Legal Line Clinic - Frequently Asked Questions

Texas Advocacy Project’s Legal Line is a vital resource offering survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of power-based abuse free, one-on-one consultations with an attorney by phone. During these hour-long sessions, survivors receive personalized legal guidance on critical issues like divorce, custody, and protective orders – empowering them with the information they need to make informed decisions about their safety and future.

Our staff attorneys work tirelessly to advise Legal Line callers, but the demand is far greater than our team alone can meet. That’s where you come in. By taking on hour-long consultations, you provide survivors with critical legal information and guidance – helping them understand their options and take the next steps toward safety. Your support also allows our staff attorneys to focus on cases that require more in-depth legal work and ongoing attention.

TAP’s Legal Line Clinic is held virtually during a 4-hour block where pro bono attorneys are assigned two clients to call for general advice and counsel. The 4-hour block is designed to give you time to review your case files, prepare for your calls, make two Legal Line calls and then record your notes. During the clinic, there will be a TAP attorney on Zoom to answer question or offer support.

We want you to feel confident and well-prepared before your first Legal Line Clinic. We offer a series of on-demand trainings that cover both the legal and interpersonal skills needed to support survivors effectively and ethically. You can complete them at your own pace and revisit them anytime. Our trainings include:

• Introduction to Texas Advocacy Project for Pro Bono Attorneys (25 minutes):  A brief overview of TAP’s mission, services, and the role of pro bono attorneys.
• Navigating Power-Based Abuse: Empowerment & Trauma-Informed Legal Practice (1 hour of CLE credit, 0.50 ethics): This required training explores the dynamics of power-based abuse and its impact on survivors. You’ll learn how to apply empowerment-based and trauma-informed principles to provide survivor-centered legal advice.
• Survivor Law and Safety Planning: Life-Changing and Life-Saving Service (1 hour of CLE credit, 0.25 ethics):  This optional training offers a comprehensive look at family law remedies commonly used by survivors, including divorce, protective orders, and custody. This training also covers how to prioritize a survivor’s safety when offering legal guidance.
• Legal Line Clinic Training (~35 minutes) (1 hour of CLE credit, 0.25 ethics): This required practical training covers everything you need to know for clinic day—including the process from start to finish, how to use Legal Server, and tips from an experienced TAP attorney.

Yes! Our staff attorneys are always happy to have pro bono attorneys shadow a Legal Line call prior to their first clinic. It’s a great way to build confidence and get familiar with the process. That said, shadowing is optional – many of our pro bono attorneys successfully handle their first clinic without it.

We ask each pro bono attorney to make two Legal Line calls within the 4-hour clinic block. This allows you sufficient time to review your case files, prepare for your calls, make two Legal Line calls, and record your notes in Legal Server.

Legal Server is Texas Advocacy Project’s case management system. Pro bono attorneys and TAP staff use it to record key information shared by clients during Legal Line calls, along with the legal advice provided. This helps ensure continuity if the client calls back in the future for further advice. You will be trained on how to log in and record your notes prior to the clinic.

During the clinic, an experienced TAP staff attorney is available via Zoom to answer any questions not covered in the training, ensuring you have support every step of the way. You will also have access to the tools we developed for pro bono attorneys working on the Legal Line, which are located on our Pro Bono Resource page of our website. You will be given access to this page once you sign up for your first Legal Line Clinic.

No prior family law experience is required. TAP offers training and resources to help you prepare, along with tools to guide you through the most common issues that come up during Legal Line calls. These resources include a Legal Line script, an issue-spotting tool, a protective order guide, answers to frequently asked questions, and links to key resources.

Our intake team screens each pro bono matter carefully. Clinic cases are selected with pro bono attorneys in mind, so you’ll generally be handling more straightforward legal issues.  More complex or high-risk cases stay with TAP staff attorneys to ensure they receive the attention they require.

That’s okay! You’re only expected to provide high-level, general legal advice. You can always place the client on a brief hold to look something up, consult our resources, or ask the TAP staff attorney on Zoom for support.

Generally, no. Under Rule 6.05(a) of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, attorneys providing limited pro bono legal services – like Legal Line consultations – are not required to complete a full conflicts check unless they know at the time of service there’s a conflict that would prevent them from providing advice.

Legal Line consultations fall squarely within this rule: they’re brief, one-time consultations offered through a nonprofit with no expectation of extended representation or payment. (Rule 6.05(d)) That said, if your firm requires you to run a conflicts check as a matter of policy, we’ll provide the client’s name and date of birth 24 hours in advance so you can complete that process ahead of time.

No. Clients are informed during intake that Legal Line offers a one-time consultation regarding their specific issue and does not include ongoing representation.  Once your call is complete, TAP will close the case unless you have indicated in your notes that some form of follow-up is required.

We always encourage our clients to call us back if they have additional questions or run into issues or roadblocks implementing the advice they received.  Since we keep notes of every call, we’ll be able to reference their case history.

Possibly! If you're interested in representing a client beyond the clinic, let the TAP staff attorney know. We’ll assess whether extended representation is appropriate and discuss next steps with you.

Each Legal Line Clinic is scheduled for 4 hours. Most volunteers complete two client calls during that time, though it may take less time depending on how long each call lasts or if one of your clients is unavailable. This 4-hour window also leaves time for you to prepare for your call, and record your notes and time in Legal Server.

You’re welcome to take the time you need with each client and there’s no limit to how many clinics you can sign up for – participate as often as your schedule allows!

To get started, just complete our short Pro Bono Application. This will get the onboarding process started, which should take 2-3 days. Once you submit your application, you will receive an email with links to our foundational trainings and a list of upcoming clinic dates. You’re welcome to start the trainings as soon as you receive the email. 

Please reach out to [email protected] if you have any additional questions.