Legal Aid in the Age of COVID-19

A Perfect Storm is Brewing: Preparing for the Aftermath

The reverberations from the COVID-19 pandemic can be felt around the world. Individuals, families, communities, businesses, and governments have all been impacted in ways large and small. In some instances, people have been brought to their knees. And, in many ways, those who are most vulnerable in our communities have been hit the hardest. Unfortunately, the legal-aid providers who normally are able to assist this population with a wide range of legal services are also suffering and struggling to meet the needs of existing and potential clients.

The pandemic has caused all face-to-face legal aid clinics to cease temporarily and has limited access to legal services and the courts. Many who are served by these legal clinics do not have access to the internet and must depend on public libraries to access computers. But the libraries are now closed, too. While many legal-aid providers such as Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas (VLS) have pivoted and are now providing virtual legal clinics, their clients’ limited access to the internet impacts the organizations’ ability to serve in a meaningful way. Lack of access is creating a backlog of need that will be unleashed when the stayat-home orders are lifted and inperson legal clinics can resume. Concurrently, legal-aid providers are confronting funding deficits related to the pandemic.

According to Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF), “Low-income Texans, and many Texans not previously eligible for legal aid, are experiencing the loss of their livelihood requiring legal assistance with unemployment claims, landlord-tenant problems, and consumer credit. These challenges inevitably affect family stability, and exacerbate mental and physical health needs.”

Torres further notes, “Unfortunately, the number of Texans eligible for legal services will likely exponentially grow in this uncertain economy.” The amount of available funding for legal aid, however, is likely to decline. The recent lowering of the federal funds rate to zero will have the effect of lowering the interest revenue generated by one of the major funding sources for legal aid—the Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program. The loss of IOLTA revenue will have a significant negative impact on grant funding the TAJF provides to legal-aid programs.

TAJF anticipates an annual loss of nearly 75 percent in IOLTA funding, or approximately $1 million each month. This funding provides critical access to legal aid for people to protect their livelihoods, health, and families. TAJF currently funds 37 legal-aid organizations, law school clinics, and pro bono organizations providing vital legal-aid services to families who cannot afford legal services, including veterans, older Texans, survivors of sexual assault, mothers with children, Texans with disabilities, and others.

This dramatic loss of funding, coupled with the anticipated increase in demand for services, can only be viewed as a perfect storm looming on the horizon. In a recent meeting of the Austin Bar’s Pro Bono Committee, Tracy Whitley of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), reported that a disaster team has tracked stats and expects to see a wave of cases involving domestic violence, consumer fraud, tax issues, employment issues, wills and estates, bankruptcies, and evictions.

“Everyone’s first priority is supporting the health and safety of their communities and states right now. But families across Texas and throughout the country are feeling economic distress that will lead to legal problems related to housing, securing emergency benefits, and unpaid bills,” Torres said. “Based on past disasters, we know there will be a huge spike in demand for qualified, compassionate legal help in the coming weeks and months.”

With legal-aid funding decreasing at a time when legal-aid needs are increasing, lawyers stepping up and helping to fill the justice gap by providing pro bono legal services are more important than ever.

With legal-aid funding decreasing at a time when legal-aid needs are increasing, lawyers stepping up and helping to fill the justice gap by providing pro bono legal services are more important than ever. The preamble to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct points out the moral obligation lawyers have to provide pro bono service: “Every lawyer, regardless of professional prominence or professional workload, should find time to participate in or otherwise support the provision of legal services to the disadvantaged. The provision of free legal services to those unable to pay reasonable fees is a moral obligation of each lawyer as well as the profession generally.”

Austin Bar Association Executive Director DeLaine Ward remarked, “We are proud that the members of the Austin Bar have always stepped up during critical times.” The leadership of the Austin Bar and the Austin Bar’s Pro Bono Committee are working with partner organizations such as VLS, TRLA, and others to be ready when the time comes to step in and provide support to those who need it most.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Virtual legal clinics need help now.

• The Austin Bar hosted its first virtual Veterans Clinic in April and the next one is scheduled for Wed. May 20. CLICK HERE to sign up to volunteer. Questions? Contact Isabel Salazar.

• CLICK HERE to learn how to volunteer to assist with the VLS virtual phone clinics.

• Immigration Justice Campaign, VECINA, and Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts (TALA), among many others, need help now too.

• TRLA is conducting intakes by phone.

TRAIN NOW TO HELP LATER.

• The Austin Bar is offering multiple free CLE webinars on a number of topics related to COVID-19. Check the event calendar at austinbar.org to see upcoming topics.

• A library of over 70 hours of free online CLE, including topics related to COVID-19, is available to Austin Bar members. (Password: ABarCLE2020.) Included in the online library are several CLE presentations focusing on veterans’ issues and issues affecting low-income individuals generally.

• Domestic violence cases are on the rise. Please consider representing a victim of violence or abuse in a family law matter through VLS. If you are not already a volunteer with VLS, please sign up through VLS VolunteerHub. Attorneys who agree to take one family law case through VLS will have free access to the VLS Divorce Basics Seminar. Contact Katie Valle, VLS Director of Family Legal Services, to view the online training at your convenience.

• The Travis County Law Library and Self-Help Center anticipates a large number of self-represented litigants seeking help when the stay-at-home order is lifted. Volunteer with the Austin Bar’s Self-Represented Litigant Project to meet this demand. There are videos online now at austinbar.org to train attorneys to do simple divorces, name changes, and occupational drivers licenses. CLICK HERE to learn more. Sign up to volunteer and receive a link and a password to view the training videos.

Contact Austin Bar Pro Bono Committee Chair Caitlin Haney Johnston or Austin Bar President-Elect Kennon Wooten with questions or suggestions on other ways the legal community can help. Together, we can not only weather this storm but be a shelter from it for those who need it most. AL