eCourses

Session 01: Case Law Update – Part I - Discuss recent and significant Texas cases from the last year, with particular attention paid to cases involving new legal concepts or which materially alter or extend current jurisprudence. Session 02: Case Law Update – Part II - Discuss recent and significant Texas cases for the last year, with particular attention paid to cases involving new legal concepts or which materially alter or extend current jurisprudence. Session 03: Hot Topics - Hear about recent developments and hot topics in mortgage lending and related real estate matters.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Has Judgment Day come? Is Skynet about to destroy humanity? Nah…not yet. Until our computer overlords take charge, Generative AI can be a helpful new tool for sorting through the vast amounts of data and knowledge on the Internet. Walk through the basics of using Generative AI and hear some pointers on how you can make it work for you and your practice. 

Includes: Video Audio Slides

THIS MONTH: Interest Rates and the Mortgage Market: What’s Next? • Navigating Sensitive Employment Complaints​ • How to Use Your Expert Witness as a Fact Witness and Find Other Valuable Damages Testimony • Cybersecurity Legal Incident Response Preparedness in Today’s Threat Landscape • My Mind Has A Mind of Its Own: Why Even Good Lawyers Are Lured Into Unethical Behavior by the Way Their Brains Work

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

An examination of intercreditor agreements from the perspective of each of the borrower, the senior lender and the mezzanine lender. 

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Hear a discussion on Subchapter V, lender and lessor relations, 363 sales, third-party releases, and related market trends affecting lenders in bankruptcy cases including a review of recent cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court and in the Fifth Circuit.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Session 01: Give Me a (Tax) Break: Considerations for Affordable and Workforce Housing Transactions Utilizing Public Facility Corporations (PFCs) - In recent years housing has become increasingly difficult to develop due to rising interest rates and construction costs, but innovative financing strategies that leverage property tax exemptions available to public facility corporations (PFCs) and other similar entities have allowed communities in Texas to continue growing. Examine the basics of PFCs, including their formation, legal requirements and recent legislative changes, and some of the pitfalls and best practices when considering a public-private partnership with a PFC.   Session 02: How it Works: C-PACE Financing - Hear about the building blocks of the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program in Texas. Gain valuable insights on the mechanics of C-PACE financing and how it can be leveraged to fill gaps in the capital stack.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Session 01: Transactional Lessons Learned at the Courthouse - Litigation is a popularity contest. This presentation provides lodestars for creating winning paper trails, focusing on the transactional documents presented to trial courts at temporary-restraining-order hearings, temporary-injunction hearings, summary-judgment hearings, pretrial evidentiary hearings, bench trials, and jury trials. Session 02: FinCEN Developments - FinCEN is a federal government level regulatory activity which involves real estate transactions, requiring filing of disclosures of ownership of corporations, LLCs and other entities. This is the Corporate Transparency Act, but, more important to real estate and real estate lending, is a second set of proposed regulations which would require attorneys and others involved in residential real estate closings to "turn in" clients and client information for the purposes of tracking illegal activity.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: Part 1: Workout, Foreclosure, Deed-in-Lieu, Receivership, and Other Judicial and Non-Judicial Remedies. So Many Choices... - The panel will share lessons learned from past cycles and what is different about this one. They will also discuss their general approach to problem loans, and the primary questions that guide the resolution process. Session 02: ​Part 2: Workout, Foreclosure, Deed-in-Lieu, Receivership, and Other Judicial and Non-Judicial Remedies. So Many Choices... - The panel will share lessons learned from past cycles and what is different about this one. They will also discuss their general approach to problem loans, and the primary questions that guide the resolution process.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Hear a title insurance update including common title issues that arise in a transaction and how to clean up a title after a project as gone wrong.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: A House Divided: The Rights and Duties of Homesteaders, Life Tenants, Remaindermen, and Co-Tenants - Discuss the often complex relationship between the surviving spouse who chooses to exercise her homestead right, or who inherits a life estate in separate property, and the remaindermen who are standing by to receive the property. Learn the various rights and obligations of those who exercise a homestead right, possess a life estate, or own a remainder interest in property.  Session 02: Partition of Real Property Under Texas Law: A Primer - An overview of the litigation process of a claim for partition of real estate, including issues which arise under the Uniform Partition of Heirs’ Property Act.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Need ethics credit? We’ve got you covered! UT Law CLE’s First Friday Ethics streams live every first Friday of the month, and features some of our best ethics speakers and presentations for a total of 3.00 hrs ethics credit. Fulfill your entire annual ethics requirement in Texas in one day!   This month includes: (1.00 hr | 1.00 hr ethics) Let’s Chat About ChatGPT: Ethical Considerations in the Use of Generative AI (Replay) Since the introduction of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, lawyers around the country have been getting into ethical hot water over their misuse of generative AI. Courts have responded with mandatory AI disclosures and certifications by attorneys. What are your ethical obligations in using AI, and how can you stay within the lines? Come find out in this informative and entertaining presentation! Hon. John G. Browning, Of Counsel, The Cole Law Firm, McKinney, Texas and Distinguished Jurist in Residence, Faulkner University School of Law - Plano, TX (1.00 hr | 1.00 hr ethics) Attorney Wellness: Speaking Up, Reaching Out (Replay) Mental health issues are taboo discussions at the workplace, yet when attorneys consider suicide, it's often a result of work-related stress. Explore real-world tips and information on how to spot a mental health crisis in someone you work with, and what to do once you are aware of a problem. Stephanie Townsend Allala, Townsend Allala, Coulter & Kludt PLLC - El Paso, TX (1.00 hr | 1.00 hr ethics) How to Avoid Malpractice in a Post-Pandemic Legal World (Replay) Law practice has been forever changed by the Covid-19 pandemic with the widespread adoption of remote work. While “work from home” has been eagerly embraced by many lawyers, it has caused an increase in age-old ethical problems for lawyers. This course is designed to help practitioners avoid conflicts and unintended clients, safeguard client confidentiality, maintain competence, and form better communication habits with their clients, other attorneys and staff. Robert L. Tobey, Johnston Tobey Baruch, P.C. - Dallas, TX

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: Let’s Chat About ChatGPT: Ethical Considerations in the Use of Generative AI - Since the introduction of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, lawyers around the country have been getting into ethical hot water over their misuse of generative AI. Courts have responded with mandatory AI disclosures and certifications by attorneys. What are your ethical obligations in using AI, and how can you stay within the lines? Find out in this informative and entertaining presentation! Session 02: Philanthropy in Sports - Collegiate athletics draw significant attention, and revenues, to many institutions and associated nonprofit organizations. This presentation covers tax and legal considerations around such activity for organizations and donors, including "name, image and likeness" (NIL) structures, licensing/joint ventures, and sponsorships. Session 03: Overcoming School Challenges for Students with Disabilites - Having school-aged clients with a disability can provide unique challenges in their care. Learn about these challenges and potential solutions from the collaborative perspective of an education consultant and a nurse case manager. Session 04: Challenges Presented by Litigation Funding - District courts and parties continue to grapple with issues relating to litigation funding and the funders themselves. This panel discusses some of the more prominent challenges including disclosure requirements (e.g., Delaware), how to get a funded litigant to settle, and patent aggregation by funded entities. Session 05: Texas Public Information Act and Texas Open Meetings Act: How They Work - An overview of the requirements and procedures under Texas’ government transparency statutes and a look at some common issues.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Need ethics credit? We’ve got you covered! UT Law CLE’s First Friday Ethics streams live every first Friday of the month, and features some of our best ethics speakers and presentations for a total of 3.00 hrs ethics credit. Fulfill your entire annual ethics requirement in Texas in one day!   This month includes: (1.00 hr | 1.00 hr ethics) Ted Lasso and Lawyer Ethics (Replay) What can a fictional soccer coach, goldfish, and biscuits teach us about attorney ethics? Lace up your cleats and find out.   Christie L. Hobbs, Northwest ISD - Fort Worth, TX (0.75 hr | 0.75 hr ethics) Ten Rules for Ethical and Effective Negotiating (Replay) Most real estate deals are like water, and if things are handled correctly they will generally find their own level. This presentation provides ten (10) principles for handling negotiations correctly, which by necessity means ethically, and which will result in more effective negotiation. Richard A. Crow, Greenberg Traurig, LLP - Houston, TX (0.75 hr | 0.75 hr ethics) Wellness in the Practice of Law: What Every Lawyer Should Know (Replay) A look at statistics on lawyer wellness and explore evidence-based tips on how to manage stress and anxiety to avoid losing enthusiasm for the practice of law. Michelle Fontenot, Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program - Austin, TX (0.50 hr | 0.50 hr ethics) Social Media, Ethics, and TMI: Why you won't be ROFL (Replay) Refresher on maintaining client confidences and other rules of professional conduct in a world influenced by social media.  Priscilla de Mata, Ysleta ISD - El Paso, TX

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: Land Use Case Law Updates Part 1 - A rapid review of recent land uses cases, including platting, zoning, takings, vesting, and development agreements. Session 02: Land Use Case Law Updates Part 2 - A rapid review of recent land uses cases, including platting, zoning, takings, vesting, and development agreements. Session 03: General Legislative Update - Following nearly 250 days of Texas state legislative activity in 2023, this session provides a fast-paced review of the land use bills that passed along with a few that didn't. Session 04: Super Preemption and H.B. 2127 Litigation Update - H.B. 2127, the so called “Super Preemption Bill,” was set to become law on September 1, 2023, but was struck down as unconstitutional (at least as to the Cities of Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso) by a Travis County district judge on August 30, 2023. This law seeks to expressly preempt certain city regulations, while implicitly preempting other city regulations that are in conflict with a “field of regulation” occupied by certain state laws. This presentation reviews H.B. 2127, its scope and likely applications, and provide an update on the litigation over H.B. 2127. Session 05: Out of the ETJ and Into the Unknown? What the SB 2038 ETJ-Removal Law Does and Its Impact on Cities and Counties - A review of what the SB 2038 ETJ-removal law does and its impact on cities and counties, by an experienced panel of land use, real estate and development attorneys, including the plaintiff’s attorney in Grand Prairie v. Texas. Session 06: Navigating Recent Texas Legislative Impacts on Development and Land Use Regulations - A discussion on how various bills adopted by the Texas Legislature in recent years have impacted cities’ abilities to regulate development, land use, and building materials on properties. This also includes a discussion on litigation updates concerning those restrictions and cities’ attempts to navigate enforcement efforts to address competing concerns of their citizenry.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Counties across the state are struggling with housing affordability, with population surges in unincorporated areas and a growing mismatch between housing needs and supply. Hear from county leaders and housing experts on tools that counties are using to address local affordable housing needs, along with opportunities for expanding counties' toolboxes. 

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Land Use Professionals love to focus on big, beautiful, well designed residential communities. They are not affordable to many citizens. Many citizens are drawn to living in alternative “subdivisions” for affordability or flexibility reasons: small lot “urban” neighborhoods with basic amenities (if any) in rural areas, manufactured housing communities and RV Parks. This presentation covers land use issues for these alternative “subdivisions”.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Come listen and participate in deconstructing ethical dilemmas faced in the land use, development, and economic development practice, from attorneys, elected officials, engineers to planners, all those involved face hurdles one must clear to maintain ethical obligations in the land use space.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: Deep Dive into Utility and Other Resources in Planning - Legal and land use implications of SB 2038 - ETJ Release. Session 02: Why Would Anyone Want to Own and Operate a Utility - A discussion and analysis on recent trends in the water and wastewater regulatory environment. The presentation addresses what hurdles investor and developer owned utilities are facing in front of Texas regulators, navigating municipal oversight and relationships, and the financial and business outcomes from regulation. Audience members who are considering or advising clients on entering the regulated utility space can expect to come away with a better understanding of this critical Texas industry and its administrative oversight. 

Includes: Video Audio Slides

From the Legislature’s concerns about Colony Ridge, to “gentle” density issues in Dallas, to poker houses, to “single-family for rent” projects, to an update on STR litigation, this presentation addresses current Texas land use issues at a fast pace.   

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Since the introduction of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, lawyers around the country have been getting into ethical hot water over their misuse of generative AI. Courts have responded with mandatory AI disclosures and certifications by attorneys. What are your ethical obligations in using AI, and how can you stay within the lines? Come find out in this informative and entertaining presentation!

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides