FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2021
Contact: Amy Starnes
Public Information Director, State Bar of Texas
(800) 204-2222, ext. 1706, or (512) 427-1706
astarnes@texasbar.com
Free legal assistance available for low-income individuals affected by Hurricane Nicholas
AUSTIN—Free legal resources are available to low-income individuals affected by flooding and other conditions created by Hurricane Nicholas.
The State Bar of Texas’s toll-free disaster legal services hotline—800-504-7030—puts callers in touch with legal aid providers in their areas who can help with:
-
Replacement of important legal documents lost or destroyed in the disaster;
-
Life, medical, and property insurance claims;
-
Home repair contracts and contractors;
-
Consumer protection issues such as price-gouging and avoiding contractor scams in the recovery process;
-
Counseling on landlord-tenant problems; and other matters.
The hotline assists callers in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. People who qualify for assistance will be matched with lawyers who can provide free, limited legal help.
Additional disaster recovery resources are available at texaslawhelp.org, trla.org/disaster, and texasbar.com/disaster.
The State Bar 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 via email at CDCinfo@texasbar.com or 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.
