Most of the members of the Health Law Section are aware of the education and publication services that we provide our members. However, the Section also carries out its responsibility to establish and nurture legal programs that benefit the general public. I first became personally acquainted with one of the programs that we sponsor – Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLP) – when Texas RioGrande Legal Aid established such a partnership with the Medical School at the University of Texas San Antonio. However, Charity Scott, our Council member who is also a professor at Georgia State University Law School, has long been involved with the MLP programs and is an important element in the development of these partnerships between medical schools and law schools. The story of MLP’s development is a tribute to the commitment of many people to improving the general health of the public. In 1993 Dr. Barry Zuckerman, a physician at Boston Medical Center, recognized that although physicians could often treat the symptoms of the children being seen, there were also very complex environmental problems that could undo any medical treatment.

To read the entire article, click here.

On the upside: Even after Capital Metro raises fares, a ride on one of the agency’s buses will still be cheaper than mass transportation in other cities.

The downside: If you’re so bad off that you can’t afford the fares now, that’s a moot point.

Changing its collective mind once again, Capital Metro’s board of directors voted last week to push a fare increase previously planned for August 2010 up to January. It will likely be the last major decision the board makes before state law changes its composition beginning Jan. 1.

To read the entire article, click here.

On Oct. 23, Texas Lawyer held a luncheon to honor attorneys recognized in Extraordinary Minorities in Texas Law , a special section that profiled 25 attorneys who have had an impact on firms, government, nonprofits, academia and the corporate world in Texas within the past five years. Texas Lawyer published the special section on Sept. 28. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson was the keynote speaker at Texas Lawyer ’s Extraordinary Minorities in Texas Law luncheon, which was held at the Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas. [Photos by Danny Hurley]

To view the photos, click here.

You can lead a horse to the bus stop, but you can’t make it get on board.

Two weeks ago, we outlined a proposal being floated by Capital Metro for the creation of a nonprofit charity to address the needs of Central Texans who have no choice but to use mass transit (“Helping the ‘Tran­sit-Dependent,’” Oct. 23). The idea is that the nonprofit would take advantage of possible funding sources not currently being used, take pressure off Cap Metro (which says it needs to raise fares for sustainability reasons), and allow other nonprofits currently helping clients with transportation issues to get back to their core missions.

To read the entire article, click here.

Despite efforts to improve the system, food stamp applicants continue to face long delays in assistance amid a recession-fueled surge in demand.

In Bexar County, the state processed 22,463 more applications from March to September than it did in 2008.

More than 210,000 people received $26 million in food stamps in October in the county, with the average family getting $322 a month. In the vast majority of households receiving food assistance — 82 percent — at least one person is employed.

To read the entire article, click here.

It was a Halloween treat for hundreds of El Pasoans who sought free help from lawyers they might not otherwise be able to afford.

More than 300 people received free legal advice from local attorneys and legal service agencies Saturday at the first Access to Justice Fair.

The event was a part of the American Bar Association’s National Pro-Bono Celebration week.

To read the entire article, click here.

Elida Cazares is single again thanks to help from the Community Justice Program and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid.

“It feels good,” she said. “It feels good to get divorced and finally get it out of the way.”

Cazares was among hundreds of participants in two divorce clinics held in Hidalgo and Willacy Counties this week.

To read the entire article and watch the news broadcast, click here.

Legal services are a grudge purchase. A striking reality confronts us in this time of economic downturn — more than ever, the middle class has become a part of the community with desperate need for access to legal services. In an age where law and society intersect on many levels, fewer people believe they have the resources to consult or hire attorneys.

Oct. 25-31 is the American Bar Association’s National Pro-Bono celebration, this year focusing on legal services to the low-income community.

Under constitutional principles, free legal services are only provided to people charged with crimes; free and low-cost civil legal services are provided through legal aid agencies supported by the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA) program. IOLTA and other funding programs provide grants to legal aid agencies from the Texas State Bar foundation and the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation. El Paso lawyers and banks have consistently demonstrated their commitment to increasing funding through these services.

To read the entire article, click here.

One woman was sold on an auction block. Another became an involuntary servant in the land of the free.

“Human slavery, we have it. It is in our neighborhood but a lot of people don’t want to see it,” says Jaime Ortiz, a coordinator for the South Texas Civil Rights Project.

“Slavery is still here in our neighborhood in the Rio Grande Valley.”

During CHANNEL 5 NEWS’ investigation into the slave trade, we met a woman in Reynosa who had escaped her life as a sex slave the night before we spoke to her. We’ll call her “Carlita.”

To read the entire story and view the broadcast, click here.

MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact
Cynthia Martinez
512.374.2764
cmartinez@trla.org

LAREDO, Texas – October 29, 2009 – The Laredo legal community will be coming together to recognize the volunteer efforts of several of its members on Friday, November 6, at the Social Justice Night Court Luncheon and Awards Ceremony.

WHAT:           Social Justice Night Court Luncheon and Awards Ceremony

WHEN:           Friday, November 6, 2009           12:00 pm to 2:30 pm

WHERE:         Embassy Suites – Laredo (110 Calle Del Norte)

WHO:             Webb County/Laredo Bar Association, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), Texas State Representative Richard Raymond

WHY:             To recognize members of the Laredo legal community for their volunteer work with the Social Justice Night Court

Members of the media should RSVP by contacting TRLA Communications Director Cynthia Martinez at 512.374.2764 or cmartinez@trla.org.

Since 2003 the Social Justice Night Court has provided free legal services to Webb County residents with uncontested legal matters.  It is staffed solely by volunteer members of the legal community and is a project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA).

Established in 1970, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. (TRLA) is a nonprofit organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income and disadvantaged clients in a 68-county service area. TRLA’s mission is to promote the dignity, self-sufficiency, safety and stability of low-income Texas residents by providing high-quality civil legal assistance and related educational services.

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