Bridging the Gap materials on appellate practice

In a little over an hour, I will be presenting the appellate segment of the LSBA's Bridging the Gap seminar at the New Orleans Marriott. For anyone who's interested, I've uploaded my materials, PowerPoint presentation, and other goodies on The (New) Legal Writer.

Proposed rules governing information about legal services

I spotted this announcement on the LSBA web site:

The Rules of Professional Conduct Committee has drafted proposed amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct dealing with lawyer advertising and solicitation and has received approval by The Louisiana Supreme Court's Committee to Study Attorney Advertising.

The LSBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee has scheduled public hearings to invite and receive comments on the proposed new advertising and solicitation rules: Rules 7.1 through 7.10.
The public hearing schedule is as follows:

Baton Rouge
Thursday, November 2, 2006 at 5:00 p.m., LSU Law School, Room 106

Lafayette
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 at 5:00 p.m., Federal Court

New Orleans
Thursday, November 9, 2006 at 6:00 p.m., Loyola University, Main Campus, Audubon Room in the Dana Center

Shreveport
Thursday, November 16, 2006 at 10:00 a.m., Federal Court

To read the proposed rules, click here.

Under proposed Rule 7.6(b), web sites "are considered to be information provided upon request," making them subject to different requirements from those applicable to print, radio, or TV advertisements.

Amendments to Uniform Rules of La. Courts of Appeal

The Louisiana Conference of Court of Appeal Judges has approved several amendments to the Uniform Rules of Louisiana Courts of Appeal, effective November 1, 2006. You can download a copy of the amendments by clicking here. Lawyers who file appeal briefs or writ applications will want to be aware of the following amendments:

1. Rule 2-13 has been amended to state that if you file by mail, proof of timely filing includes a postmark, a receipt for mailing, or, if you file by FedEx, UPS, or other "bonafide commercial service," an official receipt from the commercial service. "Any other date stamp, such as a private commercial mail meter stamp, shall not be used to establish timeliness."

2. Rule 3-2 has been amended to speed up communication in election cases, to allow various notices to be sent by e-mail "if directed by the Court of Appeal."

3. Starting November 1, writ applications and attachments must be hole punched and bound in two places along the top margin, preferably with 4 1/4 inch metal file fasteners such that no part of the text on any page is obscured, and in sections consisting of no more than 250 pages ...." Also, the statement of the case must "includ[e] the status of the case at the time the writ application is filed, in order to reflect any trial dates or hearing dates that are pending ...." See amendment to Rule 4-5.

4. Once the writ application is filed, if any trial or hearing date is set, or any date included in the writ application is changed or continued, the applicant must notify the Court of Appeal within three business days, either by fax or (if directed by the Court of Appeal) by e-mail. Within one week of the setting or scheduling change, the applicant must file a supplement to the writ application with the new information.