Texas Legal Malpractice and Barratry Attorneys

Under Texas illegal solicitation laws, as stated by the Texas Penal Code §38.12(d):

“A person commits an offense if the person: is an attorney, chiropractor, physician, surgeon, or private investigator licensed to practice in this state or any person licensed, certified, or registered by a health care regulatory agency of this state; and with the intent to obtain professional employment for the person or for another, provides or knowingly permits to be provided to an individual who has not sought the person’s employment, legal representation, advice, or care a written communication or a solicitation, including a solicitation in person or by telephone, that: concerns an action for personal injury or wrongful death or otherwise relates to an accident or disaster involving the person to whom the communication or solicitation is provided or a relative of that person and that was provided before the 31st day after the date on which the accident or disaster occurred.”

In some cases, barratry may be hard to notice. If you believe you may have been the victim of barratry, ask yourself the following questions.

• Did you receive phone calls from individuals who told you a family member had asked them to talk to you about hiring an attorney when you never told your family you wanted to hire an attorney?
• Did they know your family members' names, but your family had never spoken to them before or made any calls whatsoever?
• Were you approached by an attorney or someone acting on behalf of an attorney at the funeral home following the death of a loved one?
• Did a tow truck driver or body shop employee try to force you to hire a particular attorney?
• Did a police officer at the scene of your accident persuade you to call an attorney?
• Did you receive a call from a police officer or someone claiming to be an officer who tried to pressure you to hire a specific attorney?
• Did your attorney or service provider bribe you with money, gifts, or “free” items in exchange for signing a contract?
• Did a lawyer, “investigator”, or someone acting on behalf of a lawyer go to your home or hospital uninvited to try to obtain a signature on a lawyers’ contract for legal services?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, you may have been wrongfully and illegally solicited.

You may be entitled to a refund of fees you have already paid to the attorney who solicited your case. The law recognizes that your attorney has a fiduciary duty to act in your best interests. If an attorney or someone acting on behalf of an attorney approaches you when you are physically injured or emotionally distraught, he or she is not acting in your best interests. Pressuring you to hire an attorney at a difficult time in your life is a serious violation of your personal rights. Attorneys or people acting on behalf of an attorney who illegally solicits you may be sued for a refund of attorney’s fees, and you may also be entitled to money damages for the mental and emotional suffering you have gone through as a result of their solicitation.

If you have been the victim of legal malpractice or barratry, expert witnesses may be essential in proving your claim. Experts may include:

• Legal Ethics Specialists
• Legal Regulatory Compliance Specialists
• Ethics Attorneys