KILLEEN, Texas — Matthew Jones thought he would never see the majority of his settlement after is attorney held on to the money, but 6 News ran a story and now he has been paid back in full.
Matthew Jones hired Christopher Norman in July 2016 after he was hurt in a car wreck. The Jones family told 6 News Norman was supposed to settle with the insurance company, pay the doctors, and provide Matthew with the rest of the settlement. Father Lawrence Jones said they heard the same line for months.
“There was always an excuse. Call me in a month. Call me next month,” Lawrence said.
Months then turned into years. Matthew Jones eventually called the State Bar of Texas and found out Norman was resigning his license to practice law. Then he called the insurance company, and found out Norman had already been paid his settlement money years before.
"February 2017. That's when they told me the claim had been settled," Jones said. "I was shocked."
Progressive sent him an email stating they had settled the case all the way back in 2017 and sent Norman a check for $20,000. Jones said Norman forged his signature to cash the check.
After Norman resigned, the Texas Supreme Court ordered him to pay back all money he owed his clients and return their documents. Norman paid back only around $3,500 to Jones, however.
So what consequences would Norman face? 6 News looked into what options the Jones family had and contacted the Texas State Bar Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel ourselves and got the following answer.
"Once we disbar someone or they resign, there isn’t much we can do to them," Public Affairs Counsel Claire Reynolds said. "If they’re still taking on clients we would want people to let us know, because the Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee could file suit against them, or law enforcement could act."
6 News aired a story revealing that people who had filed complaints against Norman would now have to start a criminal case against him. Then just one day after the story aired, Norman paid.
"I called my dad and they met (Norman) at Navy Federal Bank in Texas. He gave my dad a cashiers check for $16,000 -- whatever the difference that he hadn't paid me -- and he didn't take his 33.3%." Matthew Jones said. "Shocked is not even the right work.... but he made it right."
There are a few things other people can do before and after hiring an attorney to avoid getting to this point.
1. Research your attorney thoroughly. Go to the Better Business Bureau website and look up an attorney before you sign a contract with them.
2. Double check your suit has been filed. Ask your attorney where the suit has been filed, and independently call the court clerk to find out if it is in the system.
3. Go to the State Bar of Texas Website and file a grievance if an attorney is not conducting themselves correctly. The State Bar of Texas gives the following examples of conduct that would warrant a grievance:
- The lawyer does not return client phone calls, emails, or letters.
- The lawyer failed to appear in court or has missed deadlines.
- The lawyer refuses to return a client’s file after a request is made.
- The lawyer seems to have a substance abuse problem that affects his/her ability to practice.
- The lawyer has not paid the client’s part of the settlement after the case has settled.
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