Legal Line is Back Up and Running, Announces Houston Bar Association

Since 1985, the Houston Bar Association has run the Legal Line, a hot line through which Houstonians can receive simple legal advice, for free, over the phone. Because the program relies on volunteer attorneys who gather together at an established location to answer the calls, in this time of COVID and social distancing, the service temporarily went on hold.

Starting April 8, the Legal Line is back! It will run every Wednesday evening between then and the end of May.

This service, relied on by so many of our patrons, has changed slightly in order to allow volunteer attorneys to participate, while remaining in compliance with the Harris County Stay Home, Work Safe order.

Anyone who would like to speak with an attorney for free over the phone can sign up on-line to receive a call from an attorney during a particular time slot. The HBA urges anyone signing up to know (1) confirmation emails will be sent, and (2) that the call will come from an Anonymous number. Please be ready to receive the call, as that time slot will be specifically reserved for you.

If you are a licensed Houston area attorney and would like to volunteer to staff the virtual Legal Line, please click here.

Free Legal Assistance via the Houston Bar Association LegalLine

On the first and third Wednesdays of every month, the Houston Bar Association provides an invaluable community service -- free legal assistance for residents of Harris County via the HBA LegalLine. Most callers ask questions about family law matters, such as divorce, child custody, child support, and adoption, but other legal topics -- consumer law, neighborhood disputes, immigration, and legal issues arising from special events like Hurricane Harvey -- are addressed as well. 

Volunteer attorneys licensed in the state of Texas will answer your legal questions from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm tonight, December 6, and again on December 20. Spanish speakers can call from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on the first Thursday of every month, including this Thursday, December 7, to ask questions in Spanish.

Volunteer attorneys will offer legal information and assistance and, depending on the situation, they may refer callers to additional resources in the community, including legal aid organizations, helpful websites, or lawyer referral services. The volunteers will not represent the callers in any way, and, to protect confidentiality, all callers remain anonymous. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with a legal issue or just needs some helpful legal infomration about a pending case or what to expect at an upcoming court date, the Houston Bar Association LegaLine is here to help!

Houston Bar Association & Houston Volunteer Lawyers Help the Community

June marked the end of the Houston Bar Association's calendar of activities. Looking back, it's clear to see that the HBA was quite active indeed, providing valuable service to HBA members, the profession, and the public. 

Houston Volunteer Lawyers provided in-person, one-on-one legal advice to more than 6,100 applicants at no expense to those served. Nearly 1,200 cases were referred to pro bono attorneys for long-term representation. Over 2,300 of those helped were U.S. veterans or spouses of deceased veterans.

HVL also assisted 6,561 pro se litigants with family law matters at the courthouse information both on the 17th floor of the Civil Courthouse, and expanded the pro se clinic to the Harris County Law Library where attorneys now meet with self-represented litigants five days a week from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon on a first come-first served basis. 

More than 700 LegalLine volunteers answered 5,386 calls from residents of Harris County, and the Houston Lawyer Referral service made over 26,000 referrals to attorneys and other agencies. 

These are just a few of HBA's achievements over the last twelve months. Additional successes of the previous year are detailed in the May/June 2017 issue of the Houston Lawyer magazine. See page six for President Neil Kelly's message where he reflects on the HBA's service to its members, its initiatives in educating the public about the law, and its efforts to help the residents of Harris County.