Elana S. Einhorn is a board-certified civil appellate lawyer with extensive experience working with judges in chambers and in using her deep understanding of Texas appellate courts on behalf of her clients. She knows what judges look for, the kinds of arguments they find most persuasive, and how to organize and frame legal issues for maximum impact. Elana has taught appellate advocacy to students at the University of Texas School of Law and appellate opinion writing to new Texas judges. With her unique background, Elana provides the depth of knowledge about persuasion that our team relies on to fashion the winning argument.
Overview
Elana S. Einhorn is a board-certified civil appellate lawyer with extensive experience working with judges in chambers and in using her deep understanding of Texas appellate courts on behalf of her clients. She knows what judges look for, the kinds of arguments they find most persuasive, and how to organize and frame legal issues for maximum impact. Elana has taught appellate advocacy to students at the University of Texas School of Law and appellate opinion writing to new Texas judges. With her unique background, Elana provides the depth of knowledge about persuasion that our team relies on to fashion the winning argument.
Practice Areas
Experience
- Appellate practice before Texas state and federal courts
- Former Faculty Member, University of Texas School of Law
- Appellate Advocacy, Advanced Legal Writing, first-year Legal Research and Writing
- Judicial Clerkship Advisor and Judicial Internship Instructor
- Staff Attorney for Texas Supreme Court Justice John Cornyn and for Justice Deborah G. Hankinson
- Law Clerk for former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht and for Judge Edward C. Prado, United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Distinctions
- Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law, 1998
- BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America®
- Appellate Practice, 2022-2025
- Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers®
- Texas Super Lawyer, Appellate, 2007-2009, 2016-2024
Bar Admissions
- Texas, 1989
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 5th Circuit
Education
- University of Texas School of Law, J.D., with honors, 1989
- Order of the Coif
- Best Brief, Board of Advocates Moot Court, Fall 1988
- Florida International University, B.A., English, high honors, 1986
- Outstanding English Senior
- Florida Academic Scholar
- The University of Chicago, Undergraduate Fellow, National Endowment for the Humanities, Summer 1985
Associations
- State Bar of Texas
- Litigation Section
- Appellate Section
- Appellate Section Law School Liaison Committee, 2012-2015, Co-Chair
- Appellate Section Pro Bono Committee, 2012-2013
- Litigation Section Litigation Update 2024, Planning Committee
- Appellate Section Advanced Civil Appellate Seminar 2004, Planning Committee
- Austin Bar Association
- Civil Appellate Section, Council Member, 2004-2006
- Civil Litigation Section
- Texas Bar College
- Texas Board of Legal Specialization Exam Committee, Civil Appellate Law, 2005-2007
- Travis County Women Lawyers' Association
- Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
- University of Texas Law School Conference on State & Federal Appeals
- Planning Committee Member, 2005-2025
Papers, Presentations & Publications
- Co-Author, “Diminishing Discretion: The Evolving Landscape of New Trial Standards,” News for the Bar, February 2024.
- Lead Author, “Top 10 Appellate Mistakes at the Trial Court,” Texas Bar Journal, July 2023; State Bar of Texas podcast August 2023; presented to Williamson County Bar Ass’n, February 2024; reprinted in State Bar of Texas Women & the Law newsletter, March 2024.
- Author, “Keep Calm and Supersede: The Basics of Superseding a Final Judgment in Texas State Courts,” The Advocate, Spring 2023.
- Reader for Bryan Garner’s Legal Writing in Plain English, 2nd ed., Univ. Chicago Press, May 2012, and 3rd ed., May 2022.
- Author, “Writing Respectfully: Why Is It So Hard for Lawyers to Refrain from Personal Attacks in Their Writing and What Can Be Done to Help Fight the Urge to Hit Low,” The Advocate, Fall 2020.
- Presenter, “Efficient and Effective Legal Writing,” Texas Office of Capital and Forensic Writs, July 24, 2020.
- Presenter, “Preparing for the Civil Appellate Board Certification Exam,” State Bar of Texas Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019; Texas Association of Appellate Court Attorneys, Annual Meeting, 2011.
- Presenter, “Preservation of Error Pre-Trial and Trial,” State Bar of Texas Civil Appeals 101 Practice Course, 2017.
- Author, “Olivo v. Verburgt: A Uniform Approach to Late Notices of Appeal,” (Co-authored with David Gaultney), 79 Texas Bar Journal 804 (2016).
- Author, “A Five-Pass Edit,” (Co-authored with Wayne Schiess), Austin Lawyer, Nov. 2015; reprinted in The Appellate Advocate, 2016.
- Faculty, Texas Center for the Judiciary, College for New Judges, Appellate Opinion Writing with Wayne Schiess, 2014
- Author, “Citational Footnotes,” (Co-authored with Wayne Schiess), The Appellate Advocate, 2014; reprinted in Legal Writing eJournal, 2014.
- Author, “Issue Statements—Different Kinds for Different Documents,” (Co-authored with Wayne Schiess), 50 Washburn L.J. 341 (2011); reprinted in State Bar of Texas Civil Appellate Practice 101 Course, 2013.
- Presenter, “Legal Writing: Basic Editing Up and Down,” Texas Association of Appellate Court Attorneys, Annual Meeting 2010.
- Author, “Advocacy Insight: What Appellate Practitioners Can Learn from the Blackmun Papers,” (Co-authored with David Gunn), University of Texas 19th Annual Conference on State and Federal Appeals, 2009.
- Use of Restatements and Federal Authority by the Texas Supreme Court, Texas Supreme Court Practice Manual 2005, ch. 12 (eds. Richard Orsinger & Larry Alexander).
Civic Involvement
- Austin Bar Association
- Cancer Law Clinic, volunteer attorney, 2018-2019
- Third Court of Appeals Pro Bono Pilot Project Screening Committee 2006-07