Keidra McGriff - Dedicated Staff Attorney
About five years ago, a courtroom encounter caused Attorney Keidra McGriff to change her career path to one that was more meaningful to her and would have a positive impact on the lives of others. Keidra, who was working for a debt collection company to help provide for her young family, appeared before the court on a case involving an auto loan default. The opposing party was a woman who had left the hospital treating her to attend the hearing. The woman spoke of the financial difficulties caused by her serious illness. Because Keidra had some discretion in the direction of the case, she asked the court to dismiss the case. In gratitude, the woman hugged Keidra, an act that made her realize that she wanted to spend her career making that kind of a difference in the lives of others.
Today, as a staff attorney with Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas’ Dallas office, Keidra is doing just that every day on behalf of clients. Her work focuses on housing issues, guardianships, consumer rights, and criminal record nondisclosure and expunction for clients who cannot otherwise afford to hire a private attorney. During the recent pandemic, eviction work increased dramatically as both landlords and tenants worked to understand new protections such as eviction pauses and local funding designed to help keep people housed were rapidly rolled out. As most of these protections ended over time, more of Legal Aid’s current housing work is directed at repairs, lockouts, and other landlord/tenant disputes.
According to data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, more than 9 million Texans have a criminal record and more than 1 million new arrests are made annually by Texas law enforcement. Figures listed by Texas Appleseed state that 9 in 10 employers, 4 in 5 landlords, and 3 in 5 colleges conduct criminal background checks. Expunctions and nondisclosures of eligible charges can greatly improve someone’s ability to get a job, seek a promotion, find housing, or pursue life-changing educational opportunities. Keidra is among the many Legal Aid staff attorneys who assist with this valuable legal work.
But Keidra’s passion for improving the lives of others doesn’t end with her legal work; she also is a published children’s book author. Because one of her sons was only four years old when his grandfather passed, Keidra wrote and published “Adventures With Papa” to help preserve the cherished memories that her father and son shared. She also was driven to publish the book because she recognizes the importance of providing Black children with a representation of characters who look like them. Her youngest son, too, now knows more about his late grandfather, but asks, “Where is my book?” She is considering writing another book with that child in mind.
Today, as a staff attorney with Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas’ Dallas office, Keidra is doing just that every day on behalf of clients. Her work focuses on housing issues, guardianships, consumer rights, and criminal record nondisclosure and expunction for clients who cannot otherwise afford to hire a private attorney. During the recent pandemic, eviction work increased dramatically as both landlords and tenants worked to understand new protections such as eviction pauses and local funding designed to help keep people housed were rapidly rolled out. As most of these protections ended over time, more of Legal Aid’s current housing work is directed at repairs, lockouts, and other landlord/tenant disputes.
According to data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, more than 9 million Texans have a criminal record and more than 1 million new arrests are made annually by Texas law enforcement. Figures listed by Texas Appleseed state that 9 in 10 employers, 4 in 5 landlords, and 3 in 5 colleges conduct criminal background checks. Expunctions and nondisclosures of eligible charges can greatly improve someone’s ability to get a job, seek a promotion, find housing, or pursue life-changing educational opportunities. Keidra is among the many Legal Aid staff attorneys who assist with this valuable legal work.
But Keidra’s passion for improving the lives of others doesn’t end with her legal work; she also is a published children’s book author. Because one of her sons was only four years old when his grandfather passed, Keidra wrote and published “Adventures With Papa” to help preserve the cherished memories that her father and son shared. She also was driven to publish the book because she recognizes the importance of providing Black children with a representation of characters who look like them. Her youngest son, too, now knows more about his late grandfather, but asks, “Where is my book?” She is considering writing another book with that child in mind.