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Help for Hurricane Harvey Victims

Thursday, Sep. 7, 2017
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For Massachusetts Bar Association members who want to help Texas residents impacted by Hurricane Harvey, the American Bar Association (ABA) has modified its ABA Free Legal Answers system in Texas to permit out-of-state attorneys to volunteer to answer Harvey related questions, per an order issued by the Texas Supreme Court permitting such service. Information on how to do this is offered below.

In addition, you may also want to sign up for SOLACE, an online community of legal professionals who assist fellow practitioners in times of need. To learn more about the Massachusetts Chapter of SOLACE, and to register, click here.

ABA Free Legal Answers: Help Hurricane Harvey Victims with their legal issues

Want to volunteer to answer civil legal questions for Texas residents who are victims of Hurricane Harvey? You can do so on ABA Free Legal Answers in six simple steps!

1. Navigate to texas.freelegalanswers.org

2. Click on "Volunteer Attorney Registration"

3. Read and agree to the Attorney agreement.

4. Fill out the required registration information.

  • When prompted to select a county, if you are not licensed in Texas, your Local Region Where You Primarily Practice is "All Natural Disaster Assistance"

5. Check your email inbox for an email to activate your account (be sure to check your spam folder if you don't see it right away) and follow the directions in the email.

6. After you activate your account, you will receive a welcome message from the Texas State Bar. If licensed outside of Texas, this message will include a Registration for Temporary Practice of Texas Law which you will need to complete and return to be able to begin using the site to help others with their legal questions. When your form is received by the Texas State Bar your registration will be activated. This process can take up to 2-5 business days.

You will receive an email when your account has been approved. After you get this email, sign in as an attorney on texas.freelegalanswers.org to begin taking questions.

To find legal issues related to Hurricane Harvey:

  • filter by Subject and choose Natural Disaster
  • select questions submitted on or after August 25th

Click on "Training Resources" to find disaster related resources to assist you in answering questions.

If licensed outside of Texas, your attorney account will be automatically disabled on February 28, 2018, pursuant to the Texas Supreme Court Order.

Thank you for serving Hurricane Harvey victims in need of legal assistance.