ABA Division for Bar Services: 09/11/01 Resources

Part II: Assisting Members in an Emergency

Many bar associations have articulated plans for helping the public during an emergency, but has the organization given systematic thought to how it might be of assistance to its own members? This paper is designed to stimulate thinking about the ways your bar association might address the issue.

Your bar association might begin by creating a timeline. What steps can you take prior to an emergency? How will you prepare? Then, considering your local risks, what needs might members have during an emergency? Immediately following an emergency? Over the short-term? And the medium- to long-term? The bar association has an opportunity to anticipate the risks and create an inventory of possible responses that can be immediately used or modified in the event of an actual emergency situation. Guidelines and examples of actions taken are outlined below.

Emergency Preparedness
Ensure that the bar association is as prepared as it can be
It is a lot easier to help others when your own employees are safe and your infrastructure is intact. Every bar association should take the time to evaluate potential risks and develop an emergency preparedness plan. Please see the first white paper of this series, Putting Together a Bar Association Emergency Preparedness Plan, for details and resources.

Encourage and help members to be as prepared as they can be
Your bar association can serve as a clearinghouse for information on emergency planning and preparedness. For example, the bar should consider

Making available FEMA's Emergency Management Guide, a comprehensive guide to emergency preparedness planning
Printing journal articles on emergency planning.
Identifying individuals who can assist members with emergency planning strategies (either through the bar association or external organizations)
Creating emergency planning seminars through CLE and practice management seminars

Also, we encourage you to share with your members the Division for Bar Services Law Firm Crisis Management Resources: A Bibliography, for more than 100 other references.

During and After an Emergency Situation
Every emergency situation is different and, in the event of a disaster, a bar association will need to evaluate the particular circumstances as it asks, "What problems can we help members solve?" In past emergencies, bar associations have assisted members by:

Providing shelter during an emergency
Providing lawyers with temporary office space, phones and computers
Coordinating/serving as a clearinghouse for donations (use of office space, equipment, money)
Coordinating with other agencies to provide volunteers, pro bono assistance
Providing emotional/psychological support through the Lawyer Assistance Program or through another appropriate bar entity
Working with the courts to deal with rescheduling, backlogs, and other issues
Keeping members apprised of court changes
Issuing a statement about any bar-sponsored public assistance
Helping clients locate displaced lawyers
Assisting firms with data recovery

It may be appropriate for the bar to revisit requirements placed on lawyers. Following Hurricane Floyd, for example, North Carolina waived that year's CLE requirement for affected lawyers who appealed in writing.

Partnership Opportunities
There are numerous bar organizations in every state that are willing to assist in an emergency situation. The challenge lies not so much in finding volunteers, but in coordinating the various relief activities. At a minimum, national, state, local and special-focus bar associations can decide how they will communicate with one another in the event of a disaster. Who are the key contacts? Then, should an area face a crisis situation, bars can quickly outline who takes the lead on which issues. For example, the state bar may have resources, but not the targeted reach of a local bar association. It may make sense for the state bar to spearhead coordination with the court or with state government. The bar avoids duplicative efforts and spends its resources most effectively when it isn't tripping over others' toes.

Other partnership opportunities should also be explored. Currently, the New York State Bar Association is working with the New York Lawyers Diary and Manual to track information about displaced lawyers and to provide a centralized site to inform colleagues and the public about their new locations. In partnership with its endorsed insurance carrier, the NYSBA is providing information and resources on its Web site. Identify the strengths of vendors and other organizations, and consider how those strengths might be utilized to benefit your members.

How Will the Bar Association Communicate the Availability of Services to Members?
The September terrorist attacks destroyed or made unavailable many New York law offices. How would your bar association contact members who do not have access to their offices? Does your bar association collect member home addresses, alternative phone numbers (especially cell phone numbers) or email for emergency use? Is that information appropriately secure? For example, if the bar was forced to evacuate its physical premises, would it still have access to that data?

The bar's Web site can serve as a centralized location for member resources. The NYSBA, the New York County Lawyers Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York have used their Web sites to offer assistance to members by including links to insurance and technology resources, FAQs for lawyers and the public, offers of assistance from staffing companies, free job postings, as well as "Breaking News" for lawyers on court proceedings and deadlines. Content can be posted fairly quickly and easily modified but, unless the site becomes a central resource, information is not guaranteed to all reach members. Email or listserves also can be useful for quickly disseminating information about services the bar association is making available. Take note of whether member email addresses are directed toward their homes or offices.

Newspapers, radio and television may be of some use. During an emergency situation, however, there are no shortage of stories and the bar should not count on much attention from mainstream media. Under certain circumstances, the bar association might want to consider taking out a paid advertisement. During recent events, legal journals have been a very valuable vehicle for bar associations that want to convey information to the legal community.

Who Will be Responsible for New Activities Spurred by an Emergency?
As your bar association generates an inventory of risks and responses, it should also take note of bar entities that can take on additional responsibility. Many state bars have a mass disaster team that primarily deals with the delivery of legal services to the public. The board may want to give it (or a subgroup) responsibility for delivery of services to members as well. Bar associations that do not have such a structure can look to existing committees and sections. For example, the president-elect might convene a coordinating task force that includes chairs of the lawyer assistance program, CLE, law practice management, and membership committees to outline the appropriate services to be provided to members.

Consider how you might temporarily restructure staff responsibilities in the event of an emergency. Are there activities that could be temporarily suspended or modified to suit immediate needs? Identify contacts and relationships staff members already have and that can be utilized. For example, which staff members have good contacts with the media; local, state and federal government; government agencies; and social services organizations? Finally, consider how you will facilitate communication among the staff about the bar association's new services and priorities.

In an emergency, bar associations provide assistance to members as an act of support and solidarity, and because it's the right thing to do. Nevertheless, if there ever was an opportunity for a bar to solidify its relationship with members, crisis situations are among the most important. With some thoughtful planning, bar associations can be prepared to identify and meet the needs of its core constituency.