With the Legal Services Corp. reportedly on the chopping block under the Trump administration, legal aid organizations in Texas either face dramatic funding cuts or pressure to step into the breach to handle legal work for low-income people in Texas.
That’s the environment Locke Lord partner Susan Kidwell of Austin faces as she steps into the role as president of Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas (VLS) this year. VLS is not funded by the LSC, but cuts in the federal program puts pressure on other legal aid organizations, she said. “The reality is when the federal government cuts funding from what they provide, that means there’s less out there,” she said. “We become one of the organizations that people are probably looking at to fill gaps.
