| November 3, 2019 | Taylor McMahan | reporter |
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Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans (TLTV) and NW Veterans Services hosted a legal clinic in the common area of WSTU Oct.18 in NW Campus, with lawyers helping solve a wide spectrum of veteran’s problems.
TLTV, a non-profit organization staffed through the Tarrant County Bar Association, hosts legal clinics across the Metroplex for veterans, as well as families of veterans, to receive free legal advice on many different types of cases.
“Lawyers deal with many different cases at each of their clinics,” said Amanda Watts, TCBA intern in the pro bono division.“Some common ones include family cases, such as divorce and child support, as well as the loss of disability insurance through the VA.”
Dr. Bill Alexander, NW veterans counselor, helped organize the event.
“Our veterans come here with transitional issues,” Alexander said. “There are other barriers than mental health. There are barriers in getting VA education benefits, VA medical health care, homelessness, food insecurity.”
TCC is committed to communicating and partnering with outside resources to help military-and-veteran connected students.
After signing in at the front desk, attendees discussed the basics of their cases with law students who also helped determine if the vets met income eligibility guidelines to receive the pro bono assistance. Even if the attendee surpasses the income threshold, they will still receive 30 minutes of free legal advice on their case.
Veterans are put in contact with a pro bono attorney either at the clinic or in the weeks following.
After the first discussion with the law-student, attendees waited their turn to speak with a licensed TCBA attorney.
“We try to take on as many cases as we can,” Watts said. “But we can not take on criminal felonies, trusts and most (but not all) for-profit cases.”
While many of the attendees did not want to give their names for the Collegian, there was a palpable sense of relief from the veterans leaving the clinic.
When a clinic volunteer thanked them for their service, the overwhelming response was “No, thank you.”
TLTV will host their next legal clinic from 2-5 p.m., Nov. 15 at the Fort Worth Veterans Administration building, 2201 SE Loop 820, in Fort Worth.
