5 minute read
SABA Proud
Well-Informed Members Ready to Serve Online
Inform • Educate • Connect • Serve
Whether in-person or online, t he San Antonio Bar Association (SABA) is committed to helping members stay up to date with the latest news and information plus enable members to serve the greater community of San Antonio. SABA now offers, and will continue to offer, the following ways for members to stay informed and to serve others:
Staying Informed Tailored Online and Print Resources
To date, SABA has served more than 1,500 attorneys through eight virtual Town Halls hosted by various judges, county clerks, and court staff. Town Halls are typically hosted in the late afternoon on a Thursday or Friday, and they are expected to continue throughout the fall. “Attorneys and judges have told us they like the regularly scheduled platforms to share new operating plans and to have a forum for dialog between the bench and members of the bar,” reports SABA President David Evans.
You can check your SABA Weekly email—delivered to your inbox every Thursday—for the next Town Hall. SABA Weekly is a helpful reminder of weekly events and deadlines and includes classified ads.
SABA also delivers its monthly newsletter, Subpoena, via email. Subpoena is the best way to stay informed about your colleagues’ news and the legal community. You can share your professional news, accolades, promotions, office moves, and new firm information at https://sanantoniobar.org/ index.cfm?pg=submityournews.
You can also access your colleagues’ contact information in SABA’s 2020 Print Directory, which is now in a new format and fresh off the presses. The most current member directory information, however, can be accessed through your SABA Member Portal, which you can bookmark in your phone: sabar.org.
San Antonio Bar Association 2020 Member Directory and Resource Guide
Staying Connected
In addition to providing professional information and updates, SABA organizes friendly and informative gatherings online. SABA members have hosted happy hours, garden-club events, evenings of music, and Trivia twice! Thank you, Marty Truss and Barrett Shipp, for hosting, heckling the contestants, and serving as the best dynamicduo Trivia hosts a bar association could hope for. Congratulations to Trivia I winners: Shawn Mechler, Dan Pacheco, and Lisa Dossmann and family; and Trivia II winners: Chris McKinney and Julie Truss. Stay tuned for details about Trivia Tournament III— Team edition!
Serving Others
If your family or friends need legal help, the fastest way to connect them to the help they seek is through SABA’s newly updated, user-friendly website, sabar.org/help. This website guides those seeking legal advice to the best resources. Users can register to talk to a volunteer attorney (Ask a Lawyer), review legal aid (pro bono links), or get matched to a private attorney in the right practice area (Lawyer Referral Service). There are even resources for users who want to do the work themselves (bilingual pro se site).
Ask A Lawyer Launches Virtually
In July, the first Ask A Lawyer series was launched as a virtual program. Volunteer attorneys provided simple legal guidance, legal resource information, and referrals where appropriate. The calls took fifteen (15) minutes, and the volunteers identified themselves as volunteer attorneys and remained anonymous. The user feedback was very positive, and users appreciated the opportunity to talk to a legal professional in an informal setting. The next Ask A Lawyer series begins September 22, 2020. To serve as a volunteer attorney, please contact Bexar Outreach Attorney Whitney Thomas via email at whitneyt@sabar.org.
SABA wishes to recognize and thank its Ask a Lawyer attorney volunteers:
• Celinda Guerra – Flume Law Firm, L.L.P.;
• Rudolph Jass – Rudolph F. Jass, Jr., PLLC;
• Eduardo Juarez – United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;
• Kortney Kloppe-Orton – Pipkin Law;
• Cynthia Maldonado – Cordell & Cordell;
• James Norman – Norman & Oliver, P.C.;
• Roxanne Parker – R L Parker Law, PLLC; and
• Oscar Villarreal – Oscar H. Villarreal, Attorney at Law.
Do not be shy about participating in Ask a Lawyer because the experience has proven beneficial for all. As Cynthia Maldonado explains, “Honestly, I volunteered out of a bit of selfishness. During this pandemic and the stress and uncertainty of it all, helping others is grounding, fulfilling, and reduces my anxiety about the state of the world.” Kortney Kloppe-Orton adds, “It is a great way to help people pro bono without a longterm commitment or stress from working in an area of law with which you aren’t familiar. It is really fun.”
Lawyer Referral Service Now Online 24-7
SABA’s Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) intake has moved completely online and is available 24-7. Users can now answer a series of questions without having to talk with someone in person. “Some issues are embarrassing or upsetting,” says LRS Director Sylvia Hernandez, “and callers can be reluctant to share details on the phone.” Hernandez notes that putting LRS online has ensured twenty-four-hour availability. Users receive an instant referral, and the attorneys receive the potential new client information at the same time. Moving LRS to the new resource website is much more efficient for users and LRS attorneys, and it reduces the numbers of LRS callers who were actually seeking pro bono or pro se information rather than a lawyer referral. People in crisis want information fast, and the new site guides them to the right information quickly.
Lawyers who are interested in joining the SABA Lawyer Referral Service should contact LRS Director Sylvia Hernandez at (210)-227-8822 and receive an orientation of the service. Soon, LRS Attorneys will also be able to opt into a Moderate Means Panel— designed to bridge an often-forgotten gap in access to justice. Panel members will pledge to provide legal services to individuals and families whose income exceeds the income qualification limits for pro bono services, but who are nevertheless unable to afford retail legal services. With efficiency in mind, the Panel will use technology and communication tools to serve moderate-means clients effectively and at an affordable fee.
