Pro Bono Opportunties for Texas Lawyers

The Need for Pro Bono Advocacy

Although DRTx has no income requirements for clients to receive assistance, most live at or below the poverty line. According to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, there is only one Texas legal aid attorney for every 7,000 Texans that live below the poverty line. Our state ranks 47 out of 50 states in rendering effective and meaningful legal services to the poor. Due to a lack of resources, less than 10 percent of the civil legal needs of low-income Texans are being met.

Because of our limited resources, many people who request our legal services receive only short term assistance and referral, even though the clients are often in need of a higher level of legal representation.

Pro bono attorneys are vital to the success of Disability Rights Texas. Without our pro bono lawyers and law firm partners, the number of clients that we serve would be extremely limited. We rely on pro bono attorney volunteer hours to assist and support each legal issue team throughout Texas to advise, assist, and zealously represent our clients and protect their rights.

The Issue Teams

DRTx is organized by legal issue teams across the State of Texas. Click on each team to learn more.

• Special Education
• EVA – Employment, Voting, Accessibility
• HTD – Housing, Transportation, and Disaster
• CI/Healthcare – Community Integration and Healthcare
• IRCL – Institutional Rights and Civil Liberties

These individual teams operate all across the State and deliver specialized legal services, protection, and advocacy within that team’s specific area of expertise. This ensures that all DRTx clients receive legal services from the very best attorneys and advocates with the resources, training, knowledge, and experience to handle their individual case and meet their unique and often specialized needs. Each issue team has its own set of opportunities for pro bono volunteer advocacy. To find out more about the opportunities on each team, click on team name above.

If you are interested in becoming a DRTx Pro Bono Volunteer Attorney, you can call Cicely Reid, Pro Bono Coordinator, at 832-681-8216 or email her at creid@DRTx.org and include a cover letter and CV. Or you may complete the form below.

PLEASE NOTE: This form is not for clients seeking a pro bono attorney but for attorneys who are interested in providing free legal services to our clients.