First Friday CLE
~a benefit of membership in the Poverty Law Section
December 5, 2008
"THIRD PARTY CHILD CUSTODY: Tips and Strategies"
Linda S. Good-- Supervising Attorney, Centralized Intake & Family Law Units, Lone Star Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Third party custody cases, involving a dispute between a child's parent(s) and someone other than a parent, are more common than you might think. This session helped analyze third party custody situations, including important constitutional rights.
October 3, 2008
"ZOMBIE DEBT COLLECTOS AND HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST THEM"
Tracey Whitley--Attorney at Law, Group Coordinator, Team Manager for Consumer Team, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Amanda Chisholm--Attorney at Law, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Are zombie debt collectors eating your clients alive? How to defend against 3d party debt collection lawsuits and save the indigent client from the fear of being hounded forever by debts that will not die.
Materials:
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Zombie Debt Collectors (Whitley, Chisholm, .ppt)
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Zombie Debt Collectors (Whitley, Chisholm, .pdf)
September 5, 2008
"IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE (BUT MORE DIFFICULT THAN YOU THINK): Rent Issues in Public and Subsidized Housing"
Fred Fuchs--Attorney at Law, Group Coordinator for Housing Teams, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Turning a nonpayment of rent eviction case into a money judgment in your client’s favor. Presentation on rent issues that plague clients facing eviction from public and subsidized housing, including the Earned Income Disregard (EID) program, rent calculations, minimum rent hardship exemptions, and others.
Materials:
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Rent Calculation in Public Housing and Section 8 (Fuchs, .pdf)
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Earned Income Disregard (Fuchs, .pdf)
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Minimum Rents and the Hardship Exception (Fuchs, .pdf)
August 1, 2008
"THE MANY WAYS TO HELP DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS:
An Overview of Texas Statutes Relating to Domestic Violence"
Fred Krasny -- Staff Attorney, Lone Star Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Introduction to various Texas statutes relating to family violence, tips and strategies for using these laws to assist victims. Overview of sections of the Human Resources Code, Property Code, Tax Code, Labor Code, Family Code, Crime Victim's Compensation Act and the Texas Administrative Code.
Materials:
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Table of Statutes (Krasny, .pdf)
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Text of Statutes re Fam. Viol. No. 1 (Krasny, .pdf)
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Text of Statutes re Fam. Viol. No. 2 (Krasny, .pdf)
June 6, 2008
"Are You Unknowingly Harming Your Client? How Your Practice Affects Your Clients' Public Benefits"
Renee Trevino--Attorney at Law, Group Coordinator for the Public Benefits Group, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: How routine legal advocacy may adversely affect their clients' public benefits. How legal advocacy in practice areas as diverse as real property, family, consumer, housing, employment, and workers compensation may affect clients' eligibility for Food Stamps, Medicaid, TANF, Veterans, and Social Security benefits. Tips and strategies for screening for, and advising clients regarding, the potential impact the legal action being requested by client may affect their public benefits.
Materials:
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PLS Public Benefits 101 (2008)--Trevino (.pdf)
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PLS Public Benefits 101 (2008)--Trevino (ppt)
April 4, 2008
"Tips and Traps in Handling a Home Repair Case"
Robert Wharton--Attorney at Law at Lone Star Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Pointers for lawsuits against home repair contractors, including a discussion of common problems one might encounter in such cases. Includes overview of an article on home repair lawsuits prepared by Mr. Wharton to be released in an upcoming revision of the legal services Attorney Desk Reference.
Materials:
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Handling a Home Repair Case--Wharton (.pdf)
March 7, 2008
"THE U NON-IMMIGRANT VISA: A Remedy for Immigrant Victims of Crime"
Ramona Natera & Erica Schommer--Attorneys at Law at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Overview of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) based remedy and discussion of some of the issues encountered when filing on behalf of clients.
Materials (by National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women):
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U-Visas
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U-Visas Summary
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U-Visas Evidence Checklist
February 1, 2008
"HARASSMENT OF DEBTORS: When to Sue"
Rich Tomlinson--Law Office of Rich Tomlins, Board-certified in Consumer and Commercial Law, http://www.houstonconsumerlaw.com
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Techniques for selecting viable claims against debtors under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Texas Debt Collection Act; discussion of common case scenarios, including, inter alia, threats of litigation on time-barred debt, third-party contacts, threats of criminal arrest and prosecution, and continued collection after a debt is timely disputed.
Materials:
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Harassment of Debtors presentation--Tomlinson (.pdf)
December 7, 2007
"IMMIGRATION LAW AND FAMILY LAW: Intersection of Laws with a Focus on Domestic Violence"
MariCarmen Garza--Director of the Legal Access To Rural Shelters (LARS) Project, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Overview of immigration laws that often intersect with family law, including impact that immigration laws can have on a family law case and practical tips for serving clients, particularly when the client is a victim of domestic abuse.
Materials:
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Intersection of Laws Presentation--Garza (.pdf)
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Power Control Wheel--(.pdf)
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Power Control Wheel, Spanish--(.pdf)
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Statistics, Women Killed--(.pdf)
November 2, 2007
"DEALING WITH DISHONESTY: Ethical Considerations with Clients and Witnesses"
Susan Schoppa--attorney, Housing, Consumer Protection, and Economic Benefits Division, Legal Aid of Northwest Texas
Credit: 1 hour Ethics CLE
Topic: Relevant Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct and framework for solving ethical dilemmas regarding client dishonesty.
Materials:
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Presentation Outline--Schoppa (pdf)
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Texas Rules (pdf)
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Ethics opinions (pdf)
October 5, 2007
"Retaliating Landlords: Claims and Defenses for Your Tenant Client"
David Sadegh--Equal Justice Works Fellow at Lone Star Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Statutory elements and case law for retaliation claims and defenses, as well as an overview of the eviction process.
Materials:
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Retaliation, Law and Pro Se Docs--Sadegh (.pdf)
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Retaliation Presentation--Sadegh (.pdf)
September 7, 2007
"Defending the Debtor Client: Litigating and Settling Debt Collector Actions"
Scott Vogelmeier--Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Scott Vogelmeier
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Strategies for defending debtor clients against debt collection actions brought by plaintiffs, which may include original creditors and debt buyers. Focus on out of court settlement and in court litigation as strategies for achieving clients’ goals and some of the unique issues and requirements of debt collection law.
Materials:
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Defending the Debtor Client--Scott Vogelmeier (pdf)
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C&W Asset Acquisition LLC v. Knox, 104 Fed. Appx. 936 (5th Cir. 2004) (pdf)
August 3, 2007
"Parental Kidnapping: Prevention and Remedies"
Pam Brown--Director of Bi-National Family Violence Project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Introduction to the civil and criminal laws relating to parental abduction of children, with particular attention to prevention measures and legal remedies available after an abduction has occurred, whether to another state or another country.
July 6, 2007
"Legislative Update-- Public Benefits New Laws You Should Know about Medicaid, TANF, and Food Stamps"
Bruce Bower--Director of Advocacy and Client Services at Texas Legal Services Center
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Enactments of the 80th Texas Legislature dealing with the Medicaid, food stamp, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs.
Materials:
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HB 75 Summary of enactment--Bruce Bower (Word)
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HB 75 Rules proposed to MCAC--Bruce Bower (pdf)
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HB 75 Rules comments chart--Bruce Bower (Word)
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2007 Legislative Update--Medicaid, TANF, food stamps--Bruce Bower (pdf)
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Tex. Dep't of Protective & Regulatory Servs. v. Mega Child Care, Inc., 145 S.W.3d 170 (Tex. 2004)
June 1, 2007
"Can a Hamster be a Service Animal? 'Disability' under the ADA and FHA, and a Tenant's Right to Assistance Animals"
Brian East--senior attorney at Advocacy Inc.
Kelli Howard--housing and disability rights attorney at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Trends in caselaw regarding the definition of “disability” as defined by the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Fair Housing Act; requests for accommodations of a tenant's disability using service animals as an example.
Materials:
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Definition of Disability under ADA & FHA--Brian East (pdf)
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Tenants' Rights to Assistance Animals--Kelli Howard (pdf)
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Right to Emotional Support Animals--Bazelon Center (link)
May 4, 2007
"Finding Safe Haven, Protecting the Housing Rights of Victims with Domestic Violence"
Ramey Ko, Equal Justice Fellow at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Credit: 1 hour CLE
Topic: Overview of the housing provisions of the Violence Against Women and Justice Department Reauthorization Act of 2005 and their application to commonly encountered housing problems of domestic violence survivors
Materials:
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TX Lease Breaking Law Presentation (pdf file)
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Federal Housing & DV Presentation (pdf file)
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Public Housing & Voucher VAWA Cert Form (Word file)
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Multifamily VAWA Cert Form (Word file)
