In a recent column for Texas Lawyer, Akerman Litigation Partner Joel Mohrman explains why strategic planning can pay dividends for savvy litigants in Texas’ new business courts. The state opened the courts on September 1 this year to provide specialized venues for complex or high-dollar business disputes.

“Business courts give qualified litigants the ability to avoid pretrial proceedings in unfavorable venues,” Joel writes. “Whether filed initially in a business court or removed to it, pretrial proceedings will be held where the business courts sit — initially Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. The removal process is analogous to removal to federal courts.”