austinbar.org JUNE 2020 | VOLUME 29, NUMBER 5
What Do You Get When Bench Bar Meets a Global Pandemic?
Couch Bar 2020
O
ne of the Austin Bar Association’s longtime annual events is its Bench Bar Conference, a day-long CLE program with opportunities for interaction between lawyers and judges. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the traditional Bench Bar was tentatively rescheduled for Aug. 28, 2020 at the Austin Country Club. However, because we all miss interactions with our Austin Bar family, Austin Bar Treasurer Amanda Arriaga and board member Justice Chari Kelly hosted what will hopefully be a once-ina-lifetime event: Couch Bar. The successful virtual event with new and innovative programming provided by Austin Bar leaders was held on May 1, 2020—the date originally planned for Bench Bar. The Austin Bar’s Zoom account allows for a maximum of 500 participants. With 450
groups of attendees. Next, Kim Miers of Littler Mendelson gave a presentation about compliance, challenges, and strategies for addressing COVID-19 in the workplace. Kelley Dwyer, chair of the Austin Bar’s Animal Law Section, spoke about the importance of animal law. Dwyer invited all attendees to have their pet(s) join them on screen and share their tales (tails) of rescue and adoption. Even for those without pets, this was a highlight of the event! Members of the Entertainment Law Section, including Rachel Luna (Luna Law); Buck McKinney (McKinney Firm); Amy E. Mitchell (Amy E. Mitchell PLLC); Gwendolyn Seale (Mike Tolleson and Associates); and Alyce Zawacki (Alyce Zawacki Law), participated in a panel discussion about entertainment industry disputes happening due to COVID-19. During the Couch Bar lunch
Thank you to the Couch Bar presenters, to the members of the judiciary who participated in coffee and cocktails, and to those who attended. registered and more than 400 in attendance, the account was utilized to the fullest. Some of the 400 stayed for the whole day, while others came and went as their schedules allowed. Couch Bar began at 8:30 a.m. with “Coffee with the Judiciary.” Close to 20 judges were split into seven breakout rooms to share stories and coffee with small
break, a Law Day CLE sponsored by the Texas metro bars (Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Tarrant County bar associations) was hosted by the San Antonio Bar. “The Cure for Divisiveness: Mindfulness and the Pursuit of Happiness in the Era of COVID-19” was presented virtually by Dallas lawyer Lisa Blue, 2020 president of the
National Trial Lawyers Association. The Couch Bar afternoon session began with a panel consisting of UT School of Law Professor Tracy W. McCormack, Hon. Lora Livingston, Karl Bayer and Sherrie Wirth of The Exhibit Co. The panel discussed how to continue a courtroom practice from your living room. Then, Austin Bar Foundation Chair Adam Schramek provided an overview of the new “Open Texas” guidelines as well as two important legal doctrines—force majeure and material adverse effect clauses—about which many clients are asking as a result of COVID-19. Melissa Lorber, Chair of the Austin Bar Civil Appellate Section, moderated a discussion with Third Court of Appeals Chief Justice Jeff Rose and Supreme Court Clerk Blake Hawthorne on how the appellate courts and the Supreme Court are handling
their business during COVID-19. The attendees were treated to a live session of the weekly podcast, “The National Security Law Podcast,” hosted by Professors Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck from the UT School of Law. Marking the transition from CLE to happy hour was the world premiere of a Bar & Grill music video, “Part of the World.” If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, click here. It will make you smile. Finally, Couch Bar ended with “Cocktails and Conversation.” Attendees received demonstrations from guest mixologists, including Justices Melissa Goodwin and Chari Kelly, and Judges Jan Soifer, Maya Guerra Gamble, and Dustin Howell. The judges kindly shared their recipes, found on page 7. A big thank you to the Couch Bar presenters, to the members of the judiciary who participated continued on page 7
