With a proposed bill currently before the state legislature that would create a business court to preside over complex commercial disputes, the legal news outlet Law360 turned to Alex Brauer and other leading Texas litigators for their opinions on the need for such a specialized court.
One of the primary benefits would be a highly experienced bench. Under the proposal, business court judges would be appointed by the governor, but would have to meet a significantly higher qualification thresholds that district judges must have served at least four years on the bench and be older than 25. According to Mr. Brauer, the enhanced qualification level could help counterbalance the appointment system.
“The governor presumably keeps kind of a close eye over that person because the governor has to appoint that person every two years or put someone else in there. You’re going to have a much more, in most cases, sophisticated business person looking at your dispute versus a kind of a random pick of the draw with state court judges.”
Among the concerns surrounding the creation of the business court is that could eventually discourage jury trial proceedings. But Mr. Brauer said there might be benefits to having fewer business disputes heard by juries.
“You may have cases being decided at an earlier stage and with less resources being used,” he said.
To read “Texas Litigators Skeptical of State Business Court Plan,” visit https://www.law360.com/articles/1580894/texas-litigators-skeptical-of-state-business-court-plan [Subscription Required.]