With constant dark current events making daily headlines, the world feels on fire 24/7 in a metaphorical sense, but that’s a literally true statement in the Texas Panhandle right now.
So far one of the largest wildfires in state history (if not the largest), the Smokehouse Creek Fire has scorched more than 1 million acres from Amarillo to near the Texas-Oklahoma border east of Canadian, Texas. At least one person has died, and Gov. Greg Abbott said at a press conference in Borger Friday afternoon that number has potentially grown to two — though it’s not yet confirmed. Recent news reports portray scenes from the devastation, including a toddler crying over her lost home and cattle that have dropped dead.
Outreach efforts are already beginning in the Texas legal community including at Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas (more on that below), and a Legal Services Corporation spokesperson said two other legal aid organizations funded by LSC — Lone Star Legal Aid and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid — are also jumping in to assist with disaster relief legal services.
Amarillo Area Bar Association President Tyler Topper said in an email that AABA is yet to launch its own effort to assist low-income individuals in the Panhandle area, but he encourages the Texas legal community to donate to local organizations already involved with relief efforts.
For those inclined to give, Topper personally suggests the Amarillo Area Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund, the only nonprofit community foundation serving the more than 400,000 people in the Texas Panhandle area.
I want to know about any more outreach and relief efforts lawyers are starting to help our Panhandle neighbors. Please let me know if your firm, nonprofit or corporate legal department has started one.
More Public Service News
— Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas is providing free legal assistance to low-income residents in the Panhandle affected by the ongoing wildfires. Disaster survivors can apply for pro bono civil legal services on LANWT’s website or can call (817) 338-5391. Examples of disaster-related legal services include help with:
- Securing government benefits as they are made available;
- Submitting life, medical and property insurance claims;
- Home repair contracts and contractors;
- Replacement of wills and other important legal documents lost or destroyed;
- 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 and texasbar.com/disaster
— On March 22, the Dallas Children’s Theater will host its 40th Birthday Celebration gala to commemorate four decades in operation. The evening will feature entertainment by Dustin Tavella, season 16 winner of America’s Got Talent and music will be handled by DJ Lucy Wrubel. Several members of the legal community are on DCT’s board of trustees, including president Jim Markus, senior counsel at Haynes Boone; co-vice presidents of governance and nominations Camelia Lopez Shoemaker, a federal prosecutor in Plano, and Martha Barrios, a legal marketing veteran; and trustees Evan Singer, a partner at Jones Day, and Jasmine Tobias, an associate at Holland & Knight.
Dallas Children’s Theater was founded in 1984 in response to the growing need for professional family theater and has since become the largest professional family theater in the Southwest. It has a multimillion-dollar budget and national audience, offering a season of 11 productions. The nonprofit also has a national touring company, theater academy and arts-in-education program for local schools.
The event will also feature a drawing for luxury raffle packages, including a culinary resort getaway at the La Bonita Resort and a full motion simulator experience for two with Southwest Airlines in the cockpit of a Boeing 737. Purchase raffle tickets here.
What: Dallas Children’s Theater 40th Birthday Celebration
Where: Union Station
When: Friday, March 22 at 7 p.m.
Corporate sponsors so far: Executive Producer level ($50,000): Texas Instruments. Lead Player level ($5,000): Haynes Boone, Jones Day and Holland & Knight.
How to sponsor: Visit here for more information on the sponsorship levels, and if inclined, contact Elizabeth Ross at elizabeth.ross@dct.org
Single tickets: Cost $500. Purchase one here.
— The Houston Bar Foundation announced this week that it has received a $500,000 grant from CenterPoint Energy, which will be used to provide pro se litigant assistance to thousands of Houstonians. The foundation, which is the charitable arm of the Houston Bar Association, said it will partner with the HBA’s pro bono arm, Houston Volunteer Lawyers to execute this new initiative and will do so in two phases. During the first phase, HBF expects to grant funds to HVL to investigate the best models of supporting pro se litigants in order to maximize impact in the use of the funds. In the second phase, HVL is expected to implement the recommendations outlined in phase one. All involved anticipate that HVL’s pro se services will begin at the Harris County Civil Courthouse in 2025.
CenterPoint General Counsel Monica Karuturi said in a statement that the company “takes its responsibility to be a good corporate citizen seriously.”
“We recognize the significant need to support self-represented litigants and are honored to provide this grant, which will help give people hope that justice will always be served,” she said.
Noting the “severe justice gap in our community,” HVL Executive Director Jessica Howton Stool emphasized the importance of the grant since HVL and other local organizations are not able to take every case that crosses their desks that qualifies for pro bono legal assistance.
“For some, access to quality legal advice and information is sufficient to support them as they navigate the civil legal system, [so] the availability of pro se legal assistance is crucial toward helping to address the justice gap in Houston,” Howton Stool said in a statement. “Houston Volunteer Lawyers is excited for the opportunity to partner with the Houston Bar Foundation and other community stakeholders to transform CenterPoint Energy’s incredible generosity into meaningful impact for those navigating the civil legal system on their own by finding ways to effectively provide necessary legal information and advice.”
— The Texas Young Lawyers Association also received a recent grant of $48,000 from the Texas Bar Foundation. It will fund a multimedia website to educate students and the public about their rights and responsibilities under the law upon reaching adulthood.
The website will be called “Adulting” and is expected to launch this spring. It will cover a wide range of legal topics, including contracts, consumer protection, healthcare, marriage, housing, employment and more.
“Remember as a kid when you couldn’t wait to grow up? You looked forward to making your own rules and doing whatever you wanted,” TYLA President Laura Pratt said in a statement. “Then you woke up one morning with enough birthdays to be legally considered an adult, only to find out that actual ‘adulting’ is way harder than you expected.”
TYLA is the public service arm of the State Bar of Texas. It works to facilitate the administration of justice, foster respect for the law and advance the role of the legal profession in serving the public.
— Throughout the month of March, the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program will host nine virtual and in-person legal clinics for those in the Dallas area in need of pro bono legal services. DVAP is a partnership between the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. All virtual clinics will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Virtual clinics
March 7: DVAP and SMU Dedman School of Law
March 14: DVAP, Hunton Andrews Kurth and SMU Dedman School of Law
March 21: DVAP and St. Mary’s University School of Law
March 28: DVAP, DLA Piper and Haynes Boone
In-person clinics
Veterans clinic: March 1 at 1:30 p.m. at the VA Medical Center (4500 S. Lancaster Rd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association
South Dallas clinic: March 12 at 5 p.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (2922 Martin Luther King Blvd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP
East Dallas clinic: March 21 at 5 p.m. at the Grace United Methodist Church (4105 Junius, Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and SMU Dedman School of Law: Women in Law
South Dallas clinic: March 26 at 5 p.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (2922 Martin Luther King Blvd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP, Katten and SMU Dedman School of Law: Women in Law
West Dallas clinic: March 28 at 5 p.m. at the West Dallas Multipurpose Center (2828 Fish Trap Rd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and SMU Dedman School of Law: Women in Law
Those wanting legal advice during one of the virtual clinics should fill out this form. Those who prefer in-person pro bono legal assistance can just show up at one of the above clinics.