Joe Plumlee owned and operated an ambulance company. He alleged that the law firm Paddock, Loveless & Roach agreed to pay him an up-front fee and a percentage of the law firm’s fees generated from personal injury case referrals. When the law firm did not pay Plumlee, he sued to recover damages for breach of contract. Texas law prohibits lawyers from sharing fees with laypersons (Tex.  Penal Code Section 38.12; Supreme Court of Texas). A disciplinary rule also forbids such activity (State Bar Rules Art. X, Section 9). The law firm asserted that the contract could not be enforced because it would be an illegal contract. Who wins? Did Plumlee act ethically in this case? If the contract existed, did the lawyers act ethically? Plumlee v. Paddock, Loveless, and Roach, 832 S.W.2d 757, Web 1992 Tex.App. Lexis 1544 (Court of Appeals of Texas)