We’ve heard lawyers referred to as “ambulance chasers” before, but there is a technical term for the practice of using unethical methods to chase down potential clients: it’s called Barratry and it’s illegal. The full definition of barratry under Texas law is found in the Texas Penal Code section 38.12. However, the bottom line is that an attorney is forbidden by law from soliciting employment. Put another way, the client can to come to the attorney and hire him, but the attorney cannot seek out a client and beg to be hired. For example, a personal injury attorney cannot just show up in someone’s hospital room uninvited and try to sign the injured person up as a client.
A new law passed this legislative session is strengthening the existing rules against barratry and helping individuals who sue attorneys who commit barratry. Under the new Texas Government Code section 82.0651, a person who was solicited by an attorney in violation of barratry laws, but who did not sign a contract with that attorney can sue the attorney and recover: 1) $10,000.00, 2) any actual damages, and 3) the attorney fees incurred in suing the attorney who engaged in barratry. Similar remedies are available for persons who DID sign a contract with the offending attorney.
Lawyers across the state are taking notice of the new laws. Many are taking steps to be extremely careful in tracking how clients come to their firm. A full-page advertisement has even been posted in the Texas Bar Journal magazine warning that, “The legislature just made it a lot more dicey to chase ambulances in Texas.”
For full article from the Dallas Bar Association click here: http://www.dallasbar.org/content/bill-creates-new-civil-remedies-barratry
For the Texas Lawyer site (by Law.com) article click here: http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1202513923807&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1
If you seek information about your Texas legal case, contact The Wright Firm, L.L.P. at 972-353-4600 or visit our website at www.thewrightlawyers.com .
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