Friends,
In Texas, we measure our commutes in hours, not miles. As someone who has spent countless hours traveling this great state, I have gotten to know many businesses just by their billboards. Buc-ee’s has become famous for theirs. On TV, there isn’t a person in Houston who can’t imitate Mattress Mack’s “Gallery Furniture SAVES YOU MONEY!” And then there is, without question, the largest contingent of advertisers across the state: billboard lawyers.
On paper, personal injury or damage claims don’t amount to much of the typical Texas civil court docket. At 4% of all lawsuits filed annually, it does not compare with the Top 3 categories (municipal/administrative, debt, tenant disputes), which made up 62% of all filings in 2024, according to the Texas Office of Court Administration. On Texas highways and TVs, however, you won’t find many lawyers advertising for municipal and administrative cases.
Nationally, legal advertising reached about $2.5 billion in 2024 (the Texas share is estimated to be between $150 million and $300 million annually, and does not include digital marketing and other outreach costs). TV advertising covers about $1 billion of that annual cost. Morgan & Morgan tops the rankings at more than 20% of that financial lift — much of that $110 million is spent on Texas-based networks. All for 4% of annual caseloads, or a little more than 8 lawsuits per hour.
Why does this matter? Because those costs ultimately get passed down to consumers and businesses through higher insurance premiums and rising prices for goods and services. In a litigation-rich environment, wage growth slows or stops, jobs are cut, and, when that doesn’t work, costs are passed to consumers through a hidden tort tax averaging $5,500 per household.
This week, we dive into the dollars and data behind the billboard lawyers, especially as political campaigns begin to ramp up in a heated cycle. Not all those dollars are going to advertisers. Millions are going to policymakers in an attempt to keep the courts exposed to profit-seekers instead of truly plaintiff-driven claims.
When the system supports a network of experts more than true victims, justice is broken and no longer serving the people. Lawsuit reform is our last line of defense to protect hard-working families and the businesses that make up the 8th largest economy in the world.
For the future of Texas,
Ryan Patrick
CEO | TLR
In the late 1970s, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Arizona lawfirm’s contention that advertising legal services is free speech. The state bar at that time argued, “The plain truth of the matter is that advertising law business leads to incompetence at best — but it leads to lying, cheating and swindling at its worst.” The firm was advertising uncontested divorce cases, adoption, bankruptcy, and name change services in a local newspaper.
That quaint case led to the explosion of a $2.5 billion national industry advertising legal services, specifically personal injury and mass tort claims, according to an industry advertising firm. TV ads still dominate the priority at 63% of all spending; however, these trial lawyers are leaning more toward digital, with advertising increasing 84% from 2020 to 2024. Why the focus on Texas?
Texas now leads the nation in the number of lawsuits filed, according to data from the National Center for State Courts. More than California. More than New York. More than Florida.
Two of the Top 3 legal advertisers in America in 2024 are based in Texas, and the top advertiser spent a significant portion of its advertising dollars in Texas. An industry-focused report pointed to digital advertising beginning to take priority for smaller firms looking to break through the larger-volume TV advertisers. Younger consumers are already seeing the influx of new ads on streaming platforms as CTV placements follow households “cutting the cord” of traditional cable services.
Combined with its high incidence of outsized verdicts and approximately 72,000 injury-and-damage cases each year, Texas is unquestionably one of the country’s most significant litigation environments. More concerning is that national data points to a sustained increase in the number of lawsuits being filed nationally, reversing a decade-long decline.
All of these advertising costs add up to an industry that supports a broader network of “injury experts” tied to billboard lawyers. The reality is that, in addition to the lawyers themselves, several players come to the table for personal injury lawsuits, and each is seeking their cut of the settlement:
Medical Billing Fraud: Physicians, chiropractors, and pharmacies for non-insurance-covered medical care
Third-Party Litigation Financing: outside funders who provide cash to cover expenses in exchange for a piece of each settlement
Expert witnesses to back up medical testimony
Research and records-collection services
Legal costs start building before anyone—a judge, a jury, or a mediator—decides who’s right. Because of these increased costs before going to court, let alone a trial, most lawsuits lead to settlements. Estimates are that 0.4% of all civil cases are resolved by jury trials. Meanwhile, about 1-in-3 plaintiffs abandon their lawsuits, but not before imposing costs on the defendants and taxpayers.
As lawmakers begin to discuss affordability issues, relevant data from past studies on lawsuit abuse point to small businesses taking on outsized costs. Larger employers have the ability to mitigate risks, while small businesses are dependent on insurance for liability protections–but the cost of insurance is skyrocketing for them. As lawsuits increase in Texas, so do those insurance costs, as well as rising costs to keep the doors open and successful.
Lawsuits are a hidden tax. And without strong legal reforms to prevent abuse, these hidden costs will continue to climb for everyone in Texas. The negative impacts of lawsuit abuse are clear:
Rising prices for goods and services
Rising insurance premiums
Hiring freezes and/or lost jobs
Delayed business expansion
Investments move to other states (‘DEXIT’ anyone?)
Texas must continue to fight for strong legal reforms to keep our state the best place to do business. Otherwise, we risk unravelling 30 years of growing prosperity for families and businesses across the state.
