Attorney-General Ken Paxton is determined to get into trouble. He filed that very weak lawsuit in 2021 seeking to overturn the 2020 election results. Sixteen Texas lawyers, including four former Texas bar presidents, filed an ethics complaint about that weak lawsuit. In Texas, any person can submit a complaint about a lawyer’s ethical practices. I previously wrote about that complaint here. A Texas Bar Association committee found merit to the complaint. AG Paxton claimed the committee was composed of liberal lawyers. But, that is not likely. There just are not many “liberal” lawyers active on Texas Bar committees. Most lawyers on these committees actually come from the larger law firms, who are seeking to fulfill their Bar obligations.
Now, the Bar has filed suit in Williamson County against AG Paxton’s First Assistant, Brent Webster. He signed off on that weak lawsuit along with AG Paxton. If the First Assistant on that frivolous lawsuit is sued, you can be certain AG Paxton will also be sued. That also means the two lawyers chose to not have their case decided by a Bar committee. They chose the public route of trial in open court.
The San Antonio Express News states that among the possible sanctions is disbarment. Well, not quite. The Texas Bar, like most Bar associations, is very conservative. It follows a very predictable pattern of issuing a private warning for the first offense, and a public warning for the sound offense. Only then does actual disbarment become an option. Bit, generally before disbarment, the Bar will place a lawyer on probation first.
See more about this lawsuit in the San Antonio Express News here. And, I am still just shaking my head at how many lawyers rolled dice with their law licenses, all to beg Donald Trump for his favor. And, you know, it is very rare for lawyers to seek a public trial. Most prefer the more private avenue of a committee review.