Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation Grants $880,000 in Lawyer Contributions for Civil Legal Aid

Business Wire, Feb 5, 2004

Business Editors/Legal Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 2004

The Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, the primary Texas-based funder of civil legal aid, has granted an additional $880,000 to legal aid providers statewide for the 2004 grant year. These funds will supplement the $10.8 million the Foundation awarded in October for 2004.

As part of the annual State Bar of Texas dues process, Texas attorneys in 2003 donated more than $1 million to assist with the delivery of legal services to poor and low-income Texans. More than 75 percent of the donated funds were designated for the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation to grant to legal aid providers.

Richard L. Tate, chair of the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, said, "We are very pleased with the generosity of Texas attorneys who have made it possible to provide additional funding for the delivery of legal services to the poor. This money will help abused women escape violence; it will help families live in safe, affordable housing; and it will help the elderly gain access to public benefits rightfully due them."

                     Additional 2004 IOLTA Grants
                       (Attorney Contributions)

    City    Program Name                                      Grant
----------------------------------------------------------------------

 Arlington  Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas                     $123,950
   Austin   Advocacy Inc.                                     $61,300
   Austin   AIDS Services of Austin Inc.                       $6,400
   Austin   Oficina Legal del Pueblo Unido Inc.               $22,100
   Austin   Political Asylum Project of Austin                $12,200
   Austin   Southern Disability Law Center                    $12,300
   Austin   Texas Legal Services Center                       $61,300
   Austin   Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas          $9,200
   Austin   Women's Advocacy Project Inc.                     $17,800
                                              Total Austin   $202,600

  Beaumont  Catholic Charities of Beaumont                     $5,500
   Dallas   Catholic Charities of Dallas                      $10,200
   Dallas   Dallas Bar Assn. Community Service Fund            $9,500
   Dallas   Dallas Legal Hospice                              $16,600
                                              Total Dallas    $36,300

  El Paso   Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services Inc.          $15,000
  El Paso   Opportunity Center for the Homeless                $6,400
  El Paso   Las Americas                                       $6,400
                                             Total El Paso    $27,800

 Harlingen  Casa de Proyecto Libertad                         $20,900
 Harlingen  ProBar (under contract with Libertad)              $6,100
                                           Total Harlingen    $27,000

  Houston   Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA)            $9,200
  Houston   Catholic Charities-Galveston/Houston               $8,400
  Houston   University of Houston                              $7,800
  Houston   YMCA International                                 $8,400
  Houston   Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program                 $31,700
  Houston   NAACP - Houston                                   $13,400
  Houston   South Texas College of Law                         $8,800
                                             Total Houston    $87,700

  Lubbock   Legal Aid Society of Lubbock                       $3,200

Nacogdoches Lone Star Legal Aid                              $154,150

   Paris    Family Haven Crisis & Resource Center             $10,300
San Antonio Family Violence Prevention Services Inc.           $4,600
San Antonio MALDEF                                            $11,800
San Antonio Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights                $5,800
San Antonio Catholic Charities-San Antonio                     $5,800
San Antonio Refugee Aid Project                                $5,800
San Antonio St. Mary's Immigration Clinic                      $5,800
                                         Total San Antonio    $39,600

  Weslaco   Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Inc.                   $161,900

            Grand Total                                      $880,000

The Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation (www.teajf.org), created by the Supreme Court of Texas in 1984, is the largest state-based funding source for the provision of civil legal aid to poor Texans. The organization is committed to the vision that all Texans will have equal access to justice, regardless of their income. The Foundation administers the Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program, the Basic Civil Legal Services (BCLS) Program and the Crime Victims Civil Legal Services (CVCLS) Program. The funds from each of these sources are earmarked to assist nonprofit organizations in providing free civil legal services to indigent Texans.