Federal Judiciary

Viva Fiesta! State Bar board meeting in San Antonio

By Michael Smith

Yesterday and today I'm at our quarterly State Bar of Texas board of directors meeting in San Antonio.  I posted the picture because of a San Antonio tradition I just learned about, which is Fiesta medals (think Mardi Gras beads without the indecent exposure).. Fiesta medals of any sort are prized during Fiesta, and last night I scored a blue "Community Justice Program" medal by the San Antonio Bar Association (the blue one) and a red, white and blue "State Bar of Texas Board of Directors" with an Alamo on it.  The most highly prized one, I'm told, is actually one by the local district attorney - go figure.  But I'm proud of mine, and wore them to this morning's meeting as well.
Busy day working patent cases remotely in preparation for next week's status conference with Judges Ward and Everingham - ended up with a unopposed motion to transfer one case, setting up meetings in our new office's visiting attorney rooms in another, and working on agreements on discovery disputes in another.  Also learned that Rick Frenkel has been nonsuited from the Ward/Albritton case against Cisco, since Cisco apparently admitted he was in course & scope when blogging. 
The highlight was when a New York reporter who was interviewing me asked me for a Texas-style description or metaphor for Judge Ward, and promised me anonymity!  I disclaimed the anonymity and told him what Judge Ward once said about himself at a hearing when calmly (more or less) explaining to a lawyer that he was perhaps not completely persuaded by a position. As best I recall, what he said was "I may have just fallen off the turnip truck, but it was real close to the courthouse at the time, counsel, if you take my meaning."  I've always liked that.

Full post as published by Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice on April 25, 2008 (boomark / email).