Community Projects of the Austin Bar Association
People's Law School
A community service organized by the Austin Bar Association and the Lawyer Referral Service, the People's Law School features basic classes in many types of law. Classes are taught by attorney volunteers. Each year a PLS event is held in February at the UT Law School and in September at a community center in East Austin. Visit http://www.peopleslawschoolaustin.org/ for a schedule of classes, directions, and registration.
Austin Adoption Day
For the tenth consecutive year, members of the Austin Bar Association, along with Child Protective Services, Gardner-Betts Juvenile Justice Center, Adoption Coalition of Texas, CASA of Travis County, and Travis County Children's Protective Services Board will celebrate the finalization of adoptions in the local area early this November. Austin Adoption Day is part of a national effort to recognize adoptive families and bolster attention to the continuously growing need for foster and adoptive homes.
Central Texas Adoption Day
Since 2010, Central Texas Adoption Day, an annual project of the Austin Bar Association in partnership with Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Child Protection Court of Central Texas, and the Adoption Coalition of Texas celebrates the finalization of local adoptions and the formation of "forever families" in Williamson, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Blanco, and Burnet County. The children adopted at Central Texas Adoption Day in mid-November are among thousands across Texas who are in state custody because of neglect or abuse.
Fee Dispute Resolution Services
The Austin Bar Fee Dispute Committee is composed of attorney and non-attorney volunteers who mediate and arbitrate fee disputes between lawyers and clients and disputes between lawyers. To obtain more information about the fee dispute process or to submit a fee dispute to the Austin Bar, click here.
Legal Build
Every two years, Austin's legal community comes together, in partnership with Austin Habitat for Humanity, to provide a tangible benefit to an Austin family. This exciting partnership is just one of the ways that the Austin legal community gives back to the vibrant city its members call home and - like all other Habitat initiatives - plays a key role in Austin Habitat's efforts to end the cycle of poverty in Austin through the power of home ownership.
Veterans' Project - Free Legal Advice Clinics
The Austin Bar Association organizes a free legal advice clinic once a month at the Austin VA Outpatient Clinic for all U.S. Veterans. Attorney volunteers provide brief, legal advice at no cost and with no appointments during these clinics. Click here for more information about the upcoming clinic or click here for other legal resources for veterans.
