HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORTS: AN UPDATE

Dear Member:

I write some six weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast area to report to you what has been done in the interim by lawyers in this state and across the nation to assist the victims of that disaster, and also to provide information on how those wishing to continue to provide help may do so.

I am very pleased and proud to report that the attorneys in Connecticut and nationally were true to their profession’s heritage of helping those in need. Cash, in-kind contributions, and services were all donated with boundless generosity. In Connecticut:

The Connecticut Bar Association joined with the Connecticut Bar Foundation in establishing a Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund and soliciting contributions from their members. The allocation of these funds among the many worthy potential recipients was deferred until we could better assess how those funds now totaling more than $12,000.00 could best be distributed. The CBA’s Board of Governors decided at it’s recent meeting to recommend an equal division of these monies between the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (which has established a fund to assist it’s staff and attorneys employed in the legal aid offices devastated by the hurricane) and the Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (which is the legal aid program serving New Orleans and the surrounding parishes). We will be meeting shortly with the Connecticut Bar Foundation to finalize this, but there is still time to make a donation. If you have not already done so, I ask you to send a generous check to the Connecticut Bar Foundation-Hurricane Relief Fund, 31 Pratt Street, Suite 420, Hartford, Connecticut 06103-1631.

The CBA Young Lawyers Section immediately rose to the occasion with a state-wide drive led by Seth Wilson to collect and sort the food items and household supplies so desperately needed by the evacuees. Thus far, they have collected and delivered two trailer loads of such supplies, and they will continue to collect items through the end of this month a the Teamster Warehouse, 550 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut (203-386-8388). Rani Mathura of the YLS was appointed to the ABA’s Hurricane Katrina Task Force by President Greco and served with such distinction that she was recognized with a special award.

We are especially proud of these hard working, selfless young lawyers.

Law Firms- large and small-raised funds by bake sales, dress-down days, and matching fund challenges from the firms, with the result that hundreds of thousands of dollars were donated to the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other relief agencies trying to meet the immediate needs of the victims for food, shelter and medical care.

Connecticut lawyers, including our immediate past president, Fred Ury, helped to find employment in the legal field for at least four displaced lawyers from the Gulf Coast area.

The Connecticut law schools joined with their colleagues across the country in offering places for law students in New Orleans who saw their law schools destroyed as they wee readying to begin the academic year. UCONN Law School ended up with six students from Tulane and Loyola and Yale took in two J.D. candidates. If you are interested in helping any of those students, you can contact Dean Nell Jessup Newton  at email nnewton@law.uconn.edu or make a contribution to the University of Connecticut Law School Foundation, 45 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06105 or contact Associate Dean Megan A. Barnett at Yale Law School at email megan.barnett@yale.edu.

Finally, the ABA Task Force will continue to provide legal aid and other help and services to the hurricane victims. If you want to help in any way, please explore your options at www.abanet.org/katrina.

Once again our profession has given of it’s time, talent and treasure to help the least fortunate among us. I thank you very, very much for doing so.

Sincerely,

Louis R Pepe
President