The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, an initiative of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, is hosting 11 free legal clinics for county residents who meet financial guidelines. The clinics, which will be held throughout October, will offer legal advice and consultation in civil matters. Continue Reading
In a report released by the Legal Services Corporation’s private attorney involvement, or PAI, section, Texas was named 2018’s top state for combined pro bono and compensated cases closed at 7,365.
LSC, an independent corporation created by Congress to fund legal assistance to low-income individuals, examined the services of legal aid programs it assists nationwide in “LSC By the Numbers: The Data Underlying Legal Aid Programs.” Continue Reading
In recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15), which celebrates the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States, the Texas Bar Blog connected with Donald Delgado, a College Station-based attorney focused on civil litigation and vice president of the Texas Young Lawyers Association. A first-generation attorney and Texan, the Bryan native discussed learning Spanish first and then English and how helping his parents become U.S. citizens at an early age was a sign he’d one day be a lawyer. Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors voted unanimously September 20 to approve Pablo Almaguer of Edinburg and Sylvia Borunda Firth of El Paso as candidates for 2020-2021 president-elect.
Almaguer and Borunda Firth will appear on the ballot in April 2020 along with any certified petition candidates. There are currently no additional president-elect candidates, although members have until March 1 to submit their nominating petitions to the State Bar for certification.
The State Bar of Texas and Lone Star Legal Aid seek to alert residents that free legal resources are available to low-income individuals affected by severe storms and flooding spawned by Tropical Storm Imelda.
Lone Star Legal Aid operates a toll-free disaster legal hotline — 866-659-0666— that can help with issues such as replacing lost documents, answering insurance questions, helping with landlord-tenant problems, and addressing scam or consumer protection concerns. People who qualify for assistance will be matched with lawyers who can provide free, limited legal help.
The Houston Bar Association, or HBA, and the Houston Volunteer Lawyers, or HVL, have named Michael Hofrichter as executive director of HVL.
Hofrichter previously served as HVL’s operations and compliance director, interim executive director, and interim low income tax clinic director. He joined HVL in 2010 upon graduating from the University of Houston Law Center. Hofrichter has worked with volunteers, supported legal clinics, and presented CLE programs and has has been instrumental in the development of HVL’s technology-based projects including online volunteer opportunities, disaster response, and document assembly.
Updated 9/18/2019: We received a report of another scam. An attorney received an email from a scammer using the name of a law firm from Texas but with an email using a domain address from Australia: bully34351@tpg.com.au. The email states that the attorney is being sued by the scammer’s client, must download a link to find out the details of the “immense psychological suffering” the attorney caused with their words, and that the scammer and the client will see the attorney in court.
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The Texas Access to Justice Foundation, or TEAJF, and Texas Legal Services Center, or TLSC, announced David Insley as the first recipient of the Randall Chapman Fellowship.
Insley is a recent graduate of St. Mary’s University School of Law. During the two-year fellowship, he will focus on serving economically disadvantaged families struggling to navigate the justice system—a passion he developed while working at the Texas Office of the Attorney General Child Support Division’s Access and Visitation Hotline.
About 100 volunteers from the Houston Bar Association will read to classes in 103 Houston-area elementary schools on Tuesday, September 17, in commemoration of Constitution Day. Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors will hold its quarterly meeting September 20 in Corpus Christi.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Downtown Marina (Texas Riviera Ballroom), 797 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Members of the public are welcome to attend.
The agenda includes a vote on the Nominations and Elections Subcommittee’s nomination of Pablo Almaguer of Edinburg and Sylvia Borunda Firth of El Paso as candidates for 2020-2021 State Bar of Texas president-elect.
Click here to view the meeting agendas and materials.