AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 28 TX-Texas-Access
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to the broad range of
legal problems resulting from Hurricane Ike, Texas legal aid organizations and
the Houston Bar Association have developed an online resource to assist Texans
affected by the disaster in obtaining free legal information. The new service,
called LiveHelp, is available now and enables Hurricane Ike victims to conduct
a live online chat with attorneys recruited by the Houston Volunteer Lawyers
Program. Attorneys will answer questions and also refer those seeking help to
legal resources specific to FEMA appeals and other disaster-related issues.
LiveHelp is free and can be reached through the Web site
http://www.TexasLawHelp.org. Attorneys are available weekdays from 1-5 pm.
When help is not available, online users may leave a message. The TexasLawHelp
Web site also contains information on legal resources for disaster victims.
Houston attorney Andrew Strong spearheaded the LiveHelp project for the
State Bar of Texas' Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee. "We
are incredibly excited about this new service, which provides attorneys
located anywhere in the nation the opportunity to help people without the
challenges of travel to remote locations," Strong said. "Through an online
chat session, volunteer attorneys can complement and expand on available on-
the-ground legal services."
The Houston Bar Association, working with Lone Star Legal Aid and Texas
Legal Services Center, have provided extensive training to over 200 attorneys
who will be offering pro bono legal aid to Hurricane Ike victims. Attorneys
interested in signing up to volunteer for LiveHelp can do so through the State
Bar of Texas Web site at http://www.texasbar.com/ikevolunteers.
Lone Star Legal Aid and Texas Legal Services Center have already been
swamped with calls from Hurricane Ike victims who have been improperly denied
assistance from FEMA or Texas state agencies. Other issues facing Hurricane
Ike victims include contractor fraud, the wrongful denial of insurance claims,
and problems getting landlords to complete essential repairs.
Texas is the seventh state to implement LiveHelp on its statewide legal
services Web site for consumers, and the first state to provide LiveHelp
assistance using volunteer attorneys. LiveHelp was developed by Pro Bono Net,
a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing access to justice through the
innovative use of technology.
Funding for the new technology has been made available through an
emergency grant from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation.
The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (http://www.teajf.org), created by
the Supreme Court of Texas in 1984, is the leading state-based funding source
for the provision of civil legal aid in Texas. The organization is committed
to the vision that all Texans will have equal access to justice, regardless of
their income. The Foundation administers a variety of funding sources, which
are earmarked to assist nonprofit organizations in providing legal aid to
approximately 100,000 Texans each year.
Contact: Meg Meo, Elizabeth Christian & Associates Public Relations
512-494-2867 or mmeo@echristianpr.com
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Betty Balli Torres
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SOURCE Texas Access to Justice Foundation
