A Wellspring of Resources for Better Mental Health in the Legal Profession

Even pre-pandemic, attorneys and law students had high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. According to the ALM’s 2021 Mental Health and Substance Abuse Survey, mental health issues in the legal industry only increased in 2020, and higher rates were reported in attorneys of color. This blog post summarizes mental health and wellness resources and services for legal professionals and law students from the American Bar Association, Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program, and the Houston Bar Association. It ends with resources for suicide prevention.

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Zooming into the Harris County Courtroom

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Zoom Help page, which provides helpful information about using Zoom and video conferencing technologies to attend court proceedings. The centerpiece of the new page is a two-part video series titled Zooming into the Harris County Courtroom.

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National Pro Bono Week, October 25-31

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The 2020 celebration of National Pro Bono Week takes place October 25-31. Legal organizations across the country have organized events to raise awareness of the need for pro bono services and to celebrate the initiatives of those engaged in pro bono legal work. For a list of National Pro Bono Week events, please visit the sites below.

Houston Bar Association Events

  • Houston Pro Bono: A Call to Action — Houston Volunteer Lawyers (October 27, 12:00 pm, MCLE: 1.0 hour & Ethics: 0.5) Click here to register.

    Join Justice Jane Bland, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Monica Karuturi, Jeff Kaplan, Kelly Rose, Michael Donaldson, Bill Kroger, Mindy Davidson, and Anne Chandler in this call to action to ensure all Houstonians are able to access justice

If you are a licensed Texas attorney and would like to volunteer to provide pro bono services, contact the Houston Volunteer Lawyers or visit HVL online.

Houston Evictions Assistance Coalition

To address the legal needs of Houstonians facing evictions, the Houston Bar Association (HBA) has teamed up with Houston Volunteer Lawyers (HVL); Houston Lawyer Referral Service; Dispute Resolution Center; Lone Star Legal Aid; South Texas College of Law Houston; Thurgood Marshall School of Law Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Policy, Inc.; and University of Houston Law Center to form an Evictions Assistance Coalition. With the moratorium provided by the federal CARES Act having expired on July 26 and court proceedings beginning again, the need for help in landlord/tenant matters is great. Those requiring assistance with an eviction are urged to visit hba.org/eviction for information about free legal representation for low-income persons. Visitors can also find a self-representation toolkit, information about mediation and lawyer referrals, eviction, and many more resources.

Tenants seeking free legal assistance with HVL can apply by using HVL’s online intake form or calling HVL at (713) 228-0735. With certain exceptions, applicants are required to provide identification and proof of income as well as complete information about their case. If accepted, HVL will try to place the case with a volunteer attorney. For more information about HVL and its services, please visit its website at makejusticehappen.org.

If you are a lawyer and want to help, you are invited to contact HVL at evictionvolunteer@hvlp.org. HVL will provide the necessary training and mentoring for interested volunteers.

Click here to read the Evictions Assistance Coalitions press release.