Envision a Community Where Everyone Has Equal Access to Justice

By Sarah Dingivan and Sara Dysart

The Vision of the San Antonio Legal Services Association (SALSA) is “a community where everyone has equal access to justice, regardless of the ability to pay.” This Vision is based upon a twenty-plus-year history of San Antonio attorneys working through the San Antonio Bar Association to provide pro bono legal services to those in need. This Vision and the steps taken to further this Vision are not only honorable, but they also comply with the Texas Constitution:

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted. All courts shall be open, and every person for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation shall have remedy by due course of law. 1

This section of the Texas Constitution provides the basis for the right of every person in Texas to seek and obtain justice through our civil legal system when his or her rights have been violated or they have otherwise been wronged. “The term ‘access to justice’ describes the ability of any person, regardless of their circumstances, to use the legal system to advocate for themselves and their interests.” 2 There cannot be justice if a person does not have access.

In keeping with the Texas Constitution and fostering a tradition of supporting “access to justice,” a State Bar of Texas Board of Directors resolution states: “. . . each Texas attorney should aspire to render at least 50 hours of legal services to the poor each year, or make an equivalent financial contribution to an organization that provides legal services to the poor.” While it is likely that most Texas attorneys are unaware of this aspirational State Bar resolution, it is also likely that most Texas attorneys meet or exceed this benchmark. Bar associations throughout Texas sponsor ways for its members to provide pro bono legal services and financial support. Many attorneys contribute financially to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, the Texas Bar Foundation, the San Antonio Bar Foundation, and other bar foundations, knowing that funds will be used to support access to justice.

The San Antonio Bar Association has led the way in providing pro bono legal services to our community. Over twenty years ago, District Judges Phylis Speedlin and Karen Pozza recognized the need for pro bono legal services in San Antonio and chaired a committee with the San Antonio Bar Association to create the “Just Take One” program, pairing attorneys with clients in need. The “Just Take One” program evolved into the Community Justice Program (“CJP”), receiving its non-profit status in 2004.

Since 2004, the Community Justice Program, under the leadership of Judicial Chairs and the Board of Directors of the San Antonio Bar Association, has partnered with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aide and St. Mary’s University School of Law to provide recurring clinics for indigent, vulnerable, and at-risk populations. In addition, CJP has been responsive to community needs through a variety of clinics tailored to address issues resulting from local and regional disasters, such as Hurricane Harvey and the Sutherland Springs shooting.

In August 2018, at the urging of the San Antonio Bar Association’s outgoing President, Justice Beth Watkins, and its incoming President, Santos Vargas, the SABA Board of Directors formed a Strategic Planning Committee to study and recommend a way to expand SABA’s ability to provide pro bono legal services. This committee coalesced around the formation of a board of directors independent from SABA, in order to meet the expanding need for pro bono legal services in Bexar County. A year later, in late 2019, the Community Justice Program was reconstituted and rebranded as the San Antonio Legal Services Association and a staff of two doubled to four by March 2020, thanks to significant financial support provided by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. Robert Soza, Jr., a partner with Jackson Walker, took the helm as President, leading an independent board of directors, consisting of attorneys and public members, dedicated to meeting the many needs of low-income individuals in our community for civil legal services.

In March 2020, SALSA’s “rebranding” event to be held at the remodeled Presiding Court room at the Bexar County Courthouse was cancelled, like all other events scheduled for the next eighteen months. With only a few months operating under its new framework and very little existing infrastructure, SALSA leadership reinvented itself again in order to provide pro bono legal services “remotely.” Recognizing the impact of COVID on frontline healthcare workers, SALSA initiated Remote Wills Clinic during the summer of 2020, resulting in over 300 volunteer attorneys providing wills and directives after meeting with their respective clients remotely. Not only did this service provide peace of mind for healthcare heroes as they cared for others, but the Remote Wills Clinic also gave volunteer attorneys an opportunity to make a difference during this unprecedented time.

SALSA’s work tackling disaster-related legal issues expanded to providing representation to tenants needing assistance navigating the eviction moratoria and rent relief programs; individuals handling the probate of their loved ones’ estates; and homeowners who experienced damage during the 2021 weeklong snowstorm. San Antonio attorneys continue to volunteer through SALSA’s traditional legal clinics, taking advantage of SALSA’s training programs and videos, and connecting with volunteer subject matter experts who are available to assist. SALSA has also added an extended representation model where volunteer attorneys can sign up to take cases within their area of expertise. A key to SALSA’s success is its continued efforts to make volunteering easy, efficient, and meaningful. SALSA’s website (www.sa-lsa. org) contains up-to-date information about volunteer opportunities for attorneys and non-attorneys.

SALSA’s staff has grown from two attorneys in August 2020 to six attorneys and two pro bono coordinators; with plans to add more talent in order to expand pro bono legal services in our community. As SALSA’s leadership works diligently to build responsive programs and to recruit volunteers to implement them, they are also charged with fundraising. The San Antonio Bar Association, American Bar Association, Texas Access to Justice Foundation, Texas Bar Foundation, and other funding sources provide grants which are often for specific programs and purposes. Unrestricted funds are crucial to keeping the doors open and to assisting community members that may not fit into a traditional legal aid framework. This need presents yet another opportunity for community support—and the San Antonio community has stepped up. Please review SALSA’s website for the number of attorneys, law firms, and corporate sponsors who continuously make financial contributions to support access to justice and consider adding your name, law firm, or organization to this list.

The San Antonio Bar Association’s commitment to access to justice continues to grow. In addition to the commitment of SABA’s presidents and boards of directors, the following judges joined the Founding Co- Chairs, Speedlin and Pozza, to serve as Judicial Co-Chairs: District Judges Michael P. Peden, Lisa Jarrett, Larry Noll, and Renee Yanta, and Chief Justice of the Fourth Court of Appeals Sandee Bryan Marion. The current Judicial Co-Chairs that advise SALSA are District Judge David A. Canales and Probate Judge Veronica Vasquez.

The rebranding and reconstitution of the San Antonio Legal Services Association is the current version of SABA’s community commitment and leadership. It was SABA’s past presidents, Justice Beth Watkins and Santos Vargas, and the Strategic Planning Committee who recognized the opportunity and viability of supporting an independent Board of Directors in order to provide talent and leadership singularly focused on meeting this community need and constitutional right. Congratulations Past Presidents Watkins and Vargas, the members of the Strategic Planning Committee, along with the many attorney and non-attorney board members, staff, and supporters who have “taken ownership” of SALSA. Congratulations to the San Antonio legal community, which supports SALSA and is an integral part of its success.

Let’s spread the word to get even more volunteer attorneys and financial supporters, not to mention public awareness of the importance of making justice accessible. No doubt, public awareness of Texas attorneys’ contributions to access to justice is the perfect antidote to every lawyer joke.

Meet SALSA’s Board of Directors

PRESIDENT: Robert L. Soza, Jr. (Jackson Walker, LLP)

VICE PRESIDENT: Mary Brennan Stich (Attorney at Law)

SECRETARY: Sheila Grigar (National Instruments)

TREASURER: Lennon G. “Len” Briley, Jr. (DirecTV)

Members:

Alex Miller (Valero)

Jessica Johnson Lerma

Marty Truss (Steptoe and Johnson)

Serina Rivela (University Hospital)

Susan Wilen (San Antonio Paralegal Association Representative)

Gregory Zlotnick (St. Mary’s Law School, Director of Pro Bono Programs)

Cameron Redding (Redding Law PLLC)

Eric Michael Garza (Lindow Stephens Schultz)

Michael Danforth (USAA)

Beth Eby (Eby Financial)

Alicia Grant (Norton Rose Fulbright)

Louise Cantwell (Wex Foundation)

Orlesia Tucker (FBD Partnership, LP)

Ex Officio

David Evans (SABA Past President)

Julia Rodriguez (TRLA)

Hon. David Canales (Judicial Co-Chair)

Hon. Veronica Vasquez (Judicial Co-Chair)

Meet SALSA’s Staff

Sarah Dingivan (Executive Director)

Ryan Cox (Interim Managing Attorney)

Kat Doucette (Staff Attorney)

Joe Pina (Staff Attorney)

Todd Tagami (Staff Attorney)

Rick Gonzalez (Fellow)

Alison McConnon (Pro Bono Coordinator)

Tashawna Taylor-Hall (Pro Bono Coordinator)

Sarah Dingivan is an Attorney and the Executive Director of the San Antonio Legal Services Association.

Sara Dysart is a Sole Practitioner and Board Certified in Commercial Real Estate Law.

ENDNOTES

1. Tex. Const. art. I, § 13.

2. Texas Access to Justice Commission Website.