FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2018
Contact: Amy Starnes
Public Information Director, State Bar of Texas
(800) 204-2222, ext. 1706, or (512) 427-1706
astarnes@texasbar.com
State Bar and TRLA promote disaster legal hotline for Texans affected by Valley flooding
AUSTIN — The State Bar of Texas and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) remind residents that free legal resources are available to low-income individuals struggling to recover from a disaster.
TRLA operates a toll-free disaster legal hotline — (866) 757-1570 — 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.
Individuals who qualify also may use texaslegalanswers.org— an online Q&A-style service where individuals can pose specific questions related to civil legal issues and have them answered online by volunteer attorneys. Texas Legal Answers is operated by the State Bar of Texas in conjunction with the American Bar Association.
Additional disaster recovery resources are available at texasbar.com/disaster, texaslawhelp.org, and trla.org/disasters.
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 legal representation if the person has not first requested the call or personal visit. The contact is not illegal if the attorney is not seeking payment or has a preexisting professional-client or family relationship with the person being contacted.
If you witness something you believe to be improper solicitation, or barratry, please get the name and phone number of the person making contact and report it to your local law enforcement authority or the State Bar Chief Disciplinary Counsel’s Office toll free at (866) 224-5999.
— — —
The State Bar of Texas is an administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Texas that 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. For more information, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @statebaroftexas, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/statebaroftexas, or visit texasbar.com.
