Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in Texas

Attorney agrees to take my personal injury case. During first meeting, he plans to send registered letter to defendant, something that should have taken no more than a few minutes no matter how heavy his caseload.

Despite repeated requests for an update on my case, I hear nothing from attorney for nearly two months. It is, in fact, only after I contact someone else at his firm that attorney decides to respond to me at all.

During this period, no attempt was made by attorney to contact defendant. No letter, no phone calls, nothing. In fact, attorney's communication with defendant consists solely of ONE phone call, and ONE registered letter, and I had to hound him to get him to do that much.

Nine months after my injury, a judge handed down a $120,000 judgment in my favor. Attorney claimed he would file a writ of execution after the hearing, but he never did. Beyond abstracting the judgment, attorney has made no effort to collect any of that award. It would seem that the least attorney could do would be to set up some kind of structured payment plan.

In the meantime, I remain some $60,000 in debt.

Does this constitute malpractice?


Asked on 8/29/09, 3:21 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bruce Burdick Burdick Law Firm

Probably not. Sounds more like a bad client (you) than a bad lawyer. Just one phone call and one letter doesn't result in a $120,000 judgment in nine months. It sounds like the problem is lack of communication, which is a common failing of attorneys, not malpractice. Just keep calling. If you don't like the attorney, get another one. Or take the judgment to a collection firm. You don't think that by calling your attorney names and claiming malpractice that you are going to get him to work harder for you do you? If so, you don't know attorneys very well.

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Answered on 9/05/09, 1:00 am


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