American Bar Association (ABA) serves the needs and interests of members' professional development, seeks to advance the rule of law, and advocates for the legal profession. The ABA Military and Veterans Legal Center announced grants totaling $100,000 to support Texas programs. The 2021 grants were distributed as follows: Houston Volunteer Lawyers received $20,000, Metroplex Military Charitable Trust $40,000, and San Antonio Legal Services Association $40,000.
The Military and Veterans Legal Center (MVLC) received grant applications from multiple nonprofits tasked with delivering legal services to veterans across Texas. Under the 2021 initiative, programs were eligible to receive $5,000 to $40,000 in grants. The MVLC established the grant program to support local and state programs to enable them to better cater to the needs of underserved veterans in their communities. Applying programs were evaluated based on the ability to meet the grant’s three key objectives, which were to provide outreach and legal services, create or improve referral databases, and expand collaboration with other legal services. Acknowledging the role nonprofit legal organizations play in helping veterans, ABA President Patricia Lee Refo stated the center is best placed to handle veterans’ legal needs, provided it continues to receive adequate funding.