The TCDLA held its annual convention last week. (http://www.tcdla.com/rusty/rustyduncan.htm) I attended with two other members of my office. I should thank the Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. I was a thankful recipient of one of their scholarships. (Which prompted my colleagues to volunteer me driving.)
The materials provided were excellent. The papers were well researched and documented, but I thought that a few of the speakers came off a little on the kooky side. I guess that's to be expected. The majority of criminal defense attorneys practice in solo or small firms without the benefit of interaction with different viewpoints. Several speakers could have used a common chisel of conversation to break off the rough and superfluous parts of their opinions the better to fit the topics to universal use. I really don't need to know your opinion of the President or Congress. I need to hear the case law update.
I also thought that a Legislative update before the Legislation is signed seemed useless. If I wanted to know what didn't pass and what was a great idea that died in committee, I'd go read about it online.
I did like meeting several of the speakers who have offered to assist me as a sounding board on an appellate case I'm working on now. As well as meeting the IPad app speaker who has convinced me that getting one will increase my organization for my office.
Summary: Worth attending. Good networking opportunities. Interesting materials. Take opinions with a grain or hunk of salt.
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