Legal Question in Personal Injury in Texas

There are 2 ways to interpret this question. 1) Can a Texas lawyer file a lawsuit in a Texas court against a person who resides in Oklahoma, or; 2) Can a Texas lawyer file a lawsuit in an Oklahoma court against an Oklahoma resident.

1) Can a Texas lawyer file a lawsuit in a Texas court against a person who resides in Oklahoma:

"Yes" so long as the necessary venue and jurisdictional requirements are present. Where a lawsuit may be filed is determined by its "venue" facts. Venue facts are generally defined by statute and differ based upon what type of lawsuit you are trying to file. They may be things like where the car accident happened or where the defendant resides in a accident case or where a contract formed in a breach of contract case.

2) Can a Texas lawyer file a lawsuit in an Oklahoma court against an Oklahoma resident.

As a general rule, a lawyer who does not hold a license in the state cannot practice in that state. There is, however, an exception. A lawyer may file a Motion to Appeal Pro Hov Vice in most states. The rules on this vary somewhat from state to state, but in general it is a motion asking for permission to appear and participate in handling a single matter in a foreign state. It typically requires that a local "in-state" attorney be hired to file the lawsuit and then the out-of-state attorney joins in via the motion. The Court must approve this.

When an attorney appears Pro Hoc Vice, the local attorney is in part responsible for his actions. He basically vouches for the foreign attorney. One problem with this is that it requires the hiring of two attorneys so it can be costly when paying by the hour. It also means that the foreign attorney has to get up to speed on the rule and law differences of the state--which may be time-consuming and expensive depending upon the state.

There are also some Texas lawyers who are also licensed to practice in OK