The answer is no if the lawyer who previously represented you received confidential information about you from you that the lawyer now is using against you. If the matters are totally unrelated, and there would be no appearance of impropriety for the lawyer to represent your adversary, then maybe.
Full Answer
Depending on the conduct of the lawyer, the client may have several different claims against the lawyer. These claims may include negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, fraud, violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, conversion, and other related claims.
Fortunately for Texas Legal members, if you’re sued in civil court, your legal insurance covers your defense. But before you have time to call an attorney, here’s what to do if you’re sued in Texas, with advice from Texas Legal network attorney C. Martin Gall.
To sue an association, limited liability company, or corporation, sue the legal entity. To properly sue a legal entity such as a corporation you should first con-tact the Secretary of State and ask who the “agent for service” is so that you know who to serve with the papers. Call 512-463-5555 or email corpinfo@sos.state.tx.us
Although there are a lot of folks who attempt to handle a lawsuit on their own, Gall advises at least speaking with an attorney about your case, even if you don’t hire one to represent you. “Just talking to an attorney can make you aware of the rights you have,” says Gall.
An attorney does not only represent their client in civil and criminal proceedings but can also be charged with the duty of drafting various documents such as wills, contracts, registering companies, trademarks and the transfer of immovable property.
There are no special rules for representing friends and relatives – lawyers who provide legal assistance to relatives are bound by the same rules that apply to any lawyer-client relationship.
If you are the person who is making the claim or defending it, you are a party to the claim. If you are one of the parties and you attend court yourself, you can be represented at a Small Claim by a lay representative. This could be anybody who accompanies you to court.
To file online, go to E-File Texas and follow the instructions. To file in person, take your answer (and copies) to the district clerk's office in the county where the plaintiff filed the case.
You legally can have a relative, family friend, or even yourself be the primary representative in your case. However, having a family member who represents you who is not an attorney would not be too different from having an attorney.
Lawyers are not allowed to represent you if they are your friend or have been associated with you as a couple during your marriage, or if they are a family member due to these conflict issues.
" 'legal representative' means a person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person, and includes any person who intermeddles with the estate of the deceased and where a party sues or is sued in a representative character the persons on whom the estate devolves on the death of the party so suing or sued."
In court cases, you can either represent yourself or be represented by a lawyer. Even for simple and routine matters, you can't go to court for someone else without a law license. Some federal and state agencies allow non-lawyers to represent others at administrative hearings.
In criminal cases, if you cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint a lawyer for you, like a public defender. But in civil cases, you do not have the right to a court-appointed lawyer so, if you cannot afford your own lawyer, you have to represent yourself.
If you are sued and can't pay, the creditor can get a judgment in court against you for the money you owe, plus interest. Being “judgment proof” means that your property and income can't be seized by creditors, because it is “exempt” by law from the creditor's claims.
To counter sue someone, start by printing out the counterclaim form from your state court's website. Then, complete the form with all the facts related to your claim, and be as clear as possible about your reasons for counter suing.
Summary: Yes, you can settle after service. The best way to settle a debt lawsuit is first to file a response, then contact the otherside and make an offer.
If you have a claim that is within the justice court's jurisdiction, you can either file a claim on your own, with the help of an attorney, or with an app like DoNotPay. Some of the most common reasons that people file small claims cases in Texas include:
The procedure for filing a small claims lawsuit in Texas is the same, whether you opt to do it yourself or you hire a lawyer. The process is as follows:
Perhaps the biggest danger when filing a small claims lawsuit on your own is that you may miss something important that could negatively impact the outcome of your case. The two biggest potential downfalls are as follows:
If you're trying to enforce the terms of a contract, recover money or property that belongs to you, or you've been injured, you don’t need to go it alone if you can’t afford an attorney. With DoNotPay, you can start the process instantly when you complete four simple steps.
DoNotPay strives to create a simplified process that takes the stress out of taking a case to small claims court. Check out these other companies that DoNotPay has helped sue:
Are you frustrated with the work your attorney is doing? There are things you can do to try to correct the problem. However, if your situation meets the criteria for legal malpractice, you may decide to sue your attorney. Here are the steps you can take.
If you have hired an attorney to assist you with a legal matter, the odds are that you’ve already invested time and money in the relationship. If you’re dissatisfied, start by discussing your concerns — it could save you from even more serious problems in the future.
In situations where you haven’t lost money or been hurt by your attorney’s delay or lack of attention, the smartest thing to do is simply move on. You can file a grievance with the Texas State Bar, which will initiate a review of the situation, but it won’t help you resolve your problem.
There are situations where suing your attorney is the only way to get compensation for damages you’ve suffered because of poor representation. Before you sue your attorney, make sure you understand the two things that are necessary to prove legal malpractice:
No, probably not. Most likely there is a conflict of interest, but without knowing the nature of the new civil lawsuit, no one can really conclude one way or the other. An attorney may be disqualified if the former client can show that they had a “direct professional relationship…in which the attorney personally provided legal advice...
This is a very complicated issue and you should consult an attorney. While all of the advice given previously is excellent, what concerns me is the relationship between you and the "attorney sub". What was the nature of the relationship? Was he or she making a special appearance on behalf of the other...
The fact that he represented you before could create a conflict, but not always one sufficient enough to disqualify him from representing the other party. The original case was criminal, and this one appears to be civil. There may be enough difference in the two that it would be okay.
California’s Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3-310 (E) provides that an attorney “shall not, without the informed written consent of the client or former client, accept employment adverse to the client or former client where, by reason of the representation of the client or former client, the member has obtained confidential information material to the employment.” A former client, therefore, may seek to....
The answer is no if the lawyer who previously represented you received confidential information about you from you that the lawyer now is using against you.
The answer is no if the lawyer who previously represented you received confidential information about you from you that the lawyer now is using against you.
If the attorney represented YOU, and then represents another person against YOU it may be a conflict of interest. It does not sound like that is the situation - the attorney represented a member of your family (but not you, at one point in time) and also represented your ex boyfriend in his divorce. The attorney has maintained the attorney client relationship with your ex boyfriend by representing your ex boyfriend against you. That is okay. However you can contact the state bar ethics line and see what they think, but I see no conflict of interest.
It is not a conflict of interest for the lawyer to represent your ex-boyfriend against you unless the same lawyer represented you against your ex-boyfriend at some time in the past.