Recoverable Damages in Texas Legal Malpractice Cases: What Clients Can (and Can’t) Expect
Legal Malpractice
Damages in Texas legal malpractice usually track the lost value of the underlying lawsuit or transaction. That means the central issue is usually not whether the attorney erred, but how that error changed the financial outcome.
Clients are often surprised to learn that some categories of loss are recognized under Texas legal malpractice rules, while others are sharply limited or excluded altogether. By working with The Kassab Law Firm and its team of seasoned legal malpractice lawyers in Houston, TX, clients receive a detailed review of both liability and damages so they understand, in practical terms, what Texas law is likely to allow—and what it will not.
What Clients Can Expect in a Texas Legal Malpractice Case
In malpractice litigation, Texas courts generally require proof that, but for the lawyer’s negligence, the client would have obtained a more favorable judgment or settlement—and then award the difference between the recovery that should have been achieved and the recovery actually obtained. Cases such as Cosgrove v. Grimes describe this as asking the jury what damages “would have been collectible” if the underlying suit had been properly prosecuted.
That framework means clients can often pursue:
- Lost claim or defense value. If a missed deadline, blown limitations period, or trial error caused you to lose a case worth $500,000, the lost value of that claim may be recoverable in a Texas legal malpractice action.
- Adverse judgments and sanctions that should have been avoided. When negligence leads to an avoidable judgment or sanction, the portion that would likely have been prevented with competent representation can form the basis of damages.
- Transaction and deal losses. In transactional malpractice—such as defective contracts, unsecured loans, or faulty corporate documentation—damages may reflect lost deal value, diminished asset value, or other foreseeable economic injury tied to the bad legal work.
- Certain corrective fees and costs. In appropriate circumstances, reasonable fees paid to new counsel to repair or mitigate the damage may be recoverable, so long as they are not duplicative and can be tied directly to the prior lawyer’s conduct.
Clients may also seek equitable remedies where their lawyer violated fiduciary duties. In Burrow v. Arce, the Texas Supreme Court held that an attorney who breaches fiduciary duty may be required to forfeit part or all of the fee as an equitable measure, even when the client cannot prove traditional economic loss. For clients who paid substantial fees to counsel who concealed conflicts, pressured global settlements, or engaged in self-interested fee arrangements, this can be a powerful additional remedy pursued alongside compensatory damages.
What Clients Can’t Expect in a Texas Legal Malpractice Case
Just as important as what is available is understanding the limits on recovery in legal malpractice Texas actions.
First, courts will not award a windfall. Texas law is aimed at restoring the position you likely would have occupied with competent lawyering—not improving it. You cannot recover more than the underlying case or transaction was actually worth, and you cannot obtain a double recovery if some portion of the loss has already been paid or resolved.
Second, Texas courts are wary of speculative or “loss of chance” theories. It is usually not enough to say that your probability of success might have been higher with better representation. Instead, you must show that you probably would have achieved a better outcome and present a reasoned, admissible basis to quantify that better result—often through testimony from other attorneys or industry witnesses.
Third, mental anguish and emotional distress damages are tightly constrained in Texas legal malpractice. When the client’s alleged mental anguish flows only from an economic loss caused by attorney negligence, Texas authority indicates that such damages are generally not recoverable. Emotional responses to financial harm, standing alone, rarely support additional recovery.
Fourth, punitive or exemplary damages are not automatic. They may be available only when the client proves conduct such as fraud, malice, or gross negligence under Texas statutes governing exemplary damages, and even then they are subject to strict standards and caps.
Finally, a legal malpractice case is not a second trial over every tactical choice. Texas courts recognize that lawyers are allowed to make reasonable strategic judgments, even in difficult cases, and will not impose liability merely because a strategy failed in hindsight. A candid assessment by malpractice lawyers in Houston will often include a discussion of which decisions a court is likely to treat as professional judgment rather than malpractice.
Texas Legal Malpractice Lawyers at The Kassab Law Firm Are Ready to Help
When failed representation threatens your finances, business, or claim value, you need a clear, evidence-based picture of what Texas law allows you to recover and where it draws the line; drawing on decades of trial experience and more than two thousand handled malpractice matters for plaintiffs across Texas and nationwide, The Kassab Law Firm evaluates both liability and damages side by side, explains whether your situation supports a traditional damages claim, fee forfeiture, or both, and coordinates with local co-counsel. Contact us today to speak with dedicated Texas legal malpractice attorneys about a structured review of your potential damages and the options available to you.