- Houston probate attorney Nicholas Abaza, also known as Nick Abaza of Abaza Law, is the subject of a State Bar grievance alleging a broader pattern of deceptive marketing, questionable reviews, aggressive probate litigation, contingency-fee incentives, and mandatory arbitration.
- Multiple former clients and probate families have raised concerns involving Nicholas Abaza, Jorge Borunda, Michael Trevino, and lawyers within the same professional network.
- Allison family: alleges Abaza helped move the representation into a contingency-fee arrangement with arbitration, failed to fully explain serious inheritance and litigation risks, and later pursued multimillion-dollar legal fees.
- Gail Echols: public reporting and court materials describe allegations that Abaza, Borunda, and Trevino collected substantial contingency fees from an inheritance dispute while the client received far less cash than the headline settlement value suggested.
- Kuhnel family: raises separate concerns involving an elderly probate client’s capacity, understanding of contingency and arbitration terms, and relationships among lawyers in the same network.
- Marketing concerns: the complaint also challenges insider reviews, self-promotional press releases, and commercial awards promoted as evidence of legal excellence.
- The complainant describes this interconnected group as a “legal gang with law licenses”—her characterization of what she alleges is a recurring pattern of coordinated fees, referrals, reviews, and probate litigation.