I live in Texas and have a problem with a law firm.  I agreed to pay
them $3500. to draw up all the documents in connection with an Estate
Plan and paid them half up front with the balance due upon completion.
  In addition to a hard copy, I requested they give me a disk
containing the files formatted in Word. Now I find that they intend to
protect the document so that I can't make changes. Should I paid them
the balance or do I have any recourse?

Hello and thank you for your question.

Although the Texas Bar has not addressed the question, it has been
answered in Wisconsin and favorably commented on by the American Bar
Association.

I expect that if you'll print out the following two documents and show
them to your attorney, he or she will give you the computer disk that
you've asked for.

Eye on Ethics
Client files: from paper to kilobytes
http://www.abanet.org/media/youraba/200512/article01.html

E-00-03: Electronic files; client's demand for electronically stored documents
http://www.wisbar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Wisconsin_ethics_opinions&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=48462

Thanks again for letting us help.

Search terms used:
attorney "client files" computer texas

Thanks to all for your support.  I will follow your recommendations
and hope that I dont have to deal with another attorney for a very
long time.

How can they 'protect' the document?

They must be NUTS.

Just scan it into an OCR program (like Textbridge) and you've got it
in digital format.

Next time, get yourself a GOOD lawyer.

Quite.

Also providing you with an effectively blank disk, is a breech of agreement.

I rather suspect that the 'protection' can be undone, but if they are
halfway smart the 'document' will be a compressed Bitmap of a
salacious nature.

Entice them into written communication, build up enough evidence and
then tell them to get stuffed.