2025 Poverty Law Conference: Full Schedule

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9:00am CDT

Emergency Preparedness for Immigrant Families at Risk of Detention & Removal

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

This session will cover how legal professionals can prepare families for the civil impacts of an absent parent or adult household member resulting from an immigration emergency. It will cover caregiver authorization agreements, special powers of attorney, durable powers of attorney, and other legal documents, and orient participants to existing tools and primers to improve their practice.

Speakers

Eva Sikes

Managing Attorney, Economic Justice Initiative, Texas Immigration Law Council

Cori Hash

Immigrant Legal Resource Center

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Salon E 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

9:00am CDT

Paralegal Perspectives: Strategies for Legal Outreach and Education

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

Room 415

This panel will feature paralegals from Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas (LANWT), and Lone Star Legal Aid, who will share their experience and best practices for conducting outreach and the distribution of community education. The paralegal position plays a critical role in bridging the gap between legal aid organizations and the communities they serve, ensuring that access to vital legal resources and information is readily available. The panelists will discuss the various outreach strategies their organizations have implemented, the materials they have found most effective, and the challenges they have encountered in reaching diverse communities they serve. This panel aims to foster collaboration and innovation in outreach efforts, equipping attendees with practical tools and insights to enhance their own community education initiatives.

Speakers

Gloretta Thornton

Paralegal Supervisor, Lone Star Legal Aid

I have been with Lone Star Legal Aid for 49 years and I have been in the Public Benefits Unit in the Houston office all of that time. I truly enjoy helping people and my work with LSLA allows me to do that. I am the mother of 2, the grandmother of 4, and the great grandmother... Read More →

Dora Garcia-Ruiz

Farmworker Outreach Coordinator, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

Doris Garcia-Ruiz is a paralegal at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid who specializes in outreach.

Penelope Rodriguez

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas - Community Revitalization Project

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Room 415 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

9:00am CDT

They Not Like Us: The Grit, Grind, and Heart of Legal Aid Attorneys

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

Room 412

Legal aid attorneys navigate unique challenges that require exceptional grit, dedication, and emotional resilience. The demands of the profession often lead to burnout, secondary trauma, and stress, impacting both professional effectiveness and personal well-being. This interactive session will explore strategies for managing these challenges while fostering a supportive and sustainable work environment.

Speakers

Lindsay Eustace

Attorney, Lone Star Legal Aid

LaRonda Pondexter

Lone Star Legal Aid

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Room 412 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

9:00am CDT

#Winning Social Security Disability Benefits Claims For Veterans

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

Room 408

Discussion of how to obtain Social Security disability benefits for veterans. Emphasis will be on the differences between SSA disability compensation (SSI/SSDI) and VA disability compensation (Service-Connected/Pension) and the rules governing each. Attendees will learn best practices for proving the veterans Social Security disability claim. Brief discussion of Professional Responsibility/Ethics/HIPAA.

Speakers

Sondra Haltom

Staff Attorney, Lone Star Legal Aid

Lori Fergie

Lone Star Legal Aid

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Room 408 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

Benefits

9:00am CDT

Wills & Estates for All: Estate Planning for You and Your Low-Income Clients

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

Room 410

Presentation of estate planning documents for clients with limited assets, as well as end of life planning.

Speakers

Sheena Teague

Staff Atorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Room 410 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

Probate Estate and Wills

9:00am CDT

Bridging Housing and Consumer Law: Practical Tools for Holistic Legal Advocacy

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 11:00am CDT

Room 406

This session will explore how legal aid attorneys can bridge the gap between housing law and consumer protections to provide more holistic advocacy for clients facing threats to their homes and debt-related threats to housing stability.

Speakers

K'Lisha Rutledge

Managing Attorney - Home Preservation Project, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Amir Befroui

Supervising Attorney/Managing Attorney - Foreclosure Prevention Project, Lone Star Legal Aid

Practicing lawMentorshipServing low income communitiesHelping consumers (Consumer law)Helping homeowners with a variety of legal issues (real estate law)The highs and lows of litigationPractice uses of mediationUniversity of Houston athleticsPracticing yogaCyclingThe stresses and... Read More →

Molly Rogers

Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid

Molly Rogers is a Staff Attorney and the Team Manager for the Real Property and Home Foreclosure Prevention Team at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) in Austin, Texas. TRLA is a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services to residents of Central and Southwest Texas who... Read More →

Friday August 29, 2025 9:00am - 11:00am CDT
Room 406 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

Housing

10:15am CDT

Empowering Older Adults: Overcoming Legal Barriers to a Better Future

Friday August 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Room 408

This presentation will focus on the legal challenges faced by aging populations and provide tools to help older clients overcome these obstacles. It will cover a broad range of issues, including housing, healthcare, financial security, access to public benefits, and expungement. Special attention will be given to the unique needs of older adults, such as cognitive decline, health issues, and limited resources, and how these factors impact their ability to navigate legal systems. The presentation will also highlight available community resources and legal tools to empower older adults to improve their quality of life.

Speakers

Mariah Gorom

Lone Star Legal Aid

Fallon Hamilton Vaughn

Lone Star Legal Aid

Friday August 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Room 408 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

10:15am CDT

Essentials for Non-Immigration Practitioners: 2025 Immigration Legal Updates and Practical Tips

Friday August 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Salon E

This practical session provides attorneys outside the immigration field with essential insights into 2025's significant immigration developments. Attendees will receive straightforward guidance on recent executive orders, new enforcement agreements between Texas and Department of Homeland Security agencies, and the implementation of the Non-Citizen Registry and REAL ID requirements. The session covers fundamental immigration concepts relevant to general practice, including Alien Registration Numbers, procedures for locating clients in immigration detention, and methods for verifying immigration court hearings. Topics and updates covered are subject to change in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Speakers

Jessica Cisneros

Managing Attorney, Texas Immigration Law Council

Friday August 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Salon E 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

10:15am CDT

Huh? . . . Effectively Communicating Legal Topics to Those with Low Literacy Skills

Friday August 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Room 412

Communicating complicated legal issues to legal aid clients can be tricky. While not all who experience poverty have lower than average literacy levels, research indicates that, where 20% of all American Adults are functionally illiterate, 43% of Texas adults with the lowest literacy skills are currently in poverty as opposed to 4% of those with the highest literacy skills are currently experiencing poverty. Additionally, 54% of American adults read at or below a 6th grade level and the adult literacy rate in Texas is currently only 81%. This can make communicating complicated legal issues hard. It is important to meet the client population of legal aid organizations where they are without talking down to them. While attorneys are regularly encouraged to not use jargon, shorthand, or acronyms when communicating with clients, explaining complex legal issues to those with lower literacy skills can prove difficult and require additional thoughtfulness. This presentation aims to discuss the importance of presenting information to our client populations in ways that are manageable for them, including the ethical implications of using non-legal terms to describe legal concepts; warn of the pitfalls of communicating to those with lower literacy skills; and share strategies for communicating with individuals in simple, easy-to-understand terms.

Speakers

Melissa Waggoner

Staff Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Stephanie Marrone

Beacon Law

Sam Marsh

Beacon Law

Friday August 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Room 412 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

10:15am CDT

Probate Mythbusters : Probate Methods for Low-Income Texans

Friday August 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Room 410

Presentation of methods to probate the estates of both testate and intestate decedents, both in and out of the courts. Will discuss basic terminology, intestacy succession, pros/cons of administration, and non-probate ways to settle small estates.

Speakers

Sheena Teague

Staff Atorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Friday August 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Room 410 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

Probate Estate and Wills

10:15am CDT

Work Smarter, Not Harder: Tech Solutions for Client-Facing Tools and Internal Workflows

Friday August 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Room 415

Lone Star Legal Aid has been developing innovative tech-based resources for both clients and internal use for the last several years. Join our Data Analytics Director and Environmental Justice Project's Litigation Director as they share key insights on creating effective tech solutions—whether for client-facing tools or internal workflows. Discover the essential steps in developing web-based applications, AI chatbots, and other resources that can help your organization enhance outreach, improve efficiency, and work smarter, not harder.

Speakers

Amy Dinn

Litigation Director / Managing Attorney, Lone Star Legal Aid

Environmental JusticeCivil Rights Litigation

Ashley Oborn

Director of Data Analytics, LSLA

Friday August 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Room 415 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

Tech - Data

11:30am CDT

2025 Update: Community Justice Workers in Texas

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT

Salon E

Lawyers alone cannot bridge the justice gap. The “Community Justice Worker” movement describes a diverse set of approaches to incorporating individuals other than lawyers into the legal profession. Several states have experimented with formal approaches to training, certification and/or licensing to authorize non-attorneys to address specific types of legal matters with greater independence than previously contemplated under ethical rules. Representatives from these and other states have joined forces to launch a national CJW taskforce in 2025. This session will provide an overview of developments on a national and state level, including how paraprofessionals and community justice workers are able to work to bridge the justice gap under current Texas law. Speakers will detail their current work and projects utilizing paraprofessionals and community justice workers to close the justice gap.

Speakers

Bethany Carson

Community Justice Worker Coordinator, Texas Immigration Law Council

Bethany brings over a decade of experience at the intersection of grassroots organizing, legal empowerment, and movement-building to her role as Community Justice Worker Coordinator at TxILC. As part of TxILC’s Economic Justice Initiative, she supports a dynamic statewide cohort... Read More →

Cristian Sanchez

Economic Justice Director, Texas Immigration Law Council

Texas Immigration Law Council Awarded Groundbreaking Grant to Help Immigrants Access Economic Justice ⋆ Texas Immigration Law Council (txilc.org)... Read More →

Sean Jackson

Executive Director, Disability Rights Texas

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Salon E 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

11:30am CDT

Improving Advocacy for Veterans Claims by Using VA IT Systems

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT

Room 408

Advocates will learn how they can more effectively and efficiently assist US military veterans with claims before the Veterans Benefits Administration by using IT systems. The session will include familiarization and access training on VA.gov, VA QuickSubmit, and the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS). There will also be a short ethics component on the duty of attorneys to understand the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.

Speakers

Chris Rogers

Equal Justice Works Fellow and Staff Attorney, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

I am employed as a staff attorney by TRLA with the help of an Equal Justice Works Fellowship, sponsored by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation and Greenberg Traurig. My fellowship is focused on providing wrap-around legal assistance to noncitizens US military veterans. My primary... Read More →

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Room 408 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

11:30am CDT

Municipalities and Legal Aid Organizations: Responding to Substandard Structures, Demolitions, and Heirs’ Properties”

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT

Room 406

In this panel discussion, we will delve into the three main statutes that municipalities use for holding property owners accountable for the condition of their properties: Texas Local Government Code chapter 54, Texas Local Government Code chapter 214, and Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 125. We will also consider ways in which municipalities respond to heirs’ properties. We will discuss how Legal Aid advocates can recognize city actions, advocate for and negotiate on behalf of clients who are defendants in such actions, and even complement and collaborate with cities on such actions to benefit clients in a way that also benefits the community as a whole.

Speakers

Benjamin Gerzik

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Community Revitalization Project

Kelsey Blanche Ciluffo

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Jill Haning

Dallas City Attorney’s Office

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Room 406 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

11:30am CDT

Title IX: We’re Not in Kansas Anymore. How to Navigate the Yellow Brick Road to Keep Survivors in School.

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT

Room 412

This session will provide technical guidance on how to help survivor’s meet their education goals after experiencing a sexual assault or domestic violence on campus. Lawyers tend to focus on “winning” by getting a finding of responsibility. Our goal is to provide an alternative type of Title IX practice that focuses on the core goal of Title IX—ensuring the student’s access to their education. Supportive measures are on-disciplinary, non-punitive services available even without a formal Title IX complaint and can include things like counseling, housing assistance, and academic accommodations. We will summarize the relevant regulations and laws as they exist at the time of the presentation and provide a step-by-step process for identifying a survivor’s educational needs after an assault and how to advocate for them. We will cover both K12 schools and higher education.

Speakers

Mary Christine Reed

Economic and Social Justice Group Coordinator, Education Team Manager, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

As an attorney with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) since 1993, Mary Christine Reed has assisted low-income clients with a broad range of legal problems, including a frequent focus on issues impacting youth and families. TRLA is a non-profit corporation that provides free civil and... Read More →

Brittany Hightower

Staff Attorney, Lone Star Legal Aid (Texas Coalition on Coerced Debt)

Brittany Hightower is a Staff Attorney at Lone Star Legal Aid with the Individual Safety Unit where she provides legal services to survivors of sexual abuse, including protective orders, divorces, custody, housing, privacy, and more. Prior to joining LSLA, Brittany worked as an attorney... Read More →

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Room 412 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

11:30am CDT

Beyond Natural Disasters: Expanding Legal Aid's Role in Crisis Response Session

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT

Room 415

Legal aid organizations across Texas have long been at the forefront of providing essential legal services to low-income clients impacted by natural disasters. However, their expertise is increasingly sought after to address the legal needs arising from non-weather-related crises such as mass shootings, apartment fires, and industrial accidents. This session will explore how disaster legal aid providers pivot their experience and adapt their response strategies to assist individuals and communities facing these new types of crises. Attendees will learn how legal aid programs can develop scalable models to respond effectively, collaborate with stakeholders, and provide holistic support to clients in the wake of life-altering tragedies.

Speakers

Amanda Bosley

Managing Attorney - Disaster Relief Unit, Lone Star Legal Aid

Amanda Bosley is a Supervising Attorney and manages the Disaster Relief Unit at Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) in Houston, Texas. She also serves as Content Manager for the Advocates for Disaster Justice website, which provides legal help information to survivors and facilitates connections... Read More →

Melissa Waggoner

Staff Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Brittanny Perrigue Gomez

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Room 415 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

Environmental and Disaster

11:30am CDT

Guardianship Guide

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT

Room 410

This presentation will begin with an exploration into the circumstances within families that often lead our clients to seek guardianship over their loved ones. Attendees will receive a step-by-step guide to the legal requirements and process of obtaining a guardianship over an adult in Texas, including recent updates to the law by the state legislature impacting the guardianship process. Guardianship is not always the necessary or appropriate solution - even when a well-intentioned loved one believes it is - this presentation will illuminate alternatives to guardianship (e.g. medical power of attorney; representative payee status etc.) that should be considered and implemented prior to seeking a guardianship in some cases. Questions such as if and when a guardianship be terminated and what to do if you believe a client is unjustly under an order of guardianship will be explored. We will also dive into the guardianship of pop-culture celebrity Wendy Williams and her battle to terminate the order and re-gain access to her assets and control of her life.

Speakers

Tiffany C. Green

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Friday August 29, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Room 410 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

Probate Estate and Wills

2025 Poverty Law Conference

From $306.69