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ABA Disaster Legal Services Hotlines:
If
you are seeking legal help because of the disaster,
the ABA Young Lawyers Division/FEMA toll-free hotline
is:
Alabama: 1-800-354-6154
Louisiana: 1-800-310-7029
Mississippi: 1-866-255-4495
Texas: 1-800-504-7030
State Bar of Texas/Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the volume of calls into
the Northern Gulf Coast region, these numbers may
not connect upon each attempt.
FEMA General Information
How
to get help or help disaster victims
FEMA:
The Disaster Assistance Process for Individuals
A
Message from Arkansas Bar Association President A.
Glenn Vasser
"It is with great empathy and sincere sorrow
that we view the scenes of devastation from Hurricane
Katrina to our neighboring states, and our Association
stands ready to assist in relief efforts in every
way possible. I commend our 4,800 members for their
many individual contributions to the relief efforts
for the victims of this catastrophic, unprecedented
natural disaster. Our hearts go out to these fellow
Americans."
Complete
Statement of President Vasser
Below
are suggestions for financial assistance to general
relief efforts, financial assistance to attorneys
whose offices were destroyed, and pro bono legal help
and other forms of assistance to hurricane victims
who are now living in Arkansas.
The
Young Lawyers Section of the Arkansas Bar Association
is implementing our disaster assistance plan as it
has done with past disasters in Arkansas and adjoining
states. Soon all Association members will be provided
with information on how they can provide pro bono
legal help to hurricane victims who are living in
Arkansas. Members may contact YLS Chair Patrick Wilson
about their desire to volunteer: pwilson@wlj.com.
One
of the best sources of information for helping hurricane
victims in Arkansas is www.kare.arkansas.gov
.
TO
DONATE FINANCIALLY:
American Red Cross
Each
year, the American Red Cross responds immediately
to more than 70,000
disasters, including house fires (the majority of
disaster responses), hurricanes,
floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other natural
and man-made disasters.
American
Red Cross National Headquarters
2025 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 303-4498
To make a donation:
(800) HELP-NOW (800-435-7669) or visit www.redcross.org.
The Louisiana State
Bar Association has established the Hurricane
Katrina Legal Community
Relief Fund to help assist lawyers who lost their
homes and offices in the storm. The Relief Fund is
being administered by
the Baton Rouge Bar Association. Send donations to:
Hurricane
Katrina Legal Community Relief Fund
c/o Baton Rouge Bar
Foundation
544 Main Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
The
Mississippi Bar Foundation is collecting donations
to help lawyers
re-establish their practices.
Send donations to:
Hurricane Katrina Legal
Community Relief Fund
c/o Mississippi Bar
Foundation
P O Box 2168
Jackson MS 39225-2168.
To
Volunteer Office Space and Housing for Displaced Attorneys:
The
Louisiana State Bar Association has established
a message board www.lafayettebar.org/forum/
where you can post offers of help such as housing,
employment, etc.
The
Atlanta Bar Association's website, www.attorneyassist.org,
assists members of the legal community to post the
help they are offering members of the legal community
who have been displaced by the Hurricane.
Other
Information and Resources:
The American Bar Association has established
a website to assist those attorneys who are providing
assistance to people whose lives have been shattered.
The website will be continually updated over the coming
weeks as more information and resources are made available.
The website may be accessed via the ABA homepage at
www.abanet.org
where you can volunteer to provide legal assistance,
find information on making donations for disaster
relief and receive guidance on how you can most effectively
help the victims of the hurricane.
Emergency Disaster Training Manual for Louisiana
Lawyers: This manual has important information
about how lawyers can assist persons affected by Hurricane
Katrina. http://www.lsba.org/home1/trainingmanual.asp
FEMA
Disaster Assistance Manual: This manual is most
helpful in providing assistance to hurricane victims.
Link
to FEMA Manual
Adopt-A-Family
Program Established by American College of Mortgage
Attorneys: If you wish to assist individual employees
of law firms in the gulf coast areas devastated by
Hurricane Katrina, contact the below individuals who
will connect you with a family in need.
Bev Levy or Grace Jan
American College of Mortgage Attorneys
15245 Shady Grove Road - Suite 130
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Phone: 301-990-9075 - Fax: 301-990-9771
acma@mgmtsol.com
Arkansas
Lawyer's Assistance Program (ArLAP): Hurricane
Katrina is bringing LA and MS lawyers and their families
to Arkansas. ArLAP is working with the lawyer's assistance
programs in states affected to help provide crises
counseling and resource networking. Services available
may be found by accessing http://www.arlap.org
. (ArLAP was established to provide statewide services
to lawyers, judges, their family members, and colleagues
who may suffer from the effects of alcohol, drug abuse,
mental health, physical disabilities, aging concerns
or trauma which may impair their ability to practice
law.)
Arkansas
Supreme Court Order: On September 8th the Arkansas
Supreme Court issued an emergency order authorizing
some refugee attorneys from Louisiana, Mississippi
and Alabama to practice law in Arkansas for 60 days
as if they were in their home state. The privilege
applies to attorneys holding valid law licenses issued
by Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama, and who are
in good standing with their respective state bar and
who are displaced from their home jurisdiction due
to Hurricane Katrina. The Supreme Court acted after
receiving a petition from the Arkansas Bar Association.
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