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| Katrina
Relief: Nothing that
I read or saw in the media prepared me for what I saw when I visited
the Gulf coast with a team of MSBA colleagues in mid-January. Four and a half months after Hurricane Katrina
devastated much of the coastal areas from Mobile to New Orleans, I
was still overwhelmed by the breadth of destruction and what remains
to be done. Seeing it personally,
and connecting with the people there who are working heroically to
rebuild, has left a lasting impression on me. Elsewhere in this issue
of Bench & Bar you can read more about
the impact Katrina has had on the legal profession in the Gulf states,
MSBA’s successful fundraising effort, and some of those our
funds and other assistance have gone to support. Here, I want to express
my thanks to each one of you who has contributed in one form or another
to this successful effort. Our
foundation board encouraged firms to donate by matching the single
largest donation made in this effort, a $50,000 contribution from
the Faegre & Benson Foundation.
Other firms and foundations, bar leaders, and individuals across
the state stepped up with generous gifts, many having previously contributed
significant humanitarian aid in the weeks immediately following the
hurricane. In the final analysis, we raised more than $420,000 for
Katrina relief. We can be proud of the
amount of financial support provided by Minnesota lawyers. Our donations were important and much needed.
And our message of support — that Minnesota lawyers stand with
their Gulf Coast colleagues in crisis — was also important and much
needed. That 100 percent of
MSBA’s leaders — Council members, Assembly
members, and members of the Katrina Relief Task Force — personally contributed to this effort
was very meaningful to the bar leaders and legal services lawyers
with whom I met. What
We’ve Done After visiting the Gulf
states and meeting with bar officers and staff of the programs
we “adopted,” I came away with the conclusion that the MSBA has focused
its efforts in exactly the right places. A major portion of the funds we raised has gone
to support legal services and pro
bono providers in the most devastated areas of Louisiana, Mississippi
and Alabama. Our fundraising
also supported the emergency funds of the state bar associations in
those states who are helping lawyers rebuild their lives. The humanitarian
funds collected were sent to Second Harvest of Greater New Orleans,
a branch of the national food bank.
We shipped semis loaded with donated office furnishings to
equip lawyers in Louisiana and Mississippi as they rebuild their practices.
We organized Minnesota lawyers to provide pro
bono legal services to the evacuees who came to Minnesota for
shelter, and we are organizing the means for lawyers from Minnesota
to provide pro bono services in the Gulf Coast states
to those who remain in need because of the hurricane What
Remains to be Done Yet, despite all we have
accomplished, the money and other assistance we provided is dwarfed
by the monumental need that continues to exist. There is no question that
the need for legal services in the Gulf region will continue to grow. Before Katrina struck, Alabama, Mississippi
and Louisiana already had very high poverty populations who could
not afford to pay for needed legal services.
Now, the massive relocations and losses have increased that
population and moved many from the middle class to the brink of financial
ruin. The result is that the client base for legal
services and pro bono programs
has swollen significantly. None
of the emergency appropriations in Congress went to provide additional
funding for any of these programs.
The lawyers and legal infrastructure
also need support. More than
half of Louisiana’s attorneys were in devastated areas. In New Orleans, the legal institutions are themselves
under great stress. Many court
facilities are not yet open or operating fully. Records are lost or not accessible. Employees are in short supply and court personnel
as well as legal services staffers are being hired away by employers
who can pay higher salaries. Finally, there is plenty
of room for Minnesota lawyers to make an impact providing legal services
in the future. Direct provision
of legal services by lawyers from outside these states involves some
difficult administrative issues but the courts in the region have
approved rules that will facilitate pro
bono services by outside lawyers.
We have the ability to make a real difference in this area. Impressive
Partners I learned a lot about the
heart of the legal profession from the Gulf Coast lawyers I met. Despite sharing in the hardships of their clients,
they continue working to help the poor and those who are victims of
this disaster. There was not
one bar leader I met who was not setting aside real, personal losses
or who was not making personal sacrifices to assist their colleagues
in need. The spirit, determination, and dedication of
these folks is impressive. I also made some new friends,
a few of whom attended the Minnesota lawyers’ reception at the ABA
Midyear Meeting. The presidents
and presidents-elect from the state bars of Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Alabama were all present to meet a few more Minnesota lawyers
and to personally express their gratitude for all that we did in our
relief effort. To the rest of you who were not present, they
asked that I deliver their message. I am proud of the MSBA’s efforts. The
response of Minnesota’s lawyers was heartwarming and inspiring. We pulled together, made a commitment, met our
goals, had an impact, and in the process we made new friends. From them to you, I extend a heartfelt thank
you. SUSAN M. HOLDEN is president of the Minnesota State Bar
Association. A partner and member of the board of directors of the Minneapolis personal injury firm
of Sieben, Grose,
Von Holtum & Carey, Ltd., she is certified as a civil trial
specialist by the MSBA. |
