National Disaster

 

Since Katrina, law students have taken an active role as volunteers in disaster legal response and recovery. The legal clinics across the county have been an integral part in that disaster legal response, none perhaps more so than Touro Law School.  Those involved in the law school disaster response network would like to offer this page as a resource for law schools and law students to use as a springboard for their disaster response volunteer efforts.  

The Student Hurricane Network was a national network of law students dedicated to advancing the cause of social justice in communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by coordinating volunteer efforts, aiding public interest organizations, and educating members of the legal community about legal crises in the region. 

The Student Hurricane Network's website, *http://www.studentjustice.org*, will continue to exist in order to provide useful tools in trip planning, organizational contact information, and as a forum for contacting other students who plan to volunteer. 

How To Start a Disaster Law Clinic

Touro's Disaster Law Clinic Handbook- Restoring Power: How a Law School Responded to Superstorm Sandy

Below you will find a compilation of law school and clinic resources that could also be beneficial.

DISASTER ASSISTANCE LEGAL CLINICS AND EFFORTS

New York

• Touro Law Center- Disaster Relief Clinic and their current Sandy project TLC-HEART
• Hofstra University- Maurice A. Deane School of Law- Disaster Recovery Clinic
• University of Buffalo School of Law - Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic
• Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law - Disaster Relief Projects 
• Columbia Law School - Hurricane María Legal Assistance: Building a Legal Corps for Puerto Rico This is a collaboration with la Mesa de Trabajo de Acceso a la Justicia (Access to Justice Roundtable), the legal clinics at the University of Puerto Rico and Interamerican University Schools of Law and the Colectivo Accion Legal, as well as institutions in the U.S. like Columbia Law School. Efforts focus on organizing and training lawyers (preferably bilingual) who will be able to help with post-disaster relief legal aid assistance.

Puerto Rico

Escuela de Derecho de la Universidad de Puerto Rico - Clínica Notarial (ownership issues after Hurricane María) 

Louisiana

Southern University Law Center - Disaster Recovery Law Clinic

Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin Law School - Legal Assistance for Disaster Relief

California

Pepperdine Law - Disaster Relief Clinic

Texas

• Ongoing- SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas,  Disaster Assistance legal clinic. 
• South Texas College of Law - Animal Law Clinic (*As the initial outreach of the ALC, law students and faculty directors are creating a comprehensive disaster readiness manual in response to the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey on area animals. The manual will set out specific protocols and best practices for animal protection before, during, and after catastrophic events.)
• The Randall O. Sorrels Legal Clinic at South Texas College of Law Houston is accepting FEMA appeals for Houston residents whose Harvey claims have been denied. 

Pennsylvania

• Temple Law School - Disaster Relief Clinic: American Red Cross (SEPA)
• University of Pennsylvania Law School - Pro Bono FEMA Legal Clinic

LAW SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES WITH DISASTER-RELATED CLASSES OR PROGRAMS

• University of California, Berkeley Law- Disaster Law
• Pace Elisabeth Haub School of Law - Disaster Law and Emergency Preparedness
• University of Texas Law School at Austin- Disaster Preparedness Law
• Tulane University - Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy
• UCLA School of Law - Disaster Law and Climate Risks

OTHER LAW SCHOOL PRO BONO EFFORTS

• Harvard Law School - Hurricane María Relief Projects - Puerto Rico
• Roger Williams University School of Law - Spring Break in Puerto Rico — Helping Hurricane Victims
• Stetson University College of Law - Disaster Research Project

RELATED RESOURCES

• University of Miami Law School: Helping Haiti in the Wake of Disaster: Law Students as First Responders
• University of Mississippi School of Law- Document Replacement Kit
• Cornell University Law School - Cornell Legal Research Clinic - Consultation Paper on Man-Made Disasters
• University of California, Berkeley: Disaster Law and Inequality
• Columbus School of Law: Service & Learning in Time of Disaster
• The Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law: A Practice Area in Development: Disaster Law

ARTICLES

• Engaging the Legal Academy in Disaster Response
• Natural Disaster and Access to Justice - City University of New York School of Law Law Review September 2014