Founding

 

The idea for the Texas Law Veteran’s Association (TLVA) was conceived on September 11, 2007. All the necessary paperwork was filed that day and the organization was recognized by the University of Texas in October 2007.

 

Membership

 

Membership is open to University of Texas students, faculty, and staff.  This includes people who are prior or active service members in the Armed Forces, Reserves, and National Guard, and anyone else who supports our mission.

Note: The majority of our members are actually non-veterans who care about those who have served this country and want to help them. However, veterans are also well represented within our membership numbers.

 

Pro Bono Work

 

One of the chief goals of the TLVA is veteran’s advocacy. The organization intends to accomplish this goal primarily through pro bono legal work. In order to make this possible, since October 2007, the TLVA has been investigating sources of cases and ways to screen those cases.

 

The organization has conducted numerous meetings toward that effort and has discovered the following facts.

• Every month roughly 150 veterans are put in Travis County jails.

• In response Travis County has established a Veteran Process to deal with the specific problem of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

• Combat veterans are leaving the military in large numbers and are encountering problems with their discharge status, VA benefits and general transition.

• There are law school veterans associations that are conducting pro bono work to help mitigate the problem.  

• The Veterans Law Project is working to assist Law Schools in establishing Veterans Advocacy clinics and North Carolina Central University seems to be the first law school to have done so.

• Texas and California are receiving the largest influx of veterans but prior to this last October, no similar organizations existed within Texas.

The pertinent facts the TLVA has discovered so far have established that there is a need for an organization of this type in Travis County. 

In November 2008, the TLVA teamed up with Volunteer Legal Services in Austin to host its first Veterans Intake Clinic. It was a great success and we hope to do more this Spring. Specific dates are listed under the “Events” tab above. If you have any questions about the Clinics or if you would like to help out in any way, please use the “Contact” link at the top right of this page to email us.