2026 Poverty Law Conference: Full Schedule

1:00pm CDT

Stop Settling: Practical Trial Preparation for Poverty Law Litigators

Wednesday September 2, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT

Trial preparation can be one of the most stressful phases of poverty law litigation, particularly for newer attorneys. This program provides practical, step-by-step guidance on managing electronic files, organizing evidence, preparing a trial notebook, making discovery work for your case, and appearing before the judge. The presentation will also address methods for reducing the last-minute anxiety that often accompanies trial preparation. Attendees will leave with concrete systems and workflows they can immediately implement in their own practices.

Speakers

Dana Karni

Litigation Director, Lone Star Legal Aid

Leesa Everitt

Staff Attorney, Lone Star Legal Aid

Leesa Everitt, a native Houstonian, is a staff attorney at Lone Star Legal Aid in the Housing & Consumer Unit. Over the past decade she has handled a variety of civil legal matters, but her focus has been housing and landlord-tenant work. Her law degree is from the University of Houston... Read More →

Patricia Tsai

Wednesday September 2, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Grand Salons AB

Housing and Consumer

2:15pm CDT

Unseen Liens and Rent-to-NEVER-Own: Property Code Protections for Texas Homebuyers

Wednesday September 2, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT

Grand Salons AB

Strong Texas laws protect people purchasing a home under a “contract for deed” or “rent-to-own” contract. The Texas Property Code calls these contracts “executory contracts for conveyance of real property”, and unless the seller follows this strict law ("Subchapter D"), the buyer is entitled to a variety of damages, including additional protections under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Speakers

John Grieger

Managing Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

John Grieger has 34 years of bankruptcy law experience. A graduate of Northwestern University (BA-Spanish) and the University of San Diego School of Law, John returned to his native Chicago after law school and worked as a staff attorney for the Chapter 13 Trustee. After that... Read More →

Wednesday September 2, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT
Grand Salons AB

Housing and Consumer

3:30pm CDT

SB 38 So Far

Wednesday September 2, 2026 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT

Grand Salons AB

This session will examine how eviction practice has changed in the eight months since SB 38 and its accompanying revisions to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure took effect. We will discuss novel defenses to eviction under the new law and rules, as well as active and planned constitutional challenges, explaining how they have played out in thousands of cases before the twenty-six different Justices of the Peace in the state's two largest counties. The goal is an interactive session in which both presenters and participants share their experiences to improve our collective advocacy on behalf of Texas tenants.

Speakers

Eric Kwartler

Megan Parry

Wednesday September 2, 2026 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Grand Salons AB

Housing and Consumer

9:00am CDT

ChatGPTenant

Thursday September 3, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

Grand Salons AB

ChatGPT and other generative AI tools both taketh and giveth to tenants. Inaccuracies and imprecision work against tenants’ interest in stable, safe, and sanitary housing--all while making life more challenging for legal aid housing attorneys attempting to advise and advocate for tenants.

However, tenants and legal aid attorneys alike have never had more access to powerful tools capable of legal research, document drafting, and technical information about the civil justice system.

What’s a legal aid housing attorney to do? Bring your laptop, tablet, or smartphone to this interactive session to develop strategies and tactics for navigating the current AI age in Texas landlord-tenant.

Speakers

Gregory M. Zlotnick

Director of Pro Bono Programs, St. Mary's University School of Law - Center for Legal and Social Justice

Jacqueline Calvert

St. Mary's University School of Law

Thursday September 3, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Grand Salons AB

Housing and Consumer

10:15am CDT

Beyond Representation: How Dispute Resolution Makes a Difference

Thursday September 3, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Grand Salons AB

HVL has implemented an innovative Dispute Resolution program where attorneys are trained "facilitate" eviction court cases. Think "mediation lite." They have delivered great results without a representation agreement! We will look at how dispute resolution (D.R.) by attorneys can help in two contexts: eviction court and consumer debt. There will be some basic black letter law, and dispute resolution tips and tricks.

Speakers

Jessica Howton

Elliott Tucker

Thursday September 3, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Grand Salons AB

Housing and Consumer

1:00pm CDT

Post-Judgment Collection Defense

Thursday September 3, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT

Grand Salons AB

This will be an in-depth discussion regarding defending against post judgment collection including Turnover Receivers and Garnishments. Topics covered will include answering post-judgment discovery, objecting to motions to appoint receivers, completing protected property claim forms, and filing a motion to return exempt funds seized by a receiver. Will be a discussion regarding best practices to protect clients exempt assets after judgment.

Speakers

Newton Tamayo

Staff Attorney, Lone Star Legal Aid

Jon-Ross Trevino

Thursday September 3, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Grand Salons AB

Housing and Consumer

2:15pm CDT

Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program: Update on Tenant and Applicant Rights

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT

Grand Salons AB

This session will provide an overview of tenant and applicant rights in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program. The session will focus on the rights of applicants in the tenant selection and admissions process and will also include a discussion of the special rights of tenants with respect to evictions, rent issues, and repairs.

Speakers

Fred Fuchs

Attorney, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

Fred Fuchs is the housing group coordinator for Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, where he oversees the program's housing work. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law where he teaches a housing clinic each spring. He received his law degree from the... Read More →

Thursday September 3, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT
Grand Salons AB

Housing and Consumer

9:00am CDT

Manufactured Housing in Rural Texas

Friday September 4, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT

Grand Salons AB

Rural Texas has unique housing challenges that manufactured housing attempts to address. Learn about manufactured housing in rural Texas, how to address some of the common issues that arise with manufactured home ownership, and eviction defense involving manufactured housing.

Speakers

Melissa Arano

Staff Attorney, LANWT

Friday September 4, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Grand Salons AB

Housing and Consumer

10:15am CDT

Public Housing Authorities & Advocacy Strategies to Preserve Housing

Friday September 4, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT

Grand Salons AB

In this session, we will explore effective ways to advocate before Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) to preserve our clients’ public or subsidized housing. We’ll consider how pressures facing PHAs and housing recipients affect advocacy strategies, when to hold PHAs accountable through litigation versus collaboration, and ethical issues that may arise in making that decision. And, we’ll let you in on the top ten things we believe every housing recipient (and every housing advocate) should know to preserve their housing!

Speakers

K'Lisha Rutledge

Managing Attorney - Home Preservation Project, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Keidra McGriff

Staff Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Kelsey Ciluffo

Staff Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Friday September 4, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am CDT
Grand Salons AB

Housing and Consumer

11:30am CDT

Powerless: Keeping the Lights on for Tenants, from the Property Code to the Constitution

Friday September 4, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT

Grand Salons AB

Tenant’s rights to prevent utility shutoffs exist on paper, but not in practice. Although the Texas Legislature implemented what were intended to be accessible, pro se-friendly statutes for both pre- and post-utility termination remedies, those remedies can leave tenants in the dark for weeks. Tenants in manufactured home communities face even more difficulties due to the differences between Chapter 94 and Chapter 92 of the Property Code.

The pre-termination remedy, Section 92.301 of the Property Code, protects master-metered tenants from landlords who don’t pay their bills to the utility company. But tenants can only exercise their right to avoid a cutoff at the utility’s whim.

The post-termination remedy, Section 92.0091 of the Property Code (the writ of restoration), is more accessible in practice. But because it is only accessible post-termination, tenants can go without utilities for weeks while they scramble to hold their landlord in contempt of court. If 92.301 worked, this problem would be significantly mitigated.
This presentation will discuss ongoing constitutional litigation regarding pre-termination shutoffs: terminating an innocent tenant’s utilities violates the 14th Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses. It will demonstrate how to advocate for tenants facing utility shutoffs outside of court before termination, in Justice Court after termination, and in courts of record for constitutional advocacy. It will also discuss a work-in-progress white paper addressing this problem.

Speakers

Adam Pirtle

Staff Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Haley Varnadoe

Staff Attorney, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

Haley is a staff attorney with the Community Revitalization Project at Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. Born and raised in Appalachia, her passion for protecting people and environmental resources from industrial exploitation started young. She focuses on environmental justice in the... Read More →