Here is a report of a $ 2.9 million settlement in Texas concerning the law firm of Hilgers & Watkins. Details

“The Travis County District Court case alleged the former Hilgers & Watkins attorneys aided a now-defunct, high-risk loan operation in cheating an Austin plaintiff and his two companies out of $4.5 million. Hilgers & Watkins merged with Brown McCarroll in 2003. Brown McCarroll wasn’t a defendant in the lawsuit.

In 2003, Michael McCarthy and his Austin companies, Gowron LLC and MGM Holdings Inc., sued Hilgers & Watkins and attorneys Marty Novak, Tom Watkins, Mark Chouteau, Robert Reetz, David Rodriguez, Ben Hathaway, Bradley Stein and Albert Lin. The allegations included legal malpractice, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, common law fraud, and civil conspiracy.

The settlement dismisses the McCarthy suit and all claims between the parties. It also marks the end of several other smaller lawsuits — all stemming from Hilgers & Watkins’ representation of Thomas Caufmann and his company, Capital Advantage.

The $2.9 million settlement nearly depletes the remainder of a $5 million liability insurance policy held by Hilgers & Watkins that was used to paid out to settle and defend the claims, says the plaintiffs’ attorney, Joe Webber of Austin.”