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Deborah Rhode, professor and director of the
Center on the Legal Profession at Stanford Uni-
versity School of Law in California, said in the
statement that lawyer discipline authorities have
not been willing to sanction prominent lawyers
for frivolous claims.
“That needs to change, particularly where the
conduct is so egregious and the stakes are so high
for public confidence in the rule of law, the demo-
cratic process and lawyers’ ethics,” said Rhode.
However, the claim that Paxton violated a law-
yer ethics rule might fail because of how the Texas
rules are written.
Jeanne Huey, managing partner with Hunt Huey
in Dallas. Courtesy photoJeanne Huey. Courtesy
photo
Dallas legal ethics attorney Jeanne Huey wrote
in an email that the rule that the group is referenc-
ing is written differently in the Texas Disciplinary Jeanne Huey. Courtesy photo
Rules of Professional Conduct. Under the Texas
reversed the dismissal and ordered the bar to
rules, Paxton would need to “reasonably believe” investigate the grievance. It’s not clear what hap-
there was a basis for his filing. pened, however, as Paxton’s bar profile states he
“Because General Paxton found a large number has no public disciplinary history in Texas.
of other states’ attorneys general willing to agree It’s also come to light that the bar is watching
with him it seems unlikely the Texas chief disci- what happens in a pending criminal case against
plinary counsel would think a claim that his belief Paxton, who is charged with felony securities
was unreasonable could be successfully prosecut- fraud and failing to register as an investment
ed,” said Huey, managing partner in Hunt Huey. adviser.
An attorney filed a grievance against Paxton
Repeat? saying the same alleged conduct in his criminal
This isn’t the first time that a group of lawyers case also amounted attorney disciplinary viola-
has alleged that Paxton broke attorney-disciplin- tions. The bar dismissed the grievance, telling
ary rules, because of his actions concerning a the attorney who filed it that it was monitoring
highly charged, political topic. Paxton’s criminal case. If Paxton is convicted, he
Five years ago, after the U.S. Supreme Court le- would be subject to compulsory discipline. ¦
galized same-sex marriage, Paxton’s office issued
an advisory legal opinion saying county clerks
who objected on religious grounds did not have to Angela Morris is ALM Media’s Texas litigation
issue same-sex marriage licenses themselves, but reporter. She covers lawsuits in all levels of Texas
could delegate the task to subordinates. state and federal courts. Based in Austin, Morris

A group of 250 Texas attorneys signed onto a earned journalism and government degrees from
grievance against Paxton, alleging he broke ethics the University of Texas at Austin in 2006, and
rules that prohibit an attorney from disobeying or since then, has worked primarily as a reporter and
telling a client to disobey a court ruling and more. writer, but also has skills in videography, pho-
The State Bar of Texas dismissed the griev- tography and podcasts. Follow her on Twitter at
ance, but the Texas Board of Disciplinary Appeals @AMorrisReports.

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