FROM THE EDITOR

By BRAD A. ALLEN Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, L.L.P.

Signs of The Apocalypse

Throughout history a wide variety of events have been declared as signs of the apocalypse. Everything from wars, plagues, pestilence, and even Houston Astro Brad Ausmus going 5 for 5 in a single game have all been so declared. My personal favorite was the first dance on the Baylor campus in 1996. I attended the dance in anxious anticipation of the coming end. Like so many other “signs,” the dance proceeded start to finish without any cataclysmic event. The closest we came to a calamity was when a student, dressed as Moses, appeared before a plethora of media cameras on the roof of one of the campus buildings under a helicopter spotlight – and declared that the crowd had broken the eleventh commandment of not dancing on the Baylor campus.
The world did not come to an end that evening, but we recently had an event in Houston that some would surely declare to be another sign of the apocalypse. Having already seen the cover of this magazine, many of you are about to say some problem with getting jurors is a sign of the apocalypse. Not so fast my friends, because I have a better one than that. The HBA recently hosted a round table discussion of all-star litigators, judges, and corporate counsel to discuss the jury system in Texas. This panel included Dick DeGuerin and Lyn McClellan. Dick is one of the most recognized and successful criminal defense lawyers in the country. Lyn is one of the most experienced prosecutors in the Harris County District Attorney’s office who has prosecuted as many capital cases as anyone. Throughout our panel discussion these two agreed a lot more than they disagreed. In fact, our panel agreed on many things that one probably would not expect. What did they agree on — well you’re going to have to read the story.
The panel also included The Honorable Elizabeth Ray, The Honorable Gaynelle Griffin Jones, Hugh Rice Kelly, Dale Jefferson, and Randy Sorrels. The panel did a phenomenal job of addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the current jury system, and what we all can do to make the jury system better. So, what we have is not really a sign of the apocalypse— but a sign of hope. I encourage you to read the excerpts from the round table discussion to digest the tremendous insight from our panel, as well as to learn what you (we) can do to make a difference. I want to thank each of our panelists for their time and thoughts on this important issue. I also want to thank Mary Truman of Truman, Inc., for generously donating the reporting services for the round table.
In this issue you will also find an article by District Clerk Charles Bacarisse reporting on the status of jury service in Harris County and the numerous efforts underway to improve the system locally. Litigators will find his article a must read, and all readers, (including non-attorneys) should find the information on our new jury assembly facilities to be interesting and useful.
This special issue also includes an insightful article by Joe Jamail regarding the jury system. Mr. Jamail, one of the most recognized civil litigators in the U.S., truly needs no introduction. Regardless of your practice area, you will find his comments interesting and thought provoking.
I want to thank our associate editors for coordinating this issue with our guest editors. You will find that all of our columns have a jury theme, which required a coordinated effort. Likewise, a big thanks goes to guest editors Jocelyn LaBove and Benjamin Sanchez for making this special issue a reality.
Last, but not least, you will find in this issue the second part of our update on the recent bankruptcy law changes. Because many of these laws will go into effect this fall, we wanted to bring the second part of this article to you now. This is part of The Houston Lawyers’ continuing effort to timely report major changes in the law that will impact our members. If there are major changes coming to your practice area, please let us know so we can help keep all members updated.
Finally, this fall represents Tara Shockley’s 25th anniversary with The Houston Bar Association. Tara has spent much of her 25 years of service to the bar as the Communications Director for the HBA, as well as the Managing Editor for this magazine. We hope you enjoy the special commemorative to Tara (which will be a big surprise to her) in this issue. On behalf of the entire editorial board of The Houston Lawyer, we dedicate this issue to Tara Shockley. Simply put, we could not do this without her. Trying to run The Houston Lawyer without Tara would be – you guessed it – a sign of the apocalypse.
Our next issue will focus on criminal law. It is going to be a great issue, and it will have something for everyone – even if you are not a criminal lawyer. Until next time.

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