FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 29, 2024
Media Contacts:
Rebecca Johnson, Public Affairs Director
State Bar of Texas
(512) 427-1714; rjohnson@texasbar.com
Shelby Jean, Director of Communications
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
(817) 339-5384; jeans@lanwt.org
Free legal assistance available
for low-income
individuals
affected by wildfires in Texas Panhandle
Free legal resources are available to low-income individuals affected by the ongoing wildfires in the Panhandle region. Disaster survivors can apply for free legal assistance through Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas at lanwt.org or by calling (817) 339-5391. Examples of legal assistance available include:
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Assistance securing government benefits as they are made available to disaster victims;
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Assistance with life, medical, and property insurance claims;
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Help with home repair contracts and contractors;
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Replacement of wills and other important legal documents lost or destroyed in the disaster;
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Consumer protection issues, such as price-gouging and avoiding contractor scams in the rebuilding process;
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Mortgage-foreclosure problems; and
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Landlord-tenant problems.
Additional disaster recovery resources are available
at texaslawhelp.org and texasbar.com/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 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 a public corporation and an administrative agency of the judicial department of state government 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 X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram @statebaroftexas, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/statebaroftexas, or visit texasbar.com.
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas (LANWT) is a nonprofit organization that strives to meet the legal needs of more than 1.5 million eligible clients in its 114-county service area. The fifth-largest Legal Aid program in the United States, LANWT provides a wide variety of broad-based legal services to low-income and disadvantaged clients including family law, wills and estates, landlord/tenant cases, public benefits, real property, foreclosure prevention, and community revitalization matters.
