If you are involved in an auto collision or you are injured in any other way that attracts publicity, generates a public record (such as a police report), or results in a hospital visit, you may very well be approached by a lawyer or someone working on behalf of a lawyer. That person may be a chiropractor who offers a free X-ray, and then tells you that you must sign a contract with “their” lawyer before you can get the X-ray. This is all illegal. In fact it is a felony, as explained by the Texas Penal Code – Section 38.12— Barratry And Solicitation Of Professional Employment.

Think about it — do you want to represented by a lawyer who committed a felony in order to get your case? If a lawyer is willing to commit one felony, what else might he or she be willing to do to you? How could you ever possibly trust a person like that to act in your best interests?

Don’t be a victim of barratry or solicitation. If you are approached in this manner, contact the State Bar of Texas by phoning (800) 204-2222.

§ 38.12. BARRATRY AND SOLICITATION OF PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT.

(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain an economic benefit the person:

(1) knowingly institutes a suit or claim that the person has not been authorized to pursue;

(2) solicits employment, either in person or by telephone, for himself or for another;

(3) pays, gives, or advances or offers to pay, give, or advance to a prospective client money or anything of value to obtain employment as a professional from the prospective client;

(4) pays or gives or offers to pay or give a person money or anything of value to solicit employment;

(5) pays or gives or offers to pay or give a family member of a prospective client money or anything of value to solicit employment; or

(6) accepts or agrees to accept money or anything of value to solicit employment.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person:

(1) knowingly finances the commission of an offense under Subsection (a);

(2) invests funds the person knows or believes are intended to further the commission of an offense under Subsection (a); or

(3) is a professional who knowingly accepts employment within the scope of the person’s license, registration, or certification that results from the solicitation of employment in violation of Subsection (a).

(c) It is an exception to prosecution under Subsection (a) or (b) that the person’s conduct is authorized by the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct or any rule of court.

(d) A person commits an offense if the person:

(1) 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;

(2) with the intent to obtain professional employment for himself or for another, sends or knowingly permits to be sent to an individual who has not sought the person’s employment, legal representation, advice, or care a written communication that:

(A) concerns an action for personal injury or wrongful death or otherwise relates to an accident or disaster involving the person to whom the communication is addressed or a relative of that person and that was mailed before the 31st day after the date on which the accident or disaster occurred;

(B) concerns a specific matter and relates to legal representation and the person knows or reasonably should know that the person to whom the communication is directed is represented by a lawyer in the matter;

(C) concerns an arrest of or issuance of a summons to the person to whom the communication is addressed or a relative of that person and that was mailed before the 31st day after the date on which the arrest or issuance of the summons occurred;

(D) concerns a lawsuit of any kind, including an action for divorce, in which the person to whom the communication is addressed is a defendant or a relative of that person, unless the lawsuit in which the person is named as a defendant has been on file for more than 31 days before the date on which the communication was mailed;

(E) is sent or permitted to be sent by a person who knows or reasonably should know that the injured person or relative of the injured person has indicated a desire not to be contacted by or receive communications concerning employment;

(F) involves coercion, duress, fraud, overreaching, harassment, intimidation, or undue influence; or

(G) contains a false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive, or unfair statement or claim.

(e) For purposes of Subsection (d)(2)(E), a desire not to be contacted is presumed if an accident report reflects that such an indication has been made by an injured person or that person’s relative.

(f) An offense under Subsection (a) or (b) is a felony of the third degree.

(g) Except as provided by Subsection (h), an offense under Subsection (d) is a Class A misdemeanor.

(h) An offense under Subsection (d) is a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has previously been convicted under Subsection (d).

(i) Final conviction of felony barratry is a serious crime for all purposes and acts, specifically including the State Bar Rules and the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 866, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 723, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1993, 73rd eg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 750, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

We are meeting in Cary, North Carolina, at the beautiful Umstead Hotel and Spa. The lawyers attending are mostly personal injury plaintiff attorneys, but other practice areas are also represented here.

I’m making this post live, as a demonstration to the audience.

Crews are still working to douse the flames from a sugar refinery explosion, still trying to reach the last of the victims’ bodies, yet already the out-of-town lawyers are swooping in.

"If you or a loved one was injured in this explosion, you may have valuable legal rights," reads a come-on from one New York-based firm that snapped up the domain name sugarrefineryexplosion.com.

The plant’s owners have lawyers, a Texas attorney notes in a newspaper ad, adding: "Shouldn’t you?"

While such solicitations are nothing new following major disasters, many residents in this town of 5,000 and beyond have been disgusted by the audacity of lawyers trying to round up clients before the blaze at the refinery — which continued to burn Wednesday, six days after the blast — could be extinguished and the workers’ remains fully recovered.

"It’s not in the best taste," said Tim Holbrook, owner of the Deli Mart, a popular eatery in downtown Port Wentworth. "The grieving process has just begun and I think it’s very unthoughtful."

Even with the search continuing and the smoke still rising, trial lawyers began trolling for plaintiffs.

Word of the solicitations quickly swept through Georgia’s legal community, all the way to the state Capitol.

"I’m a big believer in the First Amendment, but (it doesn’t require) good taste — and that’s what some lawyers do not have," state Rep. Wendell Willard, an Atlanta attorney, said by phone after taking the well of the state House Wednesday to condemn the ads. "It’s unseemly, and it gives us all a bad name."

Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears offered her own warning: "There are strict rules about lawyer solicitation," she told reporters at the State Capitol Wednesday. "Any lawyer that might be doing that, they need to be careful."

Lawyers Inner Circle is a collection of personal injury lawyers (although most of us work in other practice areas as well) who meet twice a year for 2-3 day conferences. We have excellent speakers, and even better roundtable discussions.

The topics include almost every variation of advertising, marketing, public relations, and law firm management. The membership is geographically limited to one firm per media market. That means we can share all our secrets without worrying about a direct competitor using that information. This leads to very open discussions about what has worked and what hasn’t worked for the members.

I encourage any personal injury lawyer to look into joining this group. All information can be found on the Web site.

The court’s refusal to hear the appeal means that a trial judge could impose an injunction against the company and block BlackBerry use.

On this same topic, I recommend the book Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi. In spite of the too-cute title, the book has very good information about social and business networking.