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Even members of the legal community are speaking out. Suing fellow lawyers for barratry has become a hot line of business in some areas of Texas. But all Texans need to be aware that they cannot be approached, unsolicited, by a personal injury lawyer (or anyone representing that lawyer). That is why Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse launched a campaign to ensure Texans are aware of their rights. Basically, their rights to privacy and to be free of harassment…especially following an accident or injury to themselves or a loved one.
One reported victim of barratry was approached at the funeral home following the death of her daughter. Another victim -- still under the influence of drugs delivered at the hospital and virtually blind following an accident – received a first visit from an attorney after the lawyer signed up the victim’s parents following a barrage of unsolicited calls from an investigator for the attorney. In yet another case, a lawyer is accused of paying the family of an accident victim $25,000 to let his firm file a case on their behalf. These are real stories and show a horrifying lack of decency on the part of the lawyers involved…and a real willingness to prey on people at their most vulnerable. And, that is why barratry is a crime in Texas.
House Bill 148 would have allowed Texas to recover significant civil damages for such harassment and illegal, unwanted solicitations by unscrupulous lawyers or their representatives.
While the bill did pass, it was quietly gutted
Initially, HB 148 would have empowered clients to collect triple damages from lawyers who engage in illegal case solicitation. This civil remedy would have penalized such practices as lawyers using “runners” to covertly solicit cases or to otherwise exploit the vulnerability of hospitalized accident victims and their families. The new civil treble damage claim would also have applied to private investigators, chiropractors, doctors, and other health care workers who participated in the illegal solicitation of cases. This provision was stripped from the bill, despite all sides claiming to support the change.
Also removed were civil triple damage claims penalizing solicitations involving false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive, or unfair statements or claims, or that included coercion, duress, overreaching, harassment, intimidation, or undue influence.
Lawmakers should revisit these bills the next time they are in session. And Texans should tell them that they support stronger laws against such harassing and illegal solicitations.
Brazen case solicitation has been practiced with impunity in some parts of Texas for years, particularly in South Texas. The San Antonio Express-News reported in May that the situation there has grown so severe that “warfare has broken out over barratry” in Corpus Christi. The paper reported that “lawyers are suing lawyers, seeking to overturn multimillion-dollar settlements of cases they claim were acquired improperly.”
In that news report, Bill Edwards, a well-known Corpus Christi plaintiff lawyer, characterized the situation as “really terrible” and promised that “I will take a case for anyone who wants to sue a lawyer who illegally obtained a case. I don’t care who the lawyer is.” Edwards and others
expressed the view that barratry plays a part in most major personal injury cases in South Texas, including the illegal payment of thousands of dollars in up-front cash to clients who sign representation contracts.
The key provision of HB 148 was its enhancement of the right of clients to recover civil damages from dishonest lawyers and their runners. These critical civil law provisions were removed, limiting HB 148 to minor textual changes to existing criminal barratry laws. This final version of HB 148 was complemented by HB 3515, an equally meaningless bill purporting to penalize lawyers who fail to report that non-lawyer runners have been involved in a case. History has proven that tinkering with criminal statutes outlawing barratry is a pointless exercise: penal code provisions outlawing barratry have been on the books for years, but have proven totally ineffective.
What can Texans do? If they, are a friend or family member, is the victim of ambulance chasing, they should report the person involved to the State Bar of Texas.
FILING A GRIEVANCE
(The paragraphs below should all be included on TALA/CALA website and viewable when anyone clinks the graphic we are creating for this project).
The first step in filing a grievance is to complete a grievance form and mail it to the State Bar Chief Disciplinary Counsel’s office at P.O. Box 15466, Austin, TX, 78761, or fax it to 512-380-9064. The form may be downloaded via the State Bar of Texas website by clicking HERE .
NOTE: If you are reporting the conduct of a lawyer who is or was representing you in a legal matter, it is very important to know that signing the grievance form waives the attorney-client privilege that would otherwise keep discussions between you and your lawyer confidential. Waiver of this privilege is necessary for the State Bar to review your grievance in its entirety.
If it is determined that the grievance does allege a rule violation, the grievance is classified as a "complaint." The attorney in question is informed of the complaint and asked to respond within 30 days. The Chief Disciplinary Counsel investigates the matter and based on its findings, the matter is either presented to a Summary Disposition Panel or it proceeds to litigation.
The Commission for Lawyer Discipline, a standing committee of the State Bar of Texas which oversees the attorney grievance system, acts as the client in disciplinary litigation against lawyers accused of misconduct. | 
