78(R) SB 1195 - Introduced version


                                                                                

78R7858 KLA-D

By:  Hinojosa                                                     S.B. No. 1195



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to prohibited solicitation of professional employment by 
an attorney or the attorney's agent or employee; providing a 
criminal penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 81.071, Government Code, is amended to 
read as follows:  
	Sec. 81.071.  DISCIPLINARY JURISDICTION.  Each attorney 
admitted to practice in this state and each attorney specially 
admitted by a court of this state for a particular proceeding is 
subject to the disciplinary and disability jurisdiction of the 
supreme court, the office of the attorney general to the extent 
Section 81.0721 applies, and the Commission for Lawyer Discipline, 
a committee of the state bar.
	SECTION 2.  Section 81.072, Government Code, is amended by 
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (p) to read as 
follows:
	(a)  In furtherance of the supreme court's powers to 
supervise the conduct of attorneys and except as provided by 
Section 81.0721, the court shall establish disciplinary and 
disability procedures.
	(p)  This section does not apply to a complaint alleging that 
an attorney solicited professional employment in violation of the 
Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter E, Chapter 81, Government Code, is 
amended by adding Section 81.0721 to read as follows:
	Sec. 81.0721.  DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN 
ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT.  (a)  Notwithstanding any other law, the 
office of the attorney general has the exclusive authority to:
		(1)  investigate a grievance alleging that an attorney 
solicited professional employment in violation of the Texas 
Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct; and
		(2)  discipline an attorney found to have engaged in 
conduct described by Subdivision (1).
	(b)  A person may file a grievance alleging that an attorney 
solicited professional employment in violation of the Texas 
Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct with either the state 
bar or the office of the attorney general.  The state bar and the 
office of the attorney general shall enter into a memorandum of 
understanding that provides procedures by which the state bar 
forwards to the office of the attorney general a grievance 
described by this subsection that is filed with the state bar.
	(c)  The office of the attorney general shall establish 
standards and disciplinary procedures for processing grievances 
relating to allegations of attorneys' misconduct in soliciting 
professional employment.  The standards and procedures established 
under this section must, to the extent practicable, be 
substantively identical to and include the same elements as the 
standards and procedures established by the supreme court under 
Section 81.072.
	SECTION 4.  Section 81.076, Government Code, is amended by 
adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
	(i)  This section does not apply to a complaint alleging that 
an attorney solicited professional employment in violation of the 
Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
	SECTION 5.  Section 81.077(c), Government Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
	(c)  This chapter does not prohibit a grievance committee 
from investigating a complaint of professional misconduct alleged 
to have occurred in the geographical area served by the committee, 
other than a complaint alleging that an attorney solicited 
professional employment in violation of the Texas Disciplinary 
Rules of Professional Conduct.  Any [but any] action must be filed 
in the county of the attorney's residence.
	SECTION 6.  Section 81.078(e), Government Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
	(e)  The [Either the] grievance committee for the bar 
district, [or] the general counsel, or the office of the attorney 
general for proceedings under Section 81.0721 may seek enforcement 
of this section.
	SECTION 7.  Subchapter H, Chapter 81, Government Code, is 
amended by adding Section 81.116 to read as follows:
	Sec. 81.116.  SOLICITATION OF PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT.  (a)  
A person commits an offense if the person:
		(1)  is an agent or employee of an attorney; and                       
		(2)  engages in conduct on behalf of the attorney that, 
if engaged in by the attorney, constitutes solicitation of 
professional employment in violation of the Texas Disciplinary 
Rules of Professional Conduct.
	(b)  An attorney commits an offense if the attorney:                    
		(1)  engages in conduct that constitutes solicitation 
of professional employment in violation of the Texas Disciplinary 
Rules of Professional Conduct; and
		(2)  refers legal business acquired through the conduct 
described by Subdivision (1) to another attorney in exchange for a 
referral fee.
	(c)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.            
	SECTION 8.  Section 74.056, Government Code, is amended by 
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
	(e)  The presiding judge of an administrative judicial 
region shall assign a judge to serve as a visiting judge in any 
court to hear a case or proceeding if an attorney retained by a 
party in the case or proceeding is determined by the office of the 
attorney general to have solicited professional employment in the 
case or proceeding in violation of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of 
Professional Conduct.  In assigning a judge under this subsection, 
the presiding judge shall appoint a judge from a county other than 
the county in which the case or proceeding is pending or a county 
contiguous to that county.
	SECTION 9.  The office of the attorney general and the State 
Bar of Texas shall enter into the memorandum of understanding 
required by Section 81.0721(b), Government Code, as added by this 
Act, not later than December 1, 2003.
	SECTION 10.  The office of the attorney general shall adopt 
the standards and disciplinary procedures required by Section 
81.0721(c), Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than 
December 1, 2003.
	SECTION 11.  Sections 81.071, 81.072, 81.076, 81.077, and 
81.078, Government Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 
81.0721, Government Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a 
complaint filed with the State Bar of Texas or the office of the 
attorney general on or after January 1, 2004, regardless of whether 
the conduct or act that is the subject of the complaint occurred or 
was committed before, on, or after that date.
	SECTION 12.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.