Free Legal Advice Website Quadruples Number of Visitors During 18-Month Grant Project

WebKnowHow
Friday, September 1, 2006; 03:37 AM

An average of 15,000 people are going online each month for reliable civil legal information at TexasLawHelp.org, a Web site featuring free legal content, self-help forms and a legal aid directory. Many Texans cannot afford legal representation, but through the resources available on TexasLawHelp.org, they are finding ways to handle their legal issues.

The Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, the Travis County Law Library and the Texas Legal Services Center came together in 2005 to form the Partnership for Legal Access to expand and enhance TexasLawHelp.org. With a grant from the Texas Education Agency, the Partnership for Legal Access implemented an outreach, training and legal content project which has seen several key accomplishments:

-- A 300 percent increase in monthly visitors to TexasLawHelp.org, from 4,400 in February 2005 to 18,000 in July 2006

-- The addition of 400 new resources to TexasLawHelp.org, including legal information and self-help forms

-- 295 librarians and community advocates across the state trained in how to help patrons and clients use TexasLawHelp.org

TexasLawHelp.org addresses a wide range of civil legal issues, including family law matters, housing, disability rights and more. Examples of the types of resources that can be found on the site include: "Answers to Questions about Child Support in Texas," "Alternatives to Bankruptcy" and "Wage Rights in Texas."

TexasLawHelp.org offers a comprehensive legal aid directory that can be searched by zip code or county. Visitors can access income eligibility guidelines and types of services provided by various legal aid offices.

Additionally, the site features free self-help forms, such as "Divorce without Children" and a "Protective Order Kit," which allow low-income Texans to represent themselves in simple legal matters. The free forms available on TexasLawHelp.org are specially designed to be accepted in all Texas courts.

All proprietary content at TexasLawHelp.org has been developed and reviewed by licensed Texas attorneys. The site now boasts 800 resources, many of which are available in both Spanish and English.

Site visitors have praised TexasLawHelp.org, calling it "very helpful and very supportive." Librarians and community advocates have lauded the site as a "priceless" and "informative" resource.

Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, says of the project, "The response to TexasLawHelp.org has been overwhelming, which speaks to the great need for reliable, affordable legal information. Through the Web site, the legal aid community is efficiently leveraging its limited resources to reach the greatest number of people. While TexasLawHelp.org does not take the place of legal representation, it does put important legal information into the hands of Texans who need it the most."

TexasLawHelp.org is a Web site dedicated to providing free, reliable legal information to those who cannot afford legal help. It is part of a broader effort within the Texas legal aid community to use technology, specifically the Internet, to enhance and expand the delivery of legal aid. Last year, the Texas Education Agency awarded a grant to the Partnership for Legal Access -- composed of the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, the Travis County Law Library and the Texas Legal Services Center -- to increase legal content and promote the Web site throughout Texas. For more information about the project, please visit www.TexasLawHelp.org/training.