Public Allegation Database

Attorney Misconduct Complaints Filed by Consumers

These are allegations and public-interest consumer complaints. They are not findings of professional misconduct unless a court, disciplinary authority, or public sanction says so. Attorneys are invited to submit a response, correction, or statement for publication.

September 27, 2026

Jorge Borunda Bar Complaint – Law by Deception

State: TX

BR # 24027205

Submitted by: Caroline Allison

Jorge Borunda — State Bar of Texas No. 24027205 — is the subject of a grievance alleging a pattern in which a Houston probate lawyer used client trust, litigation pressure, contingency-fee incentives, arbitration, and collection tactics in ways that allegedly placed the lawyers’ financial interests ahead of the family’s. The complaint characterizes the conduct as potential fee harvesting, fee maximization, self-dealing, legal abuse, and legal bullying arising from years of high-conflict litigation.

FEE HARVESTING: The grievance alleges that what began as hourly probate representation ultimately became a 35% contingency arrangement, followed by arbitration fees, a multimillion-dollar award, interest, enforcement, and receivership costs—turning a family inheritance dispute into an expanding stream of professional fees.
FEE MAXIMIZATION: According to the complaint, Borunda allegedly discouraged the client from walking away while failing to provide a balanced trial budget, realistic probability-of-success analysis, or full explanation of the economic consequences of continuing.
SELF-DEALING: The grievance alleges that the contingency conversion gave the lawyers a direct financial interest in assets they were simultaneously advising the clients about, creating a potential conflict between preserving family wealth and maximizing attorney compensation.
HIGH-CONFLICT LITIGATION: The complaint identifies numerous probate matters lasting years, raising questions about whether families received regular written case-status reports, settlement analysis, and honest assessments of whether continued litigation still made economic sense.
FAMILY DESTRUCTION: Probate disputes often involve siblings, spouses, children, step-parents, trusts, homes, mineral interests, and family businesses. The grievance asks whether aggressive litigation strategies unnecessarily depleted estates and permanently fractured families.
LEGAL ABUSE / LEGAL BULLYING: The complaint alleges that vulnerable grieving clients were exposed to escalating litigation, private arbitration, fee claims, and collection pressure rather than receiving the protection and independent advice they expected.
REVIEW MANIPULATION: The grievance also asks the State Bar to investigate favorable reviews from spouses, business associates, and recurring lawyers—including Nicholas Abaza—while critical former-client reviews allegedly disappeared or were filtered.
ARBITRATION AS A SHIELD: The complaint alleges that an arbitration clause added during the contingency-fee transition later removed malpractice and fiduciary-duty claims from a public courtroom, potentially shielding the attorneys’ own conduct from public scrutiny.