‘separation à l’agréable,’ as the French say it, and not have a horrid fight for divorce.”

Divorce, Antebellum Style [Opinionator]

We have been asked why UCC § 2.314(b)(5) is not included as an element in PJC 71.10. This subsection is not included because it does not relate to a products liability claim covered by PJC chapter 71. PJC 71.10 is based on the old PJC 71.9 as it appeared in former editions of this volume. The Committee rewrote the charge language to correct an erroneously conditioned question and included the relevant sections of the UCC provision on which the PJC is based. The requirement that the goods be “adequately contained, packaged, and labeled as the agreement may require,” as stated in UCC § 2.314(b)(5), would be relevant only in a true UCC article 2 breach-of-warranty claim, not a products claim being submitted under PJC chapter 71. Therefore, subsection (b)(5) was not included as an element in the charge.

Editor’s Note: We apologize for any confusion that may have resulted from the inadvertent inclusion of subsection (b)(5) in the title to PJC 71.10. The correct title is “Breach of Implied Warranty of Merchantability (Tex. UCC § 2.314(b)(1), (2), (4), (6)).” Similarly, the citation in the “When to use” paragraph of the Comment should be “Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 2.314(b)(1), (2), (4), (6).”

[youtube width="560" height="400"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTW_tXQEvuE[/youtube]

TexasBarBooks is sad to report that Louise Raggio, a pioneer among the state’s early female lawyers, died on January 23. Many of the impressive achievements of Ms. Raggio’s career were chronicled in the book Rough Road to Justice, published by TexasBarBooks. One such achievement was her election to the State Bar’s Board of Directors in 1979:

It was customary to present the new board members a gift. Raggio received a gift that was identical to that of the male officers—a pair of gold cuff links engraved with the seal of the State Bar. Apparently no thought had been given to an appropriate gift for a woman since there had never been a female director. Raggio came up with a solution by putting her cuff links on a chain and wearing them around her neck. She was later given a gold pendant with the State Bar insignia, but she kept the cuff links as her “badge of acceptance.”

Ms. Raggio’s contributions to Texas law and women’s rights will always be appreciated, and we extend our condolences to her family during this time.

TexasBarBooks is proud to announce the release of its new Texas Probate Forms Builder Document Assembly System. Forms Builder is an easy-to-use program designed to facilitate procedures and organize materials for Texas attorneys handling probate matters. Both new and experienced lawyers, as well as their legal assistants, stand to benefit from this time-saving and cost-effective program.

Forms Builder contains all necessary forms and letters for handling a decedent’s estate. When users enter and save information regarding an estate into Forms Builder’s fillable documents, any relevant data will automatically populate into subsequent documents for that client. Documents are assembled within Microsoft Word or WordPerfect; assemblies can be customized to incorporate firm-specific material, and they can be revisited in the future.

Forms Builder boasts numerous helpful features, such as a Checkplan that lists all activities that should be performed in handling a decedent’s estate. The program’s Probate Chart can be used to summarize the status of all probate matters handled by a firm, further assisting a firm with its planning and time-management. Users can enter important dates regarding an estate into the Significant Date List, which then calculates the dates for subsequent actions and notifies users when documents are required. Additionally, the program contains Special Instructions and Worksheets to guide users through their decision-making.

Forms Builder is based on the authoritative Texas Probate System, written by well-known probate practitioner James E. Brill. It is an up-to-date, user-friendly resource that is sure to save attorneys time and money.

Unlike other document assembly programs that require users to pay on a continuing basis, Forms Builder is obtained through only one payment. Use it to complete just a couple of cases and it will pay for itself! Further, as Forms Builder is sure to be particularly beneficial for new attorneys who are just beginning their probate practices, young lawyers are eligible for a special discount.

Viewers can purchase Forms Builder or obtain more information here.

At this year’s staff holiday party, the State Bar raised over $2,600 for the Christmas Bureau of Austin through a raffle of gift baskets donated by various departments within the Bar. TexasBarBooks decided to celebrate our first foray into e-book publishing by offering a free Kindle with free copies of the Kindle versions of Rough Road to Justice and I Remember Atticus to the lucky winner.

We were so pleased that TexasBarCLE administrative assistant and all-around great person, Quincy Horton, claimed the prize! A very happy Quincy called it “the most wonderful gift basket ever in the history of State Bar gift baskets.” She also shared, “I will enjoy the Kindle ever so much! You guys have definitely made my holiday!”

What a great idea! Did you know that you can give Kindle books as gifts?

Give the Kindle Edition of Rough Road to Justice.

Give the Kindle Edition of I Remember Atticus.

Two of TexasBarBooks’s most popular titles, I Remember Atticus and Rough Road to Justice, are now available as Kindle e-books. As our first two publications formatted for Kindle, these books mark a new venture by TexasBarBooks into helping lawyers and consumers in Texas and beyond build their digital libraries.

As Kindle e-books, I Remember Atticus and Rough Road to Justice will benefit from some of the many features that make Kindle Reading Devices such celebrated products. Consumers will be able to access the books immediately from their thin, highly portable Kindle devices, as well as from their iPhones, iPads, PCs, Macs, Android devices, or BlackBerrys. In addition, readers will be able to add annotations to the text and share meaningful paragraphs with their friends and colleagues by posting passages to their social networks.

Another leading advantage of Kindle e-books is that they typically sell for lower prices than their hardbound or paperback counterparts. The Kindle versions of I Remember Atticus and Rough Road to Justice can both be purchased for the low price of $9.99—representing significant savings for customers.

Last week, Adobe released updated versions of its Acrobat family of products, including Adobe Reader 9.4. This latest version of Adobe Reader is designed to address security concerns and fix bugs in the preceding version—Adobe Reader 9.3.4—which negatively affected some users’ digital products, including a few products released by TexasBarBooks. The latest version of Adobe Reader, available here, should correct those problems. As always, any customers who experience problems using TexasBarBooks products are encouraged to call 512-427-1499 for assistance.

Annually, the international organization Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) offers “best” awards that recognize the contributions of its professional member organizations. The State Bar of Texas has received four of only 18 awards granted.

The State Bar was chosen for:

• Award for Professional Excellence in the Marketing Category (TexasBarBooks)
• Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Publications Category (TexasBarBooks)
• Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Public Interest Category
• Award for Outstanding Achievement in Technology (TexasBarCLE)

We’re proud to be recognized by ACLEA for our efforts.