State Bar of Texas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2006

Contact: Kim Davey, 800.204.2222 x 1713 or 512.427.1713

State Bar of Texas Activates Free Legal Hotline to Assist El Paso Flooding Victims

(Austin) – The State Bar of Texas has established a Disaster Hotline – 800.504.7030 – to assist people with basic legal questions as they begin to rebuild their lives following recent devastating flooding.

As basic needs are met and clean-up efforts continue, attention is likely to shift to issues such as replacing lost documents, housing, landlord-tenant disputes, consumer rights and insurance questions. Lawyers from Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, a non-profit provider of free civil legal services to indigent people, are available to answer the hotline and help with basic legal questions – in English and Spanish.

Additional disaster relief resources are available at:
www.texasbar.com/elpaso
www.texaslawhelp.org

To apply for assistance with housing, home repairs and uninsured property losses, residents should contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at www.fema.gov or the FEMA Disaster Aid Hotline: 800.621.3362.

The State Bar also reminds the public that it is unlawful for lawyers or anyone acting on their behalf to solicit clients within 30 days of a disaster. The Texas Penal Code makes it a third-degree felony to contact, in person or by phone, a victim for purposes of legal representation if the victim has not first requested the contact. People believing they have been inappropriately contacted about solicitation of a case should contact the State Bar Grievance Hotline at 800.932.1900.

Those who may be considering retaining a lawyer are advised to request referrals from people they know, or call a certified lawyer referral service. Contact the State Bar of Texas Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) at 877-9TEXBAR (877.983.9227) or the El Paso Bar Association LRIS at 915.532.7052.

The State Bar of Texas is an administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Texas. The Bar provides educational programs for the legal profession and the public, administers the minimum continuing legal education program for attorneys, and manages the attorney discipline system.

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