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and the Flood Proof Project in Baton Rouge. Although the pandemic has greatly affected their
practices and ability to meet with clients, they have already dedicated more than 500 hours to
pro bono representation and solo practice development. LIFT continues to work closely with
its partner organizations, including New Orleans Family Justice Center, SLLS, SULC, LSU
Law School, the ABA Center for Innovation, to innovate and adapt the program to better
support the attorneys in light of today’s challenges. The Flood Proof Project is made possible
through funding support provided by the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s Access to Justice Grant.
Information about both programs is available at www.lsba.org/lift.

“Lawyers in AND Libraries” Statewide Week of Service continues for an 8th year
Stephanie Beaugh, Staff Counsel
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The 7 annual Lawyers in AND Libraries event was held in conjunction with National
Celebrate Pro Week on October 26-31, 2020 and leveraged other existing pro bono programs,
such as LA.FreeLegalAnswers.org and the LIFT Fellows, to make it a virtual success. Despite
a pandemic and the midweek arrival of Hurricane Zeta, volunteer attorneys across Louisiana
turned out to help provide free, virtual legal assistance by answering patrons’ questions in one-
on-one sessions over the phone and on LA.FreeLegalAnswers.org. Some volunteers also
provided live presentations on pressing and pandemic-related issues via our newly created
Lawyers in Libraries Facebook page. Public libraries throughout the state helped promote
events, distributed bookmark flyers, and shared info on websites and social media. Although
the event was very different from past years, it was still a success! Volunteer attorneys assisted
over 84 patrons from 25 parishes through the Ask-A-Lawyer sessions alone. And the webinar
presentations have already reached over 2,500 viewers on Facebook. National Celebrate Pro
Week 2021 will be celebrated on October 25-30th, and planning for the 8th annual Lawyers in
Libraries is underway. For more information, visit www.LouisianaLawyersinLibraries.org.

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17 annual Louisiana Justice Community Conference goes virtual with double
attendance rate
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The 17 annual Louisiana Justice Community Conference was held completely virtually this
year due to the COVID-19 public health crisis. While many prior-year attendees missed the in-
person experience, the virtual platform presented several unexpected opportunities to change
things up and expand the conference audience. The virtual platform allowed the LSBA to host
100% more attendees than last year, including non-attorney legal aid staff and attorney
volunteers. The conference also attracted national presenters from organizations such as the
National Alliance of Multicultural Disabled Advocates, the New York Fines and Fees Justice
Center, the University of Baltimore School of Law, the Children’s Law Center of California,
and more. The agenda featured new experiences in addition to continuing legal education, such
as a virtual tour of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and several interactive workshops and
breakout sessions. Most importantly, the ATJ department was pleased to be able to continue
to host the event with no risk of COVID-19 transmission for attendees!

LSBA Standing Committees

Criminal Justice Committee focuses efforts on funding and mental health.
Jean Faria and Graham Bosworth, Co-Chairs
The committee met in September where they discussed project proposals and prioritized which
initiatives would be the focus of the 2020-2021 Bar year. During the meeting, the members
chose to focus on funding the criminal justice system and mental health issues relevant to the