An association of local governments, including Harris and Galveston counties, has granted $404,000 to the Consumer Law Center at the University of Houston Law Center to provide legal assistance to Hurricane Ike victims, says Richard Alderman, associate dean and director of the center. “We’re very excited,” Alderman says. The Houston-Galveston Area Council grant will allow the center, which currently has two full-time staff attorneys and an administrative assistant, to hire additional staff, he says. “We know we will be spending a lot of time in Galveston,” he says. “One of the things we’re thinking about is having a part-time attorney for intake specialist in Galveston, rather than someone in Houston traveling to Galveston,” he says. The grant will fund, for a year, the equivalent of two full-time attorneys, plus several law students and a full-time paralegal, he says. Unresolved legal issues for hurricane victims can include problems with insurance programs, contractors and construction issues, landlord-tenant problems, and family issues such as divorce and custody matters, he says. “Our hope is that we will be able to do a lot within the next year,” he says.
-- Jeanne Graham
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