Pro Bono Opportunities in Austin

The 1990 Census indicates that Texas has had a 45% increase in poverty since 1980. The State Barıs recent assessment of the legal needs of low income Texans showed that 69% of the legal needs of low income Texans were not met during the years studied and the need for free legal services continues to increase. In order to help alleviate this problem, at least in Travis County, VLS co-sponsors several legal clinics with Legal Aid of Central Texas and several other organizations.

A Monday Evening Legal Clinic is held at Brooke Elementary School in Austin from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. A Tuesday Evening Legal Clinic is also held in Austin at Mendez Middle School. Both clinics are staffed by volunteers including paralegals from the Capital Area Paralegal Association, attorneys from the Bankruptcy and Family Law sections of the Travis County Bar Association, and staff from VLS, LACT, and the Austin Tenants Council. The Monday evening clinic also has volunteer attorneys from the Catholic Diocese, the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin and the Labor and Employment Section of the Travis County Bar. The Tuesday evening clinic has volunteers from the Austin Young Lawyers Association and the law firm of Clark Thomas & Winters. A security guard is provided at both clinics to ensure the safety of both volunteers and participants and child care is provided. This is a marvelous project which has served more than 2100 people in 1995 alone.

The Capital Area Paralegal Association (CAPA) has been very active in providing volunteers for both clinics. At least three paralegals are needed for each clinic to conduct intake and assist the clients in completing the necessary forms. The volunteers gather information about the clientsı financial situation and, in family law matters, assist them in completing a lengthy questionnaire. CAPA, VLS and LACT have sponsored two training sessions for paralegals wanting to volunteer in these clinics. During the training sessions, intake procedures are discussed and the forms are explained. The volunteers are reminded of the importance of the information requested and are trained in techniques for sensitively dealing with the clients. CLE credit is earned for attending the training sessions.

During the evening clinics, the staff and volunteers set up the rooms that will be used for client interviews. VLS and LACT staff coordinate room assignments and sign in clients as they arrive. Paralegal volunteers interview the applicants and assist them in completing the required forms. Once the intake process is completed, LACT staff determine the applicantıs eligibility, based on the information in the application. In the event an applicant is not eligible for services or is not yet at the point of needing legal representation, they are offered the opportunity to meet with a volunteer attorney to discuss their problem. Eligibility for legal services is based not only on income, but also on the priorities established by the program.

LACT staff review the applications after each clinic. If the applicant meets the eligibility requirements for free legal services, he or she is referred to the appropriate staff within LACT or VLS. They are then referred to an attorney volunteer who specializes in the appropriate area of the law. VLS will support the attorney volunteer by assigning a consultant to him/her to assist as needed and by providing office space and computers, copiers and telephone service when necessary. VLS also provides malpractice insurance for the attorney volunteers. The new budget recently passed by Congress reduces the funding for the Legal Services Corporation which funds free legal service programs across the country, including programs like this one. The new guidelines also include additional restrictions on the use of the funds. VLS has received funding through LACT since it was created in 1981, but with the new restrictions, its Board of Directors recently voted to discontinue acceptance of any federal funding. In the future, both LACT and VLS expect to put considerable effort into generating funding through non-federal sources.

One of the immediate consequences of the funding cuts is that LACT has had to reduce its staff. Unfortunately, those staff reductions will eventually translate into a reduction in the number of eligible clients receiving services. In order to lessen the impact of funding cuts on the community, VLS is putting even more effort into the recruitment of volunteers, both attorneys and paralegals. This is being done through the use of mass mailings and direct recruitment efforts in the larger law firms.

The staff of both LACT and VLS agree that the clinics could not operate without the help of the paralegal volunteers. The paralegals who volunteer all agree that they get much more out of volunteering than they put in. It allows them the opportunity to work directly with the clients, they can practice and refine their interviewing skills, and it provides a network for contact with other paralegals. Most importantly, it allows them to assist people who really need their help.

With the combined support of the entire legal community, all who participate in pro bono programs can hope to live up to the sentiment expressed by former Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell who said: ''Equal justice under law is not merely a caption on the facade of the Supreme Court building. It is perhaps the most inspiring ideal of our society. It is one of the ends for which our entire legal system existsŠIt is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status.''

TEXAS PARALEGAL JOURNAL
Summer 1996
©1996 Legal Assistants Division, State Bar of Texas

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