LONE STAR LEGAL AID OFFERS LEGAL ASSIST Houston, Texas ...

PAUL FURRH, JR.
Attorney at Law
Chief Executive Officer
DWAYNE BILTON
Attorney at Law
Chief Operating Officer
SAUNDRA BROWN
Managing Attorney
Disaster Response Unit
Mailing Address:
1415 Fannin, CIU
Houston, Texas 77002
713-652-0077 Telephone
800-733-8394 Toll free
713-658-9278 Fax
CONTACT:
Saundra Brown
Lone Star Legal Aid
713-982-1980
Saundra.brown@lonestarlegal.org
LONE STAR LEGAL AID OFFERS LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF EAST TEXAS WILD FIRES
Houston, Texas – September 7, 2011 – Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is responding to the needs of
residents of East Texas counties affected by wildfires. With offices throughout East Texas, offers free
legal assistance to help families with legal issues related to their losses such as replacing important
papers, filing insurance claims, dealing with mortgage companies and landlords and avoiding problems
with contractors.
“We are here to help you,” said attorney Saundra Brown, who manages LSLA’s Disaster Response Unit.
“We were there after Katrina, Rita, Ike and the BP oil spill and will be with you after flooding and fires
like these that wreck homes and lives.”
LSLA has offices in Tyler, Nacogdoches, Longview, Bryan, Conroe and eight other cities across the
eastern portion of the state. Residents who need assistance can call their local Lone Star Legal Aid office
or the toll-free Central Intake Unit at (800)733-8394.
Brown cautioned those who want to quickly rebuild or restore their homes and other structures.
“Sometimes,” Brown continued, “all people need is to be pointed in the right direction after a disaster.
We want to help them, especially if it means helping them avoid problems down the road.” She pointed
to examples after Hurricane Ike where “storm-chasers” arrived right after the storm and left behind
poor quality and unfinished work once they talked victims out of their insurance money. “Starting this
month, the law in Texas is that a contractor from outside of Texas cannot require anything more than
progress payments as the work is done. But you should never pay a bunch of money up front on any
repair job.”
LSLA will continue to post updates via Facebook and Twitter (@LStarLegal) as more information
becomes available about resources and responses to the fires.
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Lone Star Legal Aid (www.LoneStarLegal.org) is the fourth largest service provider of free legal aid in the
United States. LSLA serves an area that covers one-third of the state Texas, including over 63,000 square
miles across 72 counties from Texarkana, to the Louisiana-Texas Gulf Coast state-line, down to
Matagorda Bay, and four counties of southwest Arkansas. LSLA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil legal rights of low-income Texans by providing advocacy,
legal representation and community education that ensures equal access to justice.