Employment Rights Cases Are Hard in Texas

If you are a worker in Texas with a real discrimination or retaliation case, you have probably already heard no from several lawyers. I want you to understand what that no usually means, because it is not what most people assume.

It is not a verdict on your story. In my experience, it is a verdict on the landscape.

Here is the honest truth: Employment cases against companies are hard to win in Texas. In my opinion, the state and federal courts here have made these cases harder than the law was ever meant to be. Strong cases get thrown out before a jury ever hears them. I have watched it happen for 30 years.

So a lot of lawyers do the math. A discrimination case can take years. It costs real money out of the lawyer's own pocket, for filing fees, depositions, court reporters, and experts. And in a hostile forum, there is a real risk the case is dismissed on summary judgment no matter how strong the facts are. Faced with that math, many lawyers will not take the case. Some will only file the EEOC charge or send a demand letter and stop there.

I understand the math. I just made a different choice. I left a large firm to represent employees instead of companies, because someone has to be willing to do this work in Texas, and I would rather it be me.

So here is the part that actually helps you. When you are looking for a lawyer, here is how to tell them apart.

Ask the direct question. Will you actually file suit and litigate this case if we have to? A lawyer who only wants to send a demand letter has very little leverage, and the company on the other side knows it.

Ask whether they handle employment cases regularly, whether they will front the litigation costs, and whether they are board certified in labor and employment law. Few lawyers are. You want someone who knows this terrain, not someone learning it on your file.

And do not let one no, or five, convince you that your case is weak. The same facts that get turned away at one office get taken seriously at another. A lawyer passing on a case tells you about that lawyer's appetite for a hard fight. It does not tell you what happened to you at work.

I can’t take every case. I turn down a lot of cases solely because I simply don’t have room on my docket to handle them effectively. I wish that wasn’t true but it is. I try to help those people find good lawyers who can take their cases. I wish I could help everyone but I simply can’t. But even if I say no to your case, don’t take that as an indication that you don’t have a case at all.

I will not pretend the deck in Texas is even. It’s not. It’s heavily stacked against workers. But that is exactly the reason to find a lawyer who knows the deck is stacked and is still willing to sit down at the table.

That is the work. It is supposed to be hard. We do it anyway.