NO. 03-15-00428-CV

___________________ _____________________________________________________ IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD DIST RICT OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

___________________ _____________________________________________________ BERNARD MORELLO, Appellant ,
v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
.

___________________ ____________________________________ ________________ On Appeal from Cause No. D-1-GV-06-000627 353 RD Judicial District Court, Austin, Texas The Honorable Rhonda Hurley

___________________ ____________________________________ _________________ JURANEK LAW FIRM, PLLC, AND JAMES JURANEK’S PARTIALLY UNOPPOSED MOTION TO WITHDR AW AS COUNSEL FOR BERNARD MORELLO AND TO SUBS ITTUTE LAPEZE & JOHNS, PLLC AS LEAD COUNSEL

___________________ _____________________________________________________ TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS: The Juranek Law Firm, PLLC and James Juranek (collectivel y “Movants”) file this partially unopposed moti on to withdraw as lead counsel for Appellant Bernard Morello, and in support thereof would re spectfully show the Court the following:
1. Basis for motion . Movants file this Motion to withdraw from representation of this appeal under Texa s Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.5.
2. Withdrawal with Substitution of Counsel . This Motion is for withdrawal with substitution of counsel. Lapeze & Johns, PLLC, and Keith Lapeze, ACCEPTED 03-15-000428-cv 7816354 THIRD COURT OF APPEALS

AUSTIN, TEXAS 11/13/2015 11:09:51 AM JEFFREY D. KYLE

CLERKcurrent co-counsel for Appellant, will con tinue acting as counsel for Appellant.
3. Good cause for withdrawal . The rules governing withdrawal require a showing of “good cause,” and courts have looked to th e grounds identified in Texas Disciplinary Rule 1.15 for th e bases for withdrawal. See In re A.R ., 236 S.W.3d 460, 474 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2007, no pe t.). Subsection (b) of Disciplin ary Rule 1.15 lists specific instances under which an attorney may s eek to withdraw. Included among those instances are where “the client fails substan tially to fulfill an oblig ation to the lawyer regarding the lawyer’s services, including an obligation to pay the la wyer’s fee as agreed, and has been given reasonable warning th at the lawyer will withdraw unless the obligation is fulfilled.” T EX . D ISCIPLINARY R. P ROF ’ L C ONDUCT , § 1.15(b)(5), reprinted
in T EX . G OV ’ T C ODE A NN , tit. 2, subtit. G, app. A (Vernon 1998). Movants undertook repres entation of Appellant on good faith and without requiring payment of a retain er; however, Movants’ fees a nd expenses have yet to be paid. Movants spoke with Appellant approxi mately 3 weeks prior to filing this motion and advised that unless payment was made, Mo vants would be forced to withdraw from the case. To date, Movants’ ha ve not been paid their legal fees or expenses incurred to date on this appeal. Accordingly, Movants submit that good cause exists to permit their withdrawal as counsel in this matter. See In re Daniels , 138 S.W.3d 31, 35 (Tex. App.— San Antonio 2004, orig . proceeding) (finding that couns el established good cause to withdraw where client failed to pay outstanding legal fees).
4. Client Notification . Appellant has been notified via first class mail, certified mail, and hand delivery of the right to object to the relief sought in this motion.Such notice has been sent to the following last known addre ss of Appellant: Bernard J. Morello, 5100 San Felipe, Unit 78E, Houston, TX 77056.

Respectfully submitted, JURANEK LAW FIRM, PLLC

_ _____________________ By: JAMES JURANEK State Bar No. 24026888 111 N. Ennis Houston, Texas 77003 (713) 229-0699 (888) 626-6596 (fax) james@jjfirm.com

C ERTIFICATE OF C ONFERENCE The undersigned contact Appellant’s coun sel (Craig Pritzlaff) about the contents of this motion and the relief requested. M r. Pritzlaff advised that Appellee is unopposed to the relief sought. Appellant has not indicated whether he opposes Movants’ withdrawal in this matter.

____

____________ __________ James JuranekCERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing instrument was forwarded to Appellees’ Counsel via the electronic filing manager pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.2, on this 13th day of November, 2015. Lead Counsel for Appellees Craig J. Pritzlaff Assistant Attorney General P.O. Box 12548, MC-066 Austin, TX 78711 512.320.0911 (Fax)

________________ _____________ James Juranek