1. HOME
2.  » NEWS
3.  » eNews Archive
4.  » 2011 eNews Archive
5.  » January 2011
6.  » Access To Justice Commission Update

Access To Justice Commission Update

One at a Time: How HVLP Volunteer Attorney Robbie Charette Helps Families Provide for their Loved Ones
By:  Catherine Nahay

Ms. Robbie Gail Charette has been a pro bono volunteer with the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program since she became licensed in 2001.

When asked to share her most memorable cases with the Commission, Ms. Charette shared,

“My favorite cases with Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program (HVLP) have been probate cases for little old ladies, helping them with the titles to their homesteads after they have lost their spouses. I also enjoy serving parents whose incapacitated children are turning 18 and whose families need a guardianship in order to continue providing for their loved ones.

One of the most unusual cases I have handled was for a couple who came to HVLP seeking help because they took in a virtually homeless child. Though the single mother of the child had housing in the neighborhood, the 10-year-old girl was frequently left alone to fend for herself. She was on the streets every afternoon looking for dinner each night from different houses in the neighborhood. Different neighbors took her in every day. Over time, the neighbors banded together to protect the young girl from her mother’s negligence. After a two-day hearing, the court appointed my clients sole managing conservator. I was able to locate the biological father of the child and learned that the mother and father were never married. Though the father consistently paid child support for 10 years, he had not seen the child her whole life. During the pendency of the case, the child was able to develop a relationship with her father and is now in his custody.

Handling pro bono cases is about giving back to the community, not in a vague way as in giving back to a group. It is about helping people, one person one at a time.”

A 1976 graduate of Texas A&M University, Charette received her LLM from the University of Houston Law Center and Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law. Before entering private practice, she worked for Brown and Root as a CPA and as a subcontractor for NASA as a systems analyst. As a solo practitioner, she handles family law, guardianship and probate cases. Charette has been happily married to her husband for more than 22 years.