Page 191 - 2022BOGmanual

The ATJ Disaster Planning Subcommittee is responsible for coordinating disaster response for
Louisiana civil legal providers through its statewide plan. Working in conjunction with Louisiana’s
liaison to the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (ABA/YLD) and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the subcommittee engages many stakeholders in
disaster response. As part of this plan, the LSBA maintains a webpage, www.lsba.org/dr, as a
portal for disaster information that is activated once the disaster plan has been enacted. The
subcommittee also works with Louisiana Appleseed to maintain a Disaster Training Manual, a
guide for attorneys who volunteer to aid disaster victims. Additionally, the LSBA houses and
maintains the toll-free disaster hotline (1-800-310-7029) stipulated in the statewide disaster plan.

As provided in the disaster plan, the subcommittee meets regularly, activates the LSBA Disaster
Response website when needed, hosts disaster-related legal trainings, implements and recruits
volunteers for the ABA/YLD hotline, and monitors the needs in Louisiana to determine statewide
disaster response strategy. The disaster plan and hotline protocols were updated both in response
to COVID-19 and the 2020 hurricanes, as well as after Hurricane Ida. With this new iteration,
hotline calls were forwarded to Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, allowing those who qualify
for legal services to be quickly and efficiently ushered through Southeast Louisiana Legal
Services’ intake process. Those who did not qualify for legal services were then put into a database
for LSBA Young Lawyer Division volunteers to return their call and provide brief legal advice
and information. To date, 114 calls were made to the ABA/YLD hotline and were returned by the
39 LSBA YLD volunteers.

Pro Bono Subcommittee, Chair Elena Perez

This subcommittee is tasked with developing and supporting local pro bono organizations’ efforts
to engage the private bar and judiciary in pro bono service, as well as recognizing pro bono
volunteers. The subcommittee recently assisted Lagniappe Law Lab in revising the statewide pro
bono website, probono.net/la.

In addition, this year the subcommittee and the ATJ Commission launched the “20 in 2022” pro
bono campaign, encouraging all attorneys to provide 20 hours of pro bono service in 2022. The
campaign includes communications from the Justices of the Supreme Court to judges and attorneys
encouraging them to support and participate in pro bono, as well as publications in the LSBA’s
news and social media.

In Forma Pauperis Subcommittee, Chair Jeff Coreil

The IFP subcommittee was established to investigate and resolve reports of misapplication of the
in forma pauperis (IFP) statutes by judges and clerks of court. Such misapplication prevents
litigants who do not have the means to pay in advance from accessing the courts. With the approval
of the Board of Governors, the committee approached the Louisiana State Law Institute (LSLI) to
request their review of the law that could clarify the appropriate application of the statute. The
LSLI made several recommendations which were first submitted to the Louisiana Legislature as

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