TCAA is proud to introduce the new-and-improved TCAA Listserv hosted by Gaggle Mail. The listserv is designed for ease of use and is available to all TCAA members who are licensed to practice law in Texas. Information on TCAA membership can be found here.
If you are eligible for membership to the listserv, your email address has already been imported from our database and you should receive a welcome email from Gaggle Mail. All you need to do to ask or answer a question is send an email to [email protected]. Please review the List Norms below, prior to posting.
If you have questions or technical difficulties, please email [email protected].
Listserv Norms
All members of the TCAA Listserv are expected to comply with the following “norms.” The norms exist to promote efficient and responsible communication between members, while retaining the informal collegiality enjoyed by the group. The norms are intended to reduce messages that do not contribute to the substance of a discussion thread, but they also represent courteous email protocol.
1. Identify yourself: Always identify yourself by name and title and include your email address within the body of sent messages, except as otherwise provided for in Section 5, below. This will allow responders to contact you directly, or off-list, should the need arise.
2. Replies: Do not reply to a message without adding a substantive thought to the dialogue. Thus, “Me too” or “I agree” or “Ditto” are unnecessary replies.
3. Subject line: Always review the subject line before sending a message or reply. If the message is a reply to an existing thread, only update the subject line if your comment changes the context of discussion.
4. Quoting list messages: The listserv is a private discussion list for TCAA attorney members. Quoting a posting from the listserv or forwarding a posting to others without the specific permission from the person who posted the message isn’t appropriate. This “norm” shall not apply to quoting or forwarding a message to any person bound by the attorney confidentiality requirement. Sharing information in a generic basis, such as “this subject was recently discussed on a municipal attorney list and the consensus seems to be——, although there were some who expressed concern that ——,” is acceptable. However, no request for information or for documents that are posted, reproduced, or cited on this listserv is intended, or should be interpreted, as a request under any federal, state or local law, rule, regulation, or ordinance requiring the disclosure of any government information or documents.
5. Confidentiality Rules: Keep in mind that the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics issued Formal Opinion 511R regarding the confidentiality obligations of lawyers posting to listservs on May 8, 2024. The opinion finds that Model Rule 1.6 (very similar in language to Texas Disciplinary Rule of Professional Conduct 1.05) prohibits a lawyer from posting comments or questions relating to a representation to a listserv, even in hypothetical or abstract form, without the client’s informed consent if there is a reasonable likelihood that the lawyer’s posts will disclose information relating to the representation that would allow a reader then or later to recognize or infer the identity of the lawyer’s client or the situation involved.
By default, when an attorney sends a message to the TCAA Listserv, the people receiving the message can see the name and email address of the sender. However, the listserv allows a user to post using “incognito mode.” In some circumstances, the attorney may want to communicate without other members of the group knowing their email address. In this case, “incognito mode” should be enabled.
This option only hides the sender’s email address. If the member has a name registered with the TCAA Listserv, they should change this to an alias to preserve anonymity. For more information, see this article from Gaggle Mail: https://help.gaggle.email/article/25-incognito-mode.
6. Use of list messages against a city is strictly prohibited: We all recognize that some listserv members are with law firms – or with governmental agencies – that may also have matters where they are adversarial to a particular city. It is inappropriate to use the listserv to gather opinions or strategies that would be used against cities. Abuse of the listserv will result in the member’s membership being revoked.
7. Commercial messages: Messages of a commercial nature are strictly prohibited and may result in termination as a participant. Reference checks, notices of employment, and other matters pertinent to the operational aspects of your law office are not considered “commercial messages.”
8. Campaign messages: The list may not be used to solicit or campaign for or on behalf of a listserv member, or another person, running for an elected or appointive position.: We all recognize that some listserv members are with law firms – or with governmental agencies – that may also have matters where they are adversarial to a particular city. It is inappropriate to use the listserv to gather opinions or strategies that would be used against cities. Abuse of the listserv will result in the member’s membership being revoked.