Domestic Abuse Resources
The National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-7233
Chat with them live through their website at https://www.thehotline.org/.
Texas Council on Family Violence
https://tcfv.org/
Free and Low-Cost Legal Assistance in Texas
North & Northwest Texas
Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program
https://dallasvolunteerattorneyprogram.org/
The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program offers free legal assistance to residents of the Dallas area who meet their qualifications. They also host several legal advice clinics throughout the Dallas area on certain days of the month.
Legal Aid of Northwest Texas
https://legalaidtx.org/
LANWT provides free civil legal services to low-income citizens in North Texas and the Panhandle area, including Abilene, Amarillo, Brownwood, Dallas, Denton, Fort Worth, Lubbock, McKinney, Midland, Odessa, Plainview, San Angelo, Waxahachie, Weatherford, and Wichita Falls.
East & Southeast Texas
Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program
https://www.makejusticehappen.org/
HVLP provides pro bono legal services to low-income residents of Harris County.
Jefferson County Bar Association — Pro Bono Program
https://www.jcba.org/page/A4
The Jefferson County Bar Association's Pro Bono Program can connect low-income residents of Hardin, Jefferson, Liberty, and Orange Counties with attorneys who are willing to take on their case for free. The program assists with civil cases such as family law (divorce, custody, adoption, name change, guardianship), welfare and income assistance, veterans’ benefits, employment, health care, consumer issues, housing issues (eviction, landlord/tenant issues), neighborhood issues, public education, license issues, expungement of criminal records, estate planning, and other miscellaneous civil legal cases.
Lone Star Legal Aid
https://www.lonestarlegal.org/
Lone Star Legal Aid provides civil legal services to low-income clients in the Houston and east Texas area. They serve 72 counties in east, southeast, and northeast Texas as well as 4 counties in southwest Arkansas. See their website for a description of the types of cases they handle.
West, Southwest, & Central Texas
El Paso County Public Defender — How Do I Find an Attorney?
https://www.epcounty.com/pdefender/
The El Paso County Public Defender's Office provides information on their website about how to apply for a court-appointed attorney for criminal, immigration, family law, eviction, and general civil cases. The services listed are only applicable for residents of El Paso County.
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
http://www.trla.org/
TRLA provides free civil legal services to the indigent residents of central, south, and west Texas as well as migrant and seasonal farm workers throughout Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. View their website for a list of Texas counties in TRLA's service area.
Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas
https://www.vlsoct.org/
This nonprofit serves low-income residents in central Texas and helps to provide access to the civil legal system.
For All Texas Residents
Texas Advocacy Project
https://www.texasadvocacyproject.org/
Texas Advocacy Project provides advice over the phone, support with do-it-yourself legal filing processes and complete client representation.
Texas Bar Association — Referral Directory and Other Resources for Low-Income Texans [PDF] https://www.texasbar.com/Content/NavigationMenu/LawyersGivingBack/LegalAccessDivision/ReferralDirectory.pdf
This directory is published by the Texas Bar, the state's principal bar association. It contains contact information for many legal aid organizations that are available across Texas. In addition, the Texas Bar has written and collected informational legal resources for the public.
TexasLawHelp.org Legal Aid Directory
https://texaslawhelp.org/directory
This is a listing of all the legal services providers in Texas. Service providers are listed by name as well as by service area. It also provides information about Legal Aid and has an online form for finding legal assistance.
Texas Legal Services Center
https://www.tlsc.org/
The Texas Legal Services Center is a nonprofit law firm that provides free representation and assistance to Texans who qualify for their services based on income or other criteria. They also sponsor several projects that assist low-income and disadvantaged Texans who need legal help: a legal hotline for Texans who are 60 years of age or older or who receive Medicare, a CPS family helpline for questions related to Child Protective Services, and a legal hotline for veterans. In addition to these services, the TLSC also trains and assists poverty law advocates and helps maintain TexasLawHelp.org.
University of Texas School of Law Domestic Violence Clinic
(512) 232-1358
The clinic is free and represents victims of domestic violence with a variety of civil legal problems including custody, divorce, visitation, housing, consumer, public assistance, and procurement of protective orders.
This list is taken in part from Texas State Law Library’s list of legal assistance organizations.