MESSAGE FROM STATE BAR PRESIDENT EDUARDO R. RODRIGUEZ

Over the past few days, we have all watched the terrible devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Many of us have made donations to organizations that can provide basic necessities to help our neighbors.

The State Bar of Texas has received numerous calls from Texas lawyers seeking ways to assist. Many of you have offered office space and housing. Many of you have expressed an interest in providing legal assistance to those who have been displaced as well as helping fellow lawyers rebuild their practices.

The State Bar has established a task force to coordinate with and offer support to local, state, and national bar associations that are providing assistance to displaced citizens from Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. The Bar will send State Bar employees to Louisiana to help the Louisiana State Bar with communications, coordination, and other organizational issues. We will coordinate with the American Bar Association and FEMA as disaster response centers are set up throughout Texas to help those victimized by Hurricane Katrina.

Over the next few weeks the State Bar website (www.texasbar.com) will be updated as more information and opportunities for volunteer assistance are identified. As tens of thousands of those displaced by the hurricane come to our cities, there will be a great need for help. While bar associations and relief organizations in those locations will be in the best position to identify the needs, the State Bar of Texas will support their efforts and coordinate ways that the entire profession can impact those who need our help.

Some of the ways you can assist include:

www.redcross.org - Currently the biggest need is for financial assistance to help victims on the most basic human level. Evacuating the storm-devastated regions, and supplying food, water, medical assistance, and clothing are priorities. Financial gifts to the organization of your choice that provides rescue operations is the highest priority at this point.

www.lawhelp.org/program/921 - Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) provides free legal aid for low-income people with civil legal problems in a 10-parish area in southeast Louisiana. This site provides a link to PayPal for contributions to SLLS legal services relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

www.abanet.org - The American Bar Association/Young Lawyers Division is the entity that will coordinate with FEMA to provide legal assistance to those who have been impacted by the hurricane and its aftermath. Once the disaster response center locations have been identified in Texas, the State Bar will help local lawyer organizations identify lawyers willing to offer assistance.

Lawyers Assistance for Lawyers – Once people’s basic needs are met, the rebuilding will begin. Many lawyers have lost their homes, offices, and practices. Texas lawyers can continue to offer temporary office space and living areas to those displaced by the storm. The Louisiana Bar Association has created a Legal Community Relief Fund that will be administered by the Baton Rouge Bar Foundation. Donations to that fund, which will primarily provide financial assistance to help lawyers reestablish their practices, should be sent to: Hurricane Katrina Legal Community Relief Fund, c/0 Baton Rouge Bar Foundation, 544 Main St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802. For information about the fund, contact Ann Scarle at ann@brba.org or call (225)344-4803. The Mississippi Bar is in the process of setting up a similar fund.

The State Bar of Texas stands ready to help the people and lawyers of Louisiana in whatever ways it can. Local bar associations are to be commended for their great efforts in identifying and meeting the needs of those who have come to us with no place else to go. For updates, please visit your local bar association website and www.texasbar.com

Your generosity and compassion are an inspiration to me and I know will make a tremendous impact on the people and lawyers of Louisiana. Please let us know of other ways the State Bar of Texas can provide assistance and support.

Submitted by Randall Jackson
rjackson14@satx.rr.com