The Louisiana Supreme Court has issued a landmark opinion holding that a lawyer who obtains a client through unethical or illegal conduct cannot recover any fees or costs for that work, a decision with significant implications for the thousands of Louisiana homeowners caught up in the collapse of a Houston law firm’s hurricane-claims practice.
Miller Thibodeaux Dysart Veith & Paschal partner Rebekka Veith argued the matter before the Court, which answered a set of certified questions sent up by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Court’s June 29, 2026 opinion, In re: MMA Law Firm, PLLC, resolves several open questions of Louisiana law that will shape how fee disputes between former and successor attorneys are decided going forward.
The dispute traces back to McClenny Moseley & Associates, PLLC (“MMA”), a Houston-based firm that signed contingency-fee contracts with thousands of Louisiana residents after Hurricane Ida. After multiple courts raised concerns about how MMA was handling those claims, leading to case stays and suspensions of the firm’s Louisiana attorneys, MMA either withdrew from or was discharged from virtually all of its remaining cases. Other Louisiana firms stepped in, took over the representations, and ultimately resolved many of the claims for the affected homeowners.
MMA later filed for bankruptcy and sought to collect attorney fees and costs out of the settlements obtained by those successor firms. The successor firms pushed back, arguing that MMA’s own misconduct made its contracts void and barred any recovery.
Answering the certified questions, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that:
- A contingency-fee contract that a lawyer obtains through unethical or illegal means, such as paid client solicitation (“case running”), improper fee sharing, or the unauthorized practice of law, is “absolutely null.” A lawyer in that position is not entitled to fees or costs on any basis.
- A successor firm sued for fees by a predecessor firm can raise that nullity as a defense.
- A predecessor firm must assert a claim for fees by intervention or other legal proceeding prior to disbursement of those fees to the successor attorney in order to maintain a privilege over those fees.
- Where a valid contract was formed but misconduct occurred later, courts apply Louisiana’s established framework for splitting a single contingency fee between the former and successor attorneys, reducing or even eliminating the prior lawyer’s share based on the “nature and gravity” of the misconduct that led to the lawyer leaving the case.
- This same framework applies whether the lawyer was fired or withdrew, including where the lawyer withdrew to sidestep sanctions or an adverse ruling.
The ruling reinforces Louisiana’s long-standing public policy against paying for client referrals and confirms that lawyers cannot profit from work built on that kind of conduct.
Miller Thibodeaux attorneys Kerry Miller, Rebekka Veith, and Monica Bergeron represent Morris Bart, LLC and other Louisiana law firms in the MMA matters.
About Miller Thibodeaux Dysart Veith & Paschal, LLC
Miller Thibodeaux Dysart Veith & Paschal, LLC is a Louisiana law firm representing clients in complex litigation and appellate matters across the state. To learn more, visit millerthibodeaux.com.