January 30, 2023 by Clarissa Ayala
Free Legal Assistance Available for Low-Income Individuals Affected by Severe Weather in Southeast Texas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2023
Contact: Lowell Brown | Communications Director, State Bar of Texas | (512) 427-1713 | LBrown@texasbar.com
Contact: Clarissa Ayala | Communications Director, Lone Star Legal Aid | (832) 627-8404 | Cayala@lonestarlegal.org
Free legal resources are available to low-income individuals affected by the January 24, 2023, tornado and torrential rain in the Southeast Houston, Pasadena, and Deer Park areas.
Disaster survivors can apply for free legal assistance through Lone Star Legal Aid at lonestarlegal.org or by calling 1-800-733-8394. Examples of legal assistance available include:
- Assistance securing government benefits as they are made available to disaster victims;
- Assistance with life, medical, and property insurance claims;
- Help with home repair contracts and contractors;
- Replacement of wills and other important legal documents lost or destroyed in the disaster;
- Consumer protection issues, such as price-gouging and avoiding contractor scams in the rebuilding process;
- Mortgage-foreclosure problems; and
- Landlord-tenant problems.
Additional disaster recovery resources are available at texaslawhelp.org, lonestarlegal.org/services/disaster-relief/, 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 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 is 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.
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The State Bar of Texas is an administrative agency of the judicial branch of 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 Twitter and Instagram @statebaroftexas, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/statebaroftexas, or visit texasbar.com.
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. LSLA focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety, stability, health, and wellbeing; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, the aging, survivors of crime and disasters, the unemployed and underemployed, the unhoused, those with limited English language skills, and the LGBTQIA+ community. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
Feature Photo Credit: Jason Fochtman/Staff Photographer for the Houston Chronicle. Image featured in Exclusive Drone Footage and Photos Show the Aftermath of Tornado in Pasadena, Texas.
