Attorneys in Tyler

Smith County's district courts page lists four courts. The 321st District Court hears family law only; the other three hear civil and criminal cases. A divorce or custody matter is a 321st case, and a personal injury suit or a contract dispute goes to one of the other three.

For divorce, Texas requires either spouse to have lived in the state for the preceding six months and in the filing county for the preceding 90 days. A court generally can't grant the divorce until the 60th day after filing, with exceptions for certain family violence cases, and Texas allows no-fault divorce when the marriage has become insupportable.

Before you file anything yourself, ask your lawyer which county office takes the papers and confirm its address on the Smith County website.

• License and discipline. The State Bar of Texas "Find a Lawyer" directory covers every licensed Texas attorney, and the profile shows disciplinary history. The Bar also publishes recent actions and an Ineligible Attorney List.
• Board certification. A lawyer may advertise as "Board Certified" only if certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Areas include Family Law, Personal Injury Trial Law, Criminal Law and Civil Trial Law, and the directory filters by them.
• Solicitation. Texas rules generally bar lawyers from soliciting new clients in person or by live phone call, and written personal injury solicitations generally can't be sent before the 31st day after an accident. Paying someone to solicit, called barratry, is a third-degree felony.

The Bar's Advertising Review Department checks lawyer ads and solicitation letters against the disciplinary rules, and solicitation mail must be marked "ADVERTISEMENT." A letter that arrives within days of a crash without that label is a warning sign.

If a lawyer steals client money or keeps an unearned fee, the State Bar's Client Security Fund can repay clients, generally after a grievance finds that happened. Grievances go on the Bar's current form, effective October 1, 2025.

The State Bar reported a statewide median hourly rate of $368 for full-time private practitioners in 2025. That's a Texas-wide figure; the Bar's breakdown names Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston as the highest metros, and Tyler isn't separately listed. The Bar's East and Northeast Texas figure was $345.

If a lawyer offers a contingent fee, the contract must be in writing and signed by both of you, and it must say how the fee is calculated, any different percentages for settlement, trial or appeal, and which expenses come out and when.

Texas filing deadlines to raise with a Tyler lawyer

• Personal injury and wrongful death: generally two years from when the claim accrues, which for wrongful death is the date of death.
• A claim against a city or county: notice within six months under the Tort Claims Act, and a city charter may set a different deadline.
• Health care liability: written notice at least 60 days before suit, generally two years to file, with a 10-year outer limit.

If you are more than 50 percent responsible for your own injury, Texas law bars recovery; below that line, your damages shrink by your own share. A defendant generally pays only its own share too, unless it is found more than 50 percent responsible, when it becomes jointly and severally liable. For a child, the years before age 18 generally don't count toward the limitations period, though health care claims follow their own rule. These are general rules with exceptions, and nothing here predicts an outcome; confirm how they apply to you with a licensed Texas attorney.

The full Texas guide is on our attorneys hub. Lawyers in Longview are another option, and the Tyler hub covers the county's other offices.