Hurricane Katrina Disaster Resources
Legal information for vicitms and lawyers affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Lawyers Wanting to Volunteer
On January 20, 2006, the Supreme Court of Louisiana issued an Order promulgating a supplemental emergency pro bono civil legal assistance rule to permit non-admitted lawyers to render temporary pro bono civil legal services to victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.
The Order expands the legal services providers and lawyer-supervised pro bono agencies through which pro bono services may be rendered to:
- Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Corporation
- Acadiana Legal Services Corporation
- Capital Area Legal Services Corporation
- Legal Services of North Louisiana, Inc.
- Southwest Louisiana Legal Services Society, Inc.; and
- The Pro Bono Project (New Orleans)
The rule will remain in effect for one year.
View the entire Order which includes information regarding application for a limited certification of pro bono practice in Louisiana. Here is the Application for Out-Of-State Attorneys Seeking to Render Pro Bono Assistance.
Donate your time and expertise to those in need. The ABA is gathering information from individuals who are willing to provide legal assistance to those in need from the events in the Northern Gulf Coast.
I Would Like to Volunteer My Professional Legal Services
Note Regarding FEMA Assistance: Those willing to accept pro bono referrals must be licensed lawyers in one or more of the affected states. If you are not licensed in that state, you may answer the hotline calls, but you cannot give legal advice, only complete the intake form which will then be given to an attorney who is licensed. You need not be licensed or a member of the ABA Young Lawyer Division to operate the hotlines.
See the FEMA-ABA Young Lawyers Division Manual for Disaster Legal Services (Summer 2004, 6.9 MB) for further information about the FEMA-YLD Disaster Legal Services Program.
Related Links & Information
- Emergency/ Disaster Training Manual for Volunteer Lawyers Following
Hurricane Katrina
- September
12, 2005 - Division of Bar Services: Serving the Public Following a Disaster
- Disaster Legal Services Guide prepared by the State Bar of Texas' Hurricane Katrina Task Force, with help from the Houston Bar Association and Texas Young Lawyers Association.
- Emergency Disaster Training Manual for Louisiana Lawyers
- The Florida Bar Foundation's Legal Assistance Disaster Manual.
- LSNY September 11th Report. (Microsoft Word) This report was written by Legal Services of New York to recap their response and efforts after September
- Public Service in a Time of Crisis. This was a 75-page report by the NALP Foundation/City Bar Fund on 9/11 legal relief efforts, and was structured to serve as a guide to the planning/implementation strategies followed here in NYC.
Disaster Resource Manuals
Donate Office Space
Many lawyers and firms have been displaced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The ABA is gathering information from companies and firms who have space they are willing to share with businesses and lawyers.
Katrina Legal Aid Resource Center
Katrina Legal Aid Resource Center, located at www.katrinalegalaid.org, is the result of a partnership among the American Bar Association (ABA), Legal Services Corporation (LSC), National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) and Pro Bono Net. Katrina Legal Aid Resource Center offers a significant number of legal aid, public defender, pro bono and referral resources to persons affected by the hurricanes who must navigate a maze of legal, government and insurance issues, and to advocates and lawyers committed to helping them. The site also offers private attorneys information on how they can assist the many legal aid lawyers and advocates in their efforts to serve communities devastated by this unprecedented tragedy.
