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Fund established by VBA to help rebuild Gulf Coast's legal infrastructure
VBA and VSB presidents issue joint
statement of support for relief effort American Bar Association sets up website with information on relief efforts VBA/YLD disaster legal assistance contacts Richmond Times-Dispatch
article announcing fund, Virginia Lawyers Weekly article on VBA relief efforts, Sept. 5 (PDF) Free Lance-Star article on results of lawyers' relief efforts to date, Oct. 20 Links of Interest
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VBA Creates Fund
to Assist Rebuilding All members of the legal profession in Virginia are invited
to make donations to help their Gulf Coast colleagues. Contributions received
by the Fund will be sent as gifts to the state bars of Mississippi, Louisiana
and Alabama, which will serve as clearinghouses for legal assistance efforts. The relief fund has been established under the auspices of The Virginia Bar Association Foundation, a 501(c)(3) entity which conducts and supports charitable and educational purposes of The Virginia Bar Association, and has the full support of the Virginia State Bar, the government agency that regulates the legal profession in Virginia. The Fund is open to all Virginia lawyers, judges and citizens and is intended to help colleagues in the Gulf States rebuild the legal infrastructure in the affected areas. “Our primary goal in this effort is to help the public,
the people who have been affected so seriously, by helping the lawyers
in the Gulf Coast region have the practical resources they need to serve
their fellow citizens,” said VBA President James V. Meath of Richmond. “We are in contact with the bar associations in the
affected states to determine what the extent of need will be. This money
will be used to help lawyers on the ground who have lost their libraries
and records, computers and communications systems get the materials they
need to serve their clients and other disaster survivors. “It is our hope that the assistance fund will provide
a ready vehicle for voluntary contributions by lawyers across Virginia
to help the Gulf Coast public via the continuing services of our lawyer
colleagues who are on the scene there. Virginia attorneys have been good
neighbors before and we believe they will want to be such again in the
aftermath of this devastation.” The Gulf Coast fund will be similar to successful efforts the VBA coordinated in 1992 to aid the Florida Bar after Hurricane Andrew, in 1997 to help the North Dakota Bar after catastrophic flooding, and in 1999 to assist Southeastern Virginia attorneys whose practices were impacted by flooding of the Blackwater River caused by Hurricane Floyd. After the North Dakota floods in 1997, funds raised by
the VBA helped the State Bar of North Dakota set up free hotlines and
toll-free numbers for legal services, provide communications links between
attorneys, their clients and court offices, and recruit professional restoration
specialists to reconstruct ruined documents and records. In 1999, following Hurricane Floyd, the VBA spearheaded
a statewide relief effort for Franklin and Southampton County lawyers,
many of whom had lost their offices, libraries, computers and communications
systems to flooding. A fund established within the VBA Foundation received
numerous donations, including a major gift from the Virginia Law Foundation.
It was decided to use the flood relief fund, which eventually totaled
more than $32,000, for the creation of a centralized law library at the
Southampton County Courthouse in Courtland, with computers providing access
to electronic resources for lawyers. In addition to its fundraising efforts, the VBA Young
Lawyers Division has teamed with the Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers
Conference to provide free legal assistance to Virginians following emergencies
and natural disasters in various areas of the Commonwealth during the
past two decades. These groups will also stand ready as may be needed
to augment local efforts and those of the American Bar Association. Persons and organizations wishing to contribute to
the disaster relief effort may send tax-deductible donations to The Virginia
Bar Association Foundation - Hurricane Katrina Legal Assistance Fund,
701 East Franklin Street, Suite 1120, Richmond, VA 23219, or use the online
form (see button at left). Questions may be directed to the VBA office
at (804) 644-0041. |
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Justice Hassell, VSB President Anderson issue open letter to all Virginia
lawyers The letter, issued September 8, 2005, reads as follows: All Virginians have been dismayed by the destruction, dislocation, and loss of life caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The Supreme Court of Virginia and the Virginia State Bar have had discussions with representatives of the judicial systems and bar organizations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. We have also had discussions with representatives of the National Center for State Courts. We plan to offer assistance that will enable judicial systems and lawyers in the affected states to resume operations as soon as possible. We hope that every Virginia lawyer will donate at least ten hours to help our fellow Americans who are in need. We believe that several thousand victims of the storm will relocate to Virginia and many of these persons will need legal assistance. The Virginia State Bar is making the services of its Lawyer Referral Service available with no consultation fee to storm victims. The Legal Services Corporation of Virginia has authorized its legal aid offices to waive financial eligibility requirements in order to provide limited services and referrals for storm victims in Virginia. We do not expect Virginia lawyers to advise or counsel persons about matters of local law in the affected states. Disaster assistance centers will be opened and staffed by licensed lawyers from each state. Virginia lawyers who volunteer, however, will be offered free, convenient training and materials to assist them in providing basic information about government benefits that are available to hurricane victims who have relocated to Virginia. We will also provide training that will enable lawyers to advise victims about issues of Virginia law related to their relocation. Volunteers will receive CLE credits for attending training seminars. Training will be provided by the Young Lawyers Conference of the Virginia State Bar and the Young Lawyers Division of the Virginia Bar Association, who have partnered for more than a decade to deliver disaster emergency legal services in the aftermath of storms and floods. We hope that every active member of the Virginia State Bar will volunteer to provide pro bono legal services to these fellow Americans. Please complete the form that accompanies this letter indicating your willingness to help. Thank you in advance for your commitment. Very truly yours, Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr., Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia Phillip V. Anderson, President, Virginia State Bar |
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VBA and VSB Presidents
Issue Joint Statement Along with the lives of millions of other people, the legal communities of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina, according to VBA President James V. Meath and VSB President Phillip V. Anderson. In a joint statement issued September 1, the two presidents said:
The Virginia State Bar is the government agency that regulates the legal profession. It is an administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia. It is supported through the licensing dues paid by all Virginia lawyers, and it is governed by a council of lawyers elected or appointed from every judicial circuit in Virginia. The Virginia Bar Association is a voluntary organization of Virginia lawyers committed to serving the public and the legal profession by promoting the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and excellence in the legal profession; working to improve the law and the administration of justice; and advancing collegial relations among lawyers. Return to Top |
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Disaster Legal Assistance You may complete a volunteer form and return it to the Virginia State Bar office. For more information, please contact the Committee Co-Chairs: Ryan W. Boggs, (804) 783-6928, rboggs@williamsmullen.com; Richard H. Ottinger, (757) 446-8673, rottinger@vanblk.com. Lawyers can sign up online to volunteer to provide pro
bono services and/or take part in a phone bank being put together
by the American Bar Association. Attorneys who are licensed to practice
in the affected states are needed most, but lawyers who are not licensed
in those states are still encouraged to sign up. To
volunteer, click here. |
