Local Pro Bono Efforts
If your state is not yet listed below, please register with the ABA Hurricane Katrina Legal Assistance Database. If you are interested in learning more about local pro bono relief efforts in your state, please contactthe organizations listed below.
Alabama
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Alabama State Bar Association
The Alabama State Bar Volunteer Lawyers Project is coordinating legal relief efforts in Alabama and is currently seeking volunteers admitted in Alabama. Please register online through their Hurricane Katrina Volunteer Relief Center
District of Columbia
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Join the Projects and Clinics practice area on probono.net/dc, hosted by the DC Bar. Be sure to indicate on the form that you are interested in the Katrina Pro Bono Legal Relief Project
Florida
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Florida Supreme Court Order on Multijurisdictional Practice
Georgia
- The State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project, Georgia Legal Services Program and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society are collaborating to coordinate the delivery of legal services to Hurricane Katrina evacuees and households affected by Katrina-spawned tornadoes in Georgia. Legal Services and Volunteer Lawyers may address issues such as disaster food stamps, disaster unemployment insurance benefits, identification and drivers license replacement, insurance claims issues, and may help with matching evacuees with an appropriate legal aid program here in Georgia or in their home state. Lawyers may volunteer and access support materials on our statewide volunteer lawyer support site, georgiaadvocates.org/GOJC. For more informationcontact Mike Monahan, (404) 527-8762 or mike@gabar.org.
Indiana
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Indiana Supreme Court Order allowing Temporary Provisional Licenses for Displaced Attorneys from Alabama, Louisiana, & Mississippi.
Louisiana
- 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)
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.
- The Louisiana State Bar Association, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, Legal Services of North Louisiana, Acadiana Legal Service Corporation, and Capital Area Legal Services Corporation are collaborating to coordinate the delivery of legal services to Hurricane Katrina evacuees and households affected by the disaster in Louisiana. Southeast Louisiana Legal Services has established a Disaster Legal Project to address FEMA and other disaster-related issues for displaced southeast Louisiana residents, and to act as an information and referral clearinghouse for out-of-state advocates helping displaced Louisiana residents. To volunteer and access support materials on the statewide advocate support site, register for www.probono.net/la. For further information, call (318) 222-7186, ext. 243 or toll-free 877-521-6242.
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Please consider volunteering for a pro bono case through the Orleans Indigent Defender Board.
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Louisiana Supreme Court Resolution on Procedures to Shorten or Lift the Suspension of Legal Deadlines.
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Louisiana Governor's order suspending deadlines in legal proceedings in courts, administrative agencies, and boards in jurisdictions affected by Hurricane Rita until November 25, 2005.
Mississippi
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Please volunteer with the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project.
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Mississippi Supreme Court Order allowing practice through the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project.
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Mississippi Supreme Court Order allowing practice through the Mississippi Bar Young Lawyers Division.
New York
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Contact Maria Imperial at mimperial@nycbar.org at the New York City Bar.
North Carolina
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Contact Michelle Cofield atmcofield@ncbar.org at the North Carolina Bar.
Ohio
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Ohio Supreme Court Order Allowing Temporary Admission to Practice for Attorneys from Alabama, Louisiana, & Mississippi
Texas
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Join the Disaster Reliefpractice area onTexasLawyersHelp.org, the statewide advocate website for pro bono attorneys. Access the calendar of trainings/events, news, library resources, email updates, and other support.
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State Bar of Texas
Visit www.texasbar.com or email the Texas Lawyers Care Department at tlcmail@texasbar.com.
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To volunteer in Houston, contact the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program (HVLP). HVLP is running Legal Advice Clinics and hosting a Legal Advice Hotline for Katrina victims.
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Texas Supreme Court Emergency Order Permitting Lawyers Displaced by Hurricane Katrina to Continue Representing Clients from Temporary Offices in Texas
Tennessee
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Contact the Tennessee Bar Association
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Tennessee Supreme Court Order Allowing Temporary Practice by Attorneys Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
Virginia
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The Virginia State Barhas established a Hurricane Katrina Legal Assistance Fundand has asked Virginia lawyers to volunteer to help victims of the disaster.