The State Bar of Texas and 2010-2011 State Bar of Texas President Terry Tottenham implemented Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans (TLTV) in July 2010, to address a specific need: provide pro bono civil legal assistance to brave veterans and their families who otherwise cannot afford legal services. Texas has the second-highest population of veterans in the nation, and a distressing number of Texas veterans are living in poverty or without homes. “Our military servicemen and women have made great sacrifices in duty to their country,” said Tottenham, a former Marine. “As lawyers, we have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of a great many veterans and in the families of soldiers who did not return.”

TLTV is a collaborative effort with not only local bar associations, but also with legal aid organizations and veterans service providers to host legal advice clinics throughout the state.

Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans is building on the important work begun by the Houston Bar Association (HBA), which has offered weekly legal clinics at the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital in Houston since 2008. The HBA also provides training sessions for volunteer attorneys to better prepare them in handling veteran-specific matters and in increasing their knowledge of benefits available to veterans through the VA.

• 2022-2023 Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans Annual Report

• TLTV Legal Clinic Calendar