Gregory v. Porter & Hedges, LLP

In Gregory v. Porter & Hedges, LLP, 398 S.W.3d 881 (Tex. App.--Houston 14th Dist. 2013, pet. denied), the Court of appeals held that a former client seeking forfeiture of attorney's fees was not entitled to recover fees paid by a third party. Id. at 886. In Gregory, the client sought forfeiture of attorney's fees paid during the second occasion on which the law firm provided legal representation. Id. The court observed that the former client and the attorneys "had two distinct attorney-client relationships," that it was undisputed that the attorneys fully performed all of their obligations under the first attorney-client relationship, and that all of the client's claims arose out of the second representation, for which the client never paid any fees. Id. at 886-87. Because the client had paid no fees related to the second representation, she could not seek the forfeiture of any fees. Id. at 887.