If you’ve searched this question, you’ve probably found conflicting answers — including at least one widely read national guide that gets Texas flatly wrong. So let’s settle it with primary sources.
The short answer
No. Texas does not require attorneys to carry legal malpractice insurance. There is no coverage mandate, and — unlike some states — no requirement to disclose to clients that you don’t carry it. The Supreme Court of Texas considered a disclosure rule and declined to adopt it in April 2010. Even the old rule that limited liability partnerships carry $100,000 in coverage is gone — the Legislature repealed it effective September 1, 2011.
So why do most established Texas firms carry it anyway? Because the question that matters isn’t “am I required to?” — it’s “what happens to my firm the day a claim arrives?” More on that below.
What the law actually says (with citations)
1. No mandate, and no disclosure rule — a deliberate decision.
In 2009–2010, Texas seriously debated requiring attorneys to disclose whether they carry professional liability coverage. The State Bar board studied the proposal through seven public hearings and recommended against it by a vote of 39–1. In April 2010, the Supreme Court of Texas accepted that recommendation and declined to adopt a disclosure requirement, with Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson noting there was “little evidence” that clients treated the absence of insurance as decisive when choosing a lawyer. Coverage is not mandated; disclosure is not mandated; clients remain free to ask.
2. The LLP requirement you may remember is repealed.
For years, Texas — the state that invented the LLP — required limited liability partnerships to carry $100,000 of liability insurance or set aside equivalent funds (former Business Organizations Code §152.804). The 82nd Legislature repealed that requirement in Senate Bill 748, effective September 1, 2011, noting that the states that copied Texas’s LLP statute never copied the insurance requirement. If a guide tells you your Texas LLP must carry malpractice coverage to keep its liability shield, it’s citing law that’s been off the books for fifteen years.
3. What IS required: candor.
Nothing in Texas law prohibits practicing bare. But the Texas Disciplinary Rules still govern what you tell clients — if you’re asked about coverage, the answer has to be honest.
Why most firms carry it anyway
- Clients and referral sources ask. Corporate clients, insurance panels, and referral networks increasingly require proof of coverage before sending work.
- One claim can outweigh decades of premiums. Defense costs alone on a malpractice claim routinely run six figures — before any judgment. (What coverage costs, by comparison: see our guide to what legal malpractice insurance actually costs.)
- Your entity won’t save you. LLPs and PLLCs shield partners from each other’s malpractice — not from their own. The lawyer who made the mistake is always personally exposed, entity or no entity.
- Going bare is a one-way door. Malpractice policies are claims-made: they cover claims filed while coverage is active. A firm that drops coverage loses protection for all its past work at once. (How claims-made coverage works.)
The real question for Texas firms
Since the state leaves it to you, the decision comes down to exposure: your practice areas, your clients, the size of matters you touch, and how much of your personal balance sheet you’re comfortable betting on a clean record. That’s not a form you fill out — it’s a judgment call, and it’s exactly the conversation we have with Texas firms every day.
LawPAK is based in Austin and works exclusively with law firms. If you want a real answer for your firm instead of a rule that doesn’t exist, request a quote or talk to an advisor — the conversation costs nothing.
FAQ
Is malpractice insurance required in Texas?
No. Texas has no coverage mandate and no disclosure requirement for attorneys. The Supreme Court of Texas declined to adopt a disclosure rule in April 2010.
Do Texas LLPs have to carry $100,000 in liability insurance?
Not anymore. That requirement (former BOC §152.804) was repealed effective September 1, 2011.
Do I have to tell clients I don’t carry malpractice insurance?
Texas imposes no affirmative disclosure duty — but if a client asks, disciplinary rules require an honest answer, and many clients and referral panels do ask.
If it’s not required, why carry it?
Because entity structures don’t protect you from your own malpractice, defense costs alone can reach six figures, and claims-made coverage means going without insurance forfeits protection for past work — not just future work.
Sources: Supreme Court of Texas, professional liability insurance disclosure decision (April 2010); Texas SB 748, 82nd Legislature (2011), repealing BOC §152.804; Texas Business Organizations Code ch. 152; State Bar of Texas board recommendation (39–1, following seven public hearings).
