EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS RECEIVES FEDERAL GRANT TO RUN TWO
DISASTER RELIEF LEGAL PROGRAMS IN THE GULF COAST REGION

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 13, 2006) – Equal Justice Works is proud to announce that 10 AmeriCorps Attorneys and 65 law students will provide legal services to the Gulf Coast community, thanks to a $298,075 grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service. With this award, Equal Justice Works will administer two AmeriCorps programs related to the disaster recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: the Katrina Pro Bono Legal Corps (PBLC) and Katrina Summer Corps.

"We are so pleased to receive this additional AmeriCorps funding so that we can help bring equal justice to the Gulf Coast region," said David Stern, Equal Justice Works Chief Executive Officer. "The award will go a long way to help provide critically needed legal assistance to the communities whose lives were disrupted by the damage from the hurricanes."

The 10 AmeriCorps Attorneys serving with the Katrina PBLC will be placed at nonprofit organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to help the hundreds of thousands of people left without homes, jobs, access to health care and social services due to the damage from Hurricane Katrina. These attorneys will recruit hundreds of law students and lawyers to provide many types of disaster-related legal services to those affected by the hurricane.

"AmeriCorps is playing a critical role in helping people put their lives back together after this terrible tragedy and these grants will significantly expand those efforts," said David Eisner, Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, whose agency oversees AmeriCorps. "We think it is essential to offer all the support we can to our partners who are working so hard to help the people of this region."

The following organizations will serve as host organizations for the Katrina PBLC:

• The Louisiana Bar Foundation (www.raisingthebar.org) – Two AmeriCorps Attorneys placed in Baton Rouge will serve Louisiana Katrina victims statewide.
• The Pro Bono Project (www.probono-no.org) – Two AmeriCorps Attorneys will serve Katrina victims in New Orleans.
• North Mississippi Rural Legal Services (www.nmrls.com) – Four AmeriCorps Attorneys will be placed in Oxford, Jackson and Gulfport and will serve Mississippi Katrina victims statewide.
• Legal Services of Alabama (www.alsp.org) – Two AmeriCorps Attorneys placed in Montgomery will serve Alabama Katrina victims statewide.

In addition, Equal Justice Works will add 65 positions to its Summer Corps program for law students who represent the nation's leading law schools. Summer Corps members will provide disaster-related legal services to low-income individuals, families and communities in the Gulf Coast region who would not otherwise have access to justice.

This effort is part of the Equal Justice Works Katrina Initiative, made possible through the support of a $1 million matching grant from the JEHT Foundation. For more information about the initiative, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org/katrina-initiative.

The Corporation for National and Community Service provides opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through three programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America. Together with the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation is working to build a culture of citizenship, service and responsibility in America. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.

Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1986 by law students dedicated to working for equal justice on behalf of underserved communities and causes. Today, Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers as well as in urging more public interest programming at law schools. For more information about Equal Justice Works, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org.

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