Funded Programs

Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program
The Houston Bar Association established the HVLP in 1981 to fill a critical need for legal services for those people who could not qualify for legal aid programs because they were working to support their families.

Through the HVLP, volunteer private attorneys handle cases pro bono for eligible, low-income clients. With the establishment of the HBA Equal Access Initiative in 2006, law firms, corporate legal departments and individuals can make a five-year commitment to pro bono, which ensures that HVLP will move closer to its goal of providing justice for all in Harris County. In 2007, HVLP placed 1,536 cases, a 50 percent increase over cases placed the previous year.

Juvenile Justice Mock Trial Program
The Houston Bar Association’s Juvenile Justice Mock Trial Program is now in its 33rd year of teaching young teens about law and the legal system. Each school year, as part of social studies, history or government classes, students at participating schools in the Houson area work with law students and HBA staff to learn about procedures involved in a courtroom trial. Over a five-week period, the students develop their own case story and assume the roles of judge, jurors, attorneys, defendants, plaintiffs and witnesses. At the end of the unit, 40 classes travel to the Harris County courthouse complex where they act out their mock trial in an actual courtroom, through cooperation with the Harris County judiciary. The program focuses on eighth grade students, but has worked with classes of fourth, fifth and sixth graders, including classes for hearing-impaired students. The program has reached more than 33,000 students, encouraging respect for the judicial system and discouraging entry into the juvenile justice system in a negative way. A number of students who have been through the mock trial program have gone on to law school and worked with the program as law students.

‘Now You Are 18’ Handbooks
A grant to the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary Charitable Fund enables the HBAA to distribute copies of the booklet, “Now You Are 18,” to high school seniors throughout Harris County. Prepared by the Texas Lawyers Auxiliary, the booklet explains the importance of knowing one’s legal rights and responsibilities. Topics covered include issues students are likely to encounter as they enter the “real” world, such as renting an apartment, credit and debt collection, employment, and buying a car. This year, the HBAA distributed 47,365 copies of the handbook to 35 schools and school districts.

Administration of Justice Scholarship Program
In 1994, the Houston Bar Foundation established annual scholarships to provide continuing education that is directly related to the administration of justice in Harris County. Grants have been made for both individuals and groups for continuing education programs. According to court administrator Jack Thompson, this is the only continuing education grant of its kind for court coordinators.
 

Lawyers Assistance Program
The Houston Bar Foundation provides limited temporary financial assistance to attorneys who qualify and are approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors as being in need of financial assistance.
 

Historic Document Preservation Project
The Houston Bar Foundation partners with the Harris County District Clerk’s Document Preservation Project to accept donations for preserving historic cases and documents from the courts, dating to the early 1800s. The project has enabled the county to preserve hundreds of judicial records of interest to historians, the bar and the general public, and to make them available through 21st century technology. 

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