Hurricanes Katrina and Rita physically devastated the Gulf Coast region and disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of families and individuals in some of the poorest communities in the nation. In the aftermath, there is an unprecedented need for legal assistance, exacerbated by the fact that the Gulf Coast region has the lowest level of funding for legal aid programs in the country.

Equal Justice Works has obtained a $1 million matching grant from the JEHT Foundation to sponsor public interest attorneys to work in the Gulf Coast region for up to two years, providing direct legal services to Gulf Coast residents in need and generating pro bono opportunities for lawyers and law students.

To date, Equal Justice Works has raised more than $520,000, which will be matched dollar for dollar by the JEHT Foundation. Equal Justice Works thanks the following donors for their contributions to fund the Equal Justice Works Katrina Initiative:

• Association of Corporate Counsel
  
• Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
  
• Greenberg Traurig, LLP
  
• Latham & Watkins LLP
  
• Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo P.C.
  
• Pfizer Inc
  
• Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
  

Thanks to the generosity of ALM, public service advertisements recognizing the contributions from law firms and corporations have appeared in various ALM publications the past several weeks. The public service advertisements will continue over the next several months.

With these and additional funds, Equal Justice Works will place nine Katrina Legal Fellows at host organizations in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. After reviewing 28 applications from prospective host organizations, Equal Justice Works has narrowed the finalists to 12 sites and expects to select the nine projects within the next week. Host organizations propose to:

• Promote short- and long-term stabilization and community rebuilding efforts;
  
• Provide direct legal representation on issues such as housing, consumer fraud and FEMA and other government benefits;
  
• Encourage the use of varied strategies to address the legal needs of hurricane victims;
  
• Identify significant legal issues to refer to pro bono attorneys and law students; and
  
• Encourage collaboration among the affected legal communities, disaster relief legal aid providers and the Katrina Legal Fellows.

To fill the nine slots for Katrina Legal Fellows, Equal Justice Works is looking for experienced lawyers who will be able to hit the ground running to start addressing the urgent needs. Within two weeks following the announcement of the Equal Justice Works Katrina Initiative, 80 lawyers (half of whom are licensed in Mississippi or Louisiana) expressed interest in applying for the program.

In addition to raising money from law firms, corporations and other sources to fund the Katrina Legal Fellows, Equal Justice Works has applied to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) for 10 additional AmeriCorps attorneys to work in the Gulf Coast as part of the Equal Justice Works Katrina Initiative. These additional attorneys, if approved, will serve at host organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The new members will recruit hundreds of law students and pro bono lawyers to provide vital disaster-related legal services to hurricane victims, including:

• Coordinating a statewide legal emergency hotline in Louisiana;
  
• Assisting hurricane evacuees in FEMA camps and other temporary housing facilities across Alabama to overcome legal barriers to securing permanent housing; and
  
• Educating community members in Mississippi on new Internal Revenue Service tax rules benefiting those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The proposal to CNCS also requests funding for 65 new slots in the Equal Justice Works 2006 Summer Corps program for law students to do disaster relief work in the Gulf Coast. Any first- or second-year law student who obtains a summer internship at a nonprofit organization providing legal assistance to hurricane victims in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana or Texas is eligible for the Katrina Summer Corps. We expect an answer to our CNCS grant request by the end of January.

Beyond meeting immediate, hurricane-related legal needs, the Equal Justice Works Katrina Initiative will foster the development of long-term pro bono and legal aid infrastructures.