Resources
The legal terms that come up most often in this kind of work, explained in plain language. Each definition is written for a person who is not a lawyer.
Immigration
The process of becoming a lawful permanent resident (green-card holder) while remaining in the United States, usually through Form I-485. Available only to people who entered legally and meet other requirements.
Related: Green card Visa
See also: /practices/immigration
General
A written statement of facts that the signer swears, under penalty of perjury, is true. Used to put evidence in front of a court without testifying in person. Lying on an affidavit is a crime in Texas.
General
A sworn statement, signed by people who knew the deceased, used in Texas to clear title to property when there has been no formal probate. Common for South Texas families where land has passed down without paperwork.
Criminal Defense
An early hearing where the defendant is formally told the charges and enters a plea (guilty, not guilty, or no contest). In Texas, the magistration hearing right after arrest covers some of this; the formal arraignment can come later.
Related: Magistration Plea Indictment
Immigration
Protection for people who cannot return to their home country because of past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
Related: Removal proceedings
Criminal Defense
Money paid or promised to the court so a person can be released from jail while the case is pending. If they fail to appear, the bond is forfeited. In Texas, a magistrate sets the bond at the first appearance after arrest.
Related: Arraignment Magistration
Immigration
A discretionary form of relief in immigration court that lets certain people facing deportation stay in the United States and, in some cases, become lawful permanent residents. The requirements are strict and the case must usually be tried.
Family Law
Money paid by one parent to the other for the support of their children. In Texas the amount is set by statutory guidelines based on the paying parent’s net resources and the number of children, with adjustments for health insurance and other factors.
Related: Conservatorship (managing vs possessory) Divorce decree
Family Law
Texas is a community-property state: most assets and debts acquired during the marriage belong equally to both spouses, regardless of whose name is on the title. Separate property (owned before marriage, inherited, or gifted) is treated differently.
Related: Divorce decree
Fees
The screening every law office must perform before taking a new client, to confirm there is no conflict of interest with a current or former client on the other side of the matter. If a conflict exists, the firm cannot take the case.
Family Law
The Texas word for "custody." A managing conservator makes the major decisions for a child (school, medical, residence); a possessory conservator has visitation but not those decision rights. Most Texas cases name both parents as joint managing conservators.
Related: Child support Divorce decree
See also: /practices/family-law
Fees
A fee where the lawyer is paid only if the client wins money, taken as a percentage of that recovery. If there is no recovery, there is no fee. Common in personal injury cases in Texas.
Related: Retainer Engagement letter
See also: /practices/personal-injury
Personal Injury
The money a plaintiff is asking the court or jury to award. In Texas personal-injury cases, damages include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and sometimes punitive damages when the defendant’s conduct was especially bad.
Related: Settlement Negligence
See also: /practices/personal-injury
Procedure
The pre-trial process where each side learns what evidence the other has - police reports, witness lists, expert reports, medical records, video. In Texas criminal cases, the Michael Morton Act requires the State to turn over most of its file.
Related: Plea Motion to suppress
Family Law
The final signed court order that ends a marriage. It contains everything that was agreed or decided: who gets which property, who pays which debts, the custody and possession schedule for the children, and any child support.
Related: Community property Conservatorship (managing vs possessory)
Fees
The signed agreement between lawyer and client that creates the attorney-client relationship. It sets out the scope of the work, the fees, who pays case expenses, and what happens if the relationship ends early.
Related: Retainer Contingency fee Flat fee
Criminal Defense
A Texas procedure that erases certain arrest and case records as if they never happened. Eligibility depends on how the case ended; dismissals and acquittals are usually eligible, convictions usually are not.
Fees
A single set price for handling a defined matter from start to finish. The fee is agreed in writing at hire, so the client knows the total cost up front. Common for most criminal, family, and immigration filings.
Related: Engagement letter
Immigration
The common name for lawful permanent resident status. It lets a foreign national live and work in the United States indefinitely, travel abroad with some limits, and after a waiting period apply for U.S. citizenship.
Related: Adjustment of status Naturalization
Fees
A fee structure where the client is charged for the lawyer’s time in small increments (usually a tenth of an hour). Used when the work is hard to predict, such as contested family-law trials or complex civil litigation.
Related: Retainer
Criminal Defense
A formal charge issued by a grand jury after reviewing the State’s evidence. In Texas, an indictment is required for most felonies before the case can proceed to trial.
Related: Arraignment Plea
Personal Injury
Legal responsibility for harm. In a Texas crash case, liability is usually about which driver caused the wreck and to what degree. Texas follows modified comparative fault: if you are more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover.
Related: Negligence Tortfeasor
Criminal Defense
The first appearance before a Texas magistrate after an arrest, usually within 48 hours. The magistrate reads the charges, explains rights, and sets a bond. Having a lawyer at magistration changes how bond gets set.
Related: Bond / Bail Arraignment
Personal Injury
Optional Texas auto-insurance coverage that pays your medical bills after a crash regardless of who was at fault, up to the limit on your policy. Pays fast and does not require proving liability.
Related: Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Subrogation
Criminal Defense
A pre-trial request asking the judge to throw out evidence the police got illegally - usually because of a bad search, a bad stop, or a confession taken without proper warnings. A granted motion can collapse the State’s case.
Related: Discovery
Immigration
The process by which a lawful permanent resident becomes a U.S. citizen. It requires meeting residency rules, passing the civics and English tests, and showing good moral character. Most green-card holders qualify after five years (three if married to a citizen).
Related: Green card
Personal Injury
The failure to use the level of care that a reasonable person would have used in the same situation. To win a Texas negligence case the plaintiff must prove duty, breach, causation, and damages.
Related: Damages Liability Tortfeasor
Immigration
The charging document that starts removal proceedings. It tells the person what immigration laws they are accused of violating and orders them to appear in immigration court. Missing the hearing usually results in an order of removal in absentia.
Criminal Defense
The defendant’s formal answer to a criminal charge. The three options are guilty, not guilty, and no contest (nolo contendere). A plea agreement is a deal with the prosecutor to resolve the case, usually with a reduced charge or sentence.
Related: Arraignment Discovery
General
Latin for "for the public good." Legal work done without charge for clients who cannot afford counsel. Texas lawyers are encouraged (not required) to do some pro bono work each year, and many courts maintain panels of court-appointed attorneys.
Criminal Defense
A sentence served in the community under supervision instead of in jail, with rules to follow (no new arrests, regular check-ins, sometimes drug testing or classes). In Texas this is called "community supervision." Violations can send you to jail.
Immigration
The formal immigration-court process to decide whether someone can be deported from the United States. It starts with a Notice to Appear and ends with either an order of removal or a form of relief (asylum, cancellation, adjustment).
Related: Notice to Appear (NTA) Cancellation of removal Asylum
Fees
Money paid up front and held in a trust account. The lawyer draws from it as work is performed and bills are issued, and any unused balance is refunded at the end of the case.
Related: Engagement letter Hourly billing
Personal Injury
A written agreement that resolves a case without going to trial. Both sides sign a release; the defendant or its insurance company pays an agreed amount; the lawsuit is dismissed. Most personal-injury cases in Texas settle before trial.
Related: Damages Subrogation
Procedure
The legal deadline for filing a particular type of case. Miss it and the case is barred, no matter how strong it is. In Texas, most personal-injury cases must be filed within two years of the injury; other cases have different deadlines.
Personal Injury
The right of an insurance company that paid for a loss to recover from the person who caused it. In a personal-injury settlement, subrogation often means that some of the recovery has to repay a health insurer or Medicare.
Related: Settlement Med-pay coverage
Personal Injury
A formal word for the person or company that committed a civil wrong (a "tort") and caused harm. In a car crash case, the at-fault driver is the tortfeasor; in a slip-and-fall, it is usually the property owner.
Related: Negligence Liability
Personal Injury
Coverage on your own Texas auto policy that pays for injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough insurance. Many Valley families have it without knowing, and it is often the largest source of recovery.
Related: Med-pay coverage
Immigration
A document that lets a foreign national enter the United States for a specific purpose and length of time. Non-immigrant visas (tourist, student, work) are temporary; immigrant visas lead to a green card.
Related: Green card Adjustment of status
Procedure
Jury selection. Lawyers question potential jurors about their backgrounds, biases, and views to decide who stays and who is struck. In bilingual border counties, this is where issues of language access and translation often come up.
Call us. We will explain any term that appears in your papers - in your language, no clock running.
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