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

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 19, 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. Maria Luisa Mercado has been appointed as an Equal Justice Works Katrina Legal Fellow at Lone Star Legal Aid in Galveston, Texas. The fellowship is funded by the Ohio State Bar Foundation Hurricane Katrina Legal Relief Fund.

Through this fellowship, Ms. Mercado will give legal advice and brief service to the large number of clients affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and will represent individuals and families on cases that require extended service, particularly in the areas of housing, consumer rights and income maintenance.

"As a resident of Galveston, I was affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Rita," Ms. Mercado said. "Seeing this destruction prompted me to assist in rebuilding my neighboring communities and serve in this fellowship. This project will enable me to use my legal skills to help people as they attempt to put their lives back together again."

Mercado is a former legal aid attorney, assistant Texas Attorney General and regional manager of the consumer protection division-Lubbock region. She also operated a private practice in Lubbock and Galveston, Texas. Mercado has been active in public interest law at the state level as board member of the Texas League of Women Voters, Texas Commission for Women and the Texas advisory board of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. On the national level, Mercado has served on the board of directors for The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Legal Services Corporation and Housing Assistance Council. She authored a chapter in A Voice of Our Own, a book by the League of Women Voters with distinguished contributors including Rosalynn Carter, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Betty Ford and Condoleeza Rice.

"Maria will be a tremendous asset for our clients in recovering from last years hurricanes and in preparing for the future," said Paul Furrh, Executive Director of Lone Star Legal Aid.

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; Ohio State Bar Foundation Hurricane Katrina Legal Relief Fund; Pfizer Inc; and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP. For more information about the initiative, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org/katrina-initiative.

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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