Emergency Lawyers

When disaster strikes, one thinks immediately of the need for medical aid, food, clothing and temporary housing. But lawyers? They are vital, say the Government and the American Bar Association. Thus a new program is being started to provide emergency legal aid.

Recognition of the need came in the wake of Hurricane Camille in Mississippi in 1969. Lawyers volunteered their services and found a surprising array of legal chores to be attended to, ranging from advice on insurance to help in getting special federal loans. The legal assistance proved so beneficial that the Office of Emergency Preparedness and the A.B.A.'s Young Lawyers Section have begun organizing a nationwide network of volunteer attorney groups. "Disaster victims are often in shock for six to eight weeks," says Harry Hathaway, chairman of the A.B.A.'s Young Lawyers Section. "Sometimes a lawyer is needed merely to perform a hand-holding function during a time of difficult decisions." Even so, there is something faintly saddening about finding that a flood victim's situation has become so complex that where once a neighbor's simple act of charity would have done, now a lawyer may be the person most able to give effective solace.

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