Free legal assistance available for low-income individuals affected by Central Texas flooding

By Rebecca Johnson on July 10, 2025

Free legal resources are available to low-income individuals affected by flooding in the Central Texas counties included in the federal disaster declaration of July 6 and the state disaster declarations of July 4 and 5.

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid is providing a toll-free legal hotline (833-329-8752) for low-income individuals affected by the disaster who need legal assistance, including:

Assistance securing government benefits as they are made available to disaster victims;
Assistance with life, medical, and property insurance claims;
Help with home repair contracts and contractors;
Replacement of wills and other important legal documents lost or destroyed in the disaster;
Consumer protection issues, such as price-gouging and avoiding contractor scams in the rebuilding process;
Mortgage-foreclosure problems; and
Landlord-tenant problems.

Additional disaster recovery legal resources are available at texasbar.com/disaster, trla.org/disaster, and texaslawhelp.org.

Following a disaster, the State Bar of Texas reminds the public that, in many cases, it is a crime in Texas for a lawyer or someone representing a lawyer to contact a person for purposes of paid legal representation if the person has not first requested the call or personal visit. If you encounter such conduct, please get the person’s name and phone number and report it to local law enforcement or the State Bar of Texas Chief Disciplinary Counsel’s Office via email at CDCinfo@texasbar.com or toll-free at 866-224-5999.

Donations to support disaster legal aid efforts are being accepted via State Bar of Texas President Santos Vargas’ Stand with Santos campaign at standwithsantos.org, as well as via the Texas Bar Foundation’s Emergency Disaster Relief Fund at txbf.org/emergency-disaster-relief.

Posted inPodcast

Counseling the Counsel: The Emotional Reality of Legal Work

By State Bar of Texas Staff on July 10, 2025

In this episode of the State Bar of Texas Podcast, host Rocky Dhir welcomes Alicia Freeman of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program (TLAP) to learn about tools to manage emotional distress—for lawyers and clients. Lawyers often face relentless exposure to stress and trauma, whether navigating emotionally charged areas of the law, handling high-stakes matters, or confronting a host of other pressures inherent to the profession. They discuss how to appropriately engage with clients’ emotional needs, set healthy boundaries, and provide necessary resources.

Posted inCLE News

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid to co-host CLE on assisting Hill Country flood survivors

By Will Korn on July 9, 2025

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and the Texas Disaster Legal Task Force will co-host a free one-hour CLE on Zoom titled “Legal Response After Disaster: Assisting Survivors of the Hill Country Floods,” at noon CST on July 21.

This CLE is aimed at equipping attorneys with the knowledge to assist survivors in navigating post-disaster legal issues. Presenters will cover common civil legal needs after a disaster—such as housing, benefits, and contractor fraud—as well as recent changes to FEMA individual assistance. Attendees will also learn how to connect with legal aid efforts and support survivors through direct service or referrals.

To register, go to trla-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qF-U0IQgSU6tQWsuaXpUiQ#/registration.

Posted inUncategorized

Supreme Court of Texas, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Issue Emergency Order

By Will Korn on July 8, 2025

Editor’s note: The following message was sent to all members on July 8, 2025.

Dear Member,

The Supreme Court of Texas and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today issued the First Emergency Order on the Hill Country Flood State of Disaster.

Read the order here.

Sincerely,

State Bar of Texas

Posted inNews

Houston Bar Foundation launches new Community Grants Program

By Will Korn on July 8, 2025

The Houston Bar Foundation (HBF) launched its new Community Grants Program, supporting projects that address the legal needs of residents in the greater Houston area, according to a press release.

The announcement is the culmination of two years of strategic planning by the HBF Board of Directors. Under the leadership of 2023 HBF Chair Monica Karuturi, the foundation engaged in a strategic planning process, in part to create a strategy for investment and spending consistent with the HBF’s mission. One of the first outcomes of those efforts was the creation of this grant program. This program is separate from the annual grant to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers and is designed to broaden the HBF’s impact, which is focused on the Houston community, according to a press release.

To be eligible, the project must meet the following criteria: 1) it must further at least one pillar of the HBF’s mission; 2) it must not exceed $10,000; 3) it must benefit people in the greater Houston area; and 4) it must be concluded within two years. The foundation may award up to $100,000 in grants to the Houston community. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2025.

For more information about the grants program or to apply, go to hba.org/?pg=HBFCommunityGrantsProgram.

Posted inNews

Austin Bar Foundation announces program to assist with cases for attorneys in crisis

By Will Korn on July 7, 2025

The Austin Bar Foundation (ABF) announced the development and implementation of a Crisis Assistance Pilot program (CAP) designed to assist lawyers in the greater Austin area who need to temporarily step away from practice, according to a press release.

This program was formed in connection with various stakeholders in the legal community to fill the gap when the impacted lawyer needs to temporarily step away from practice for up to 90 days. Once an application is accepted, the program matches the attorney with volunteer lawyers in the same or similar practice area who are willing to temporarily assist with cases while the impacted attorney steps away. Prior to participation in the program, the impacted attorney must designate a custodian attorney with the State Bar of Texas, as well as grant the program permission to privately notify the courts in which the attorney has pending cases.

A presentation about CAP will be held at 1:45 p.m. Friday, July 25, during the Local Bar Leaders Conference at the Westin Galleria in Houston. To assist in the launch, the ABF awarded the program a $15,000 grant using funds raised at the 2025 Annual Austin Bar Foundation Gala, according to a press release. This money will be used to cover program expenses and the impacted attorney’s practice.

The Austin Bar Association and the ABF developed CAP to serve as a template for bar associations throughout the state after the need was identified by State Bar of Texas Immediate Past President Steve Benesh. The program is currently designed to assist civil law practitioners, with plans to expand to the criminal bar in the coming year.

For more information, contact DeLaine Ward at delaine@austinbar.org or 512-472-0279, ext. 104.

Posted inLaw Schools News

UH Law Center hosting pre-recruitment workshop for prospective law academia

By Will Korn on July 7, 2025

In conjunction with the Association of American Law Schools Southwest and several attending Texas and out-of-state law schools, the University of Houston Law Center will host a one-day series of panels and interviews revolving around the prospects of becoming a law professor, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 13, at the UH Law Center’s John M. O’Quinn Building.

The event titled “So, You Want to Be a Law Professor?” will feature the Austin Bar Association, Dallas Bar Association, Houston Bar Association, San Antonio Bar Association, Tarrant County Bar Association, and the Utah State Bar, according to a press release.

The workshop will open with breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by panel discussions from 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Optional interviews with attending law schools will then run until 6 p.m. This is intended for individuals curious about law academia, those wanting to enter academia in the future but who may have questions, and those who are ready to join academia in the Southwest region prior to the coming school year. The event has been approved for 3.75 hours of MCLE credit, according to a press release.

For more information or to register, go to law.uh.edu/events/professor.asp.

Posted inNews

Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program hosts free legal clinics in July

By Eric Quitugua on July 2, 2025

The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, an initiative of the Dallas Bar Association, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, and local lawyers, is hosting free virtual and in-person legal clinics for eligible Dallas County residents throughout July.

Posted inAbout The Bar

State Bar of Texas Law Practice Management Committee receives ABA Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division Award

By Patricia Busa McConnico on June 25, 2025

At the Law Practice Management and Texas Bar College Meet & Greet on Thursday, June 19, at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa, State Bar of Texas Law Practice Management Committee Chair Greg Sampson announced that the Law Practice Management Committee received the American Bar Association Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division’s 2025 Solo and Small Firm Project Award for its work on succession planning, sudden cessation custodianships, and the Succession Planning Toolkit. The award is bestowed on bar leaders and associations for the successful implementation of a project targeted to solo and small firm lawyers.

Posted inNews Uncategorized

Free legal assistance available to South Texas survivors impacted by March storms

By Rebecca Johnson on June 16, 2025

SOUTH TEXAS — Free legal resources are available from Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) to low-income individuals affected by the March 24-26 storms and flooding in four Texas counties included in the federal disaster declaration May 21. These counties include Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy.

Eligible survivors who sustained disaster-caused damage may qualify for FEMA assistance, including assistance with displacement, temporary housing, basic home repair costs, personal property loss, or other disaster-caused needs.

Survivors can seek help from TRLA for applying for FEMA assistance or appeals, landlord-tenant matters, disaster unemployment, replacing lost documents, and issues related to public benefits.

For more information, read the press release.