In a recent reversal, the Texas Supreme Court has permitted two out-of-state attorneys to defend AutoZone Inc. in age discrimination claims. This comes after overturning a ruling from two lower state courts that accused the lawyers of unauthorized practice of law.
The issue at the core of the dispute was a court filing from 2020 that, while including the names and contact details of the attorneys, did not feature their signatures. The sole signature on the document was that of Bruce Koehler, a lawyer licensed in Texas, who was seen as having “assumed full responsibility for the filing” by the supreme court. The lawyers in question, Laurie Riley and Tracy Kern from Jones Walker, can now continue to serve as AutoZone’s defense.