TEXAS LAWYER AWARDED FELLOWSHIP TO HELP RESIDENTS
AFFECTED BY HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 13, 2006) – One of nine experienced public interest lawyers who will provide legal services to Gulf Cost residents in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has been selected by Equal Justice Works. Megan Kraatz has been appointed as an Equal Justice Works Katrina Legal Fellow at Texas Appleseed, an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit organization dedicated to building a just society.

Kraatz will work with community organizations and governmental entities to aid hurricane survivors who face problems such as foreclosure, eviction, labor abuses, insurance disputes, inadequate access to health care and disruption of public benefits. To help hurricane survivors address legal conflicts, Kraatz will initiate or participate in policy changes or litigation against systemic violators, possibly including lenders, government agencies and landlords. Other stategies may include developing a mediation program to help hurricane survivors address conflicts without litigation.

"Hurricane evacuees' struggles highlight the need to have systemic changes in place to prevent catastrophes from having such an impact in the future," Kraatz said. "My goal working at Texas Appleseed is to help establish better systems to aid future crises."

"Megan is a tremendous asset to us as we work to address major, pervasive issues affecting hurricane evacuees living in Texas and other areas," said Rebecca Lightsey, Executive Director of Texas Appleseed. "Through her work, we will touch the lives of many evacuees and help them as they reclaim their livelihoods. We are most grateful to Equal Justice Works for making this fellowship possible."

Previously, Kraatz served as an associate attorney for Andrews Kurth LLP in Austin, Texas. She also served as a judicial clerk for Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson of the Supreme Court of Texas. Kraatz earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law.

The Equal Justice Works Katrina Initiative has been established to address the many legal needs of the areas hardest hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Through three programs under the initiative, Equal Justice Works is placing a total of 19 lawyers and 65 law students at nonprofit organizations located in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas 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 the hurricanes.

The Equal Justice Works Katrina Initiative is made possible through the support of a $1 million matching grant from the JEHT Foundation. The following groups have contributed to fund the program: The Association of Corporate Counsel; Corporation for National and Community Service; Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; Greenberg Traurig, LLP; Latham & Watkins LLP; Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo P.C.; Nixon Peabody LLP; Pfizer Inc; and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP. For more information about the initiative, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org/katrina-initiative.

Texas Appleseed leverages the skills and resources of lawyers and firms across Texas to take on some of the state's most important legal and social issues. Texas Appleseed tackles root causes of problems rather than individual symptoms and works to create viable solutions at a local level. For more information about Texas Appleseed, visit www.texasappleseed.net.

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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