Mark Christopher Lane

I hired Mark to handle a custody case for me. I needed someone who could act quickly as the courts were allowing a registered sex offender and his wife (the mother of another registered sex offender) have unchecked control over my son. Mark swooped in like a hero, said he would work with me on the ...retainer and get started on helping me progress my action. I paid him $1500 in retainer and didn't hear from him for nearly 3 months. The next time I did hear from him it was a letter telling me that he had apparently previously represented my ex & ex's new wife and wouldn't be able to represent me. I asked for a refund of my retainer and was informed that not only did they "take" my whole retainer but that I still owed them another $190. So for Mark to draft and file an appearance and motion to withdraw he charged me $1,690.00. Mind you, I am a paralegal myself and know that an appearance should only be billed at .1 and I was billed for an entire half an hour to draft a 3 sentence document. I also know that you are required to run a conflicts check and if you are prohibited from representing that prospect due to conflict you don't get to take their money. Failure on the part of the firm to identify a conflict does not mean that the client has to still pay for the little work the attorney did (in this case drafting only the appearance and withdrawal). The attorney has to eat those billables because they were prohibited from engaging with the client in the first place. Mr. Lane's actions cost me precious time that I did not have, and him keeping my money that he was not entitled to has left me without the ability to hire another attorney. So basically he took all the money I had for an attorney retainer from me and then did nothing on my case for those funds. I will be filing complaints with the Texas Bar Association as Mr. Lane's practices are in direct violation of Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. § 1.06 for failing to run a conflicts check before engaging in representation on my behalf which resulted in him receiving documentation/information in my case that he wouldn't not have been entitled to if he was representing my ex; Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. § 1.04 for unconscionable and illegal fees in that he charged me for his mistake AND he overbilled me for the two basic tasks that were done; and the Texas Office of the Attorney General for violation of Texas BUS & COM § 17.46 for false, misleading, or deceptive trade practices. It should also be noted that Mr. Lane wasn't even the one to identify the conflict, Opposing Counsel had to tell him that he had previously represented my ex. He didn't even remember that my ex was a client, or maybe he did and was just looking to make a quick buck off of me. For anyone else who comes here because they believe Mr. Lane has allegedly perpetrated a fraud against them, know this...If you believe you have been the victim of fraud at the hands of an attorney, Texas is one of the few states where the AG office will investigate, charge, adjudicate, and hold accountable attorneys who engage in fraudulent, misleading, and/or deceptive business practices. So be sure you file your complaints with them as well, the BAR will only issue a private or public admonishment if they feel the attorney's actions rise to that level, but the AG office will publicly litigate them and if the Courts find that the attorney was in the wrong, they will make them pay.

He was a terrible attorney and I regret retaining his services for my divorce. He couldn't even finish handling my divorce before he withdrew his services. You have to leave a credit card or bank account on file with him so that he can charge you whatever he wants to without even sending you an invoi...ce. He doesn't do anything that he says he's going to do. You cannot ever contact him. He does not act in your best interest. He doesn't request discovery from the other party. He tries to shortcut and rush through Mediation trying leave out all of the important issues that must be addressed. He tries to force you to sign the Settlement Agreement even though your ex showed up to Mediation with his bank account balances written on a piece of paper and no inventory listing all assets and liabilities. Then he turns around and withdraws from your case because you wouldn't agree to another botched Mediation and charges thousands of dollars to your credit card without an invoice.

I hired Mark , for a divorce it was a costly horrible divorce that because of reconciliation off and on it lasted approximately 6 1/2 yrs . I payed Mark thousands of dollars over that period of time - divorce can be costly and if you want prime rib and all the fixens then you gotta pay for it . O...k here it is , (1 ) I could of changed attys anytime . I’m a retired cattle rancher ( hands on ) and retired airline pilot - and I don’t take crap off anyone and if I do - I have to sure respect them . Mark will tell you … “Shut Up and listen !” When its needed … he will call you ask how you are when you have surg and ask if you need anything?and mean it - He will listen when your discouraged at the same time keep your skin thick because divorce isn’t for the weak . Yes … I had very heated discussion with him when I didn’t agree - all but once that I remember he was right and I was not quite right . That’s what I was paying him for ! I didn’t need a lot of bedside manner - I wanted to open and maintain a can of Whoop A.. and he did but smooth flowing just enough and he cooled my jets when needed ( often ) . If I called .. he answered , if I needed to ask a question he answered it - sometimes he told me … “let me work …this is costing you $” ( when I was over managing ) he’d tell me “I got this . “ I used mark to pound the beach with the heavy artillery soft up the enemy and I mean nobody gonna mess with you in or out court house if he’s your atty … seriously ! It’s been yrs now since …. I got the divorce :) I was going through my phone and saw his number .. texted him and just as when I was paying him thousands $ he answered my text and he’s there if I need .. I’m telling you I’m sold - I’d hire him again - I like him as a person and I like when it comes to him as my atty I could look away and he’s got it . He’s better as a leader / teammate than your opposing counsel so hire him and listen , he’s got it ! just let him work !!!!! RG

Because the case was still open till recently, I have not been able to post. In 2018 I hired Mark to represent me in a Modification case. He was impossible to get ahold of, never responsive, and did not follow my wishes. He actually signed court documents he was specifically instructed not to sign.... Grievances were filed with the state board. It cost me $25,000 to correct his mistake and 2.5 years in court. DO NOT USE HIM!!

I hired Mark Klein law to do some court receivership and he not only drug his feet costing me money and pay more money than I should have aid him by $1992.73 giving me back nothing all that money was so wasted by his inability to perform. he didn’t know nothing , he did nothing , he did not talk to ...me about my case, he did not tell me what was going on. he is by far the worst lawyer in history. Save your money and heartbreak.