From: Members of the National Association of Bar Executives [On Behalf Of
Johnson, Maria]
Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2005 10:18 AM
To: NABEMEMBERS@MAIL.ABANET.ORG
Subject: Message for NABE
The following information is being sent on behalf of the National Association
of Bar Executives through list serves managed through the ABA Division for
Bar Services. Please do not respond to all.
Dear Colleagues,
On September 1st, I e-mailed you asking for the voices of bar associations to
help save the lives of my fellow New Orleanians who were stranded on
rooftops, on the Interstate, in the Superdome and in our hospitals. American
lawyers responded heroically by getting my message out to our government. I
thank you for being the powerful voices that rescued my City and saved
American lives, here in our homeland.
As you know, the hurricanes left 80% of New Orleans under water and the dry
areas were severely wind-damaged, leaving homes and businesses uninhabitable
or nonexistent. Over 8,000 New Orleans area lawyers were displaced and more
than 75% of those lawyers were solo or small firm practitioners. Solo and
small firm practitioners primarily represent individual clients and small
businesses that comprise well over 85% of New Orleans. Without the survival
of our solo practitioners and small firms, the survival of New Orleans itself
is in jeopardy. Consequently, over one million people are without adequate
local legal representation making access to justice extraordinarily difficult
while the need for lawyers has never been greater.
The Internet Cafe
New Orleans lawyers are not only without their homes, but also without their
offices and have no way to practice law. Local lawyers have been found
literally sitting on sidewalks, propped up against unopened businesses that
are somehow still transmitting Internet signals.
We have created the Internet Café for lawyers who need a place to work. The
New Orleans Bar Association has invited lawyers to come to our Internet Café,
where they can get off the sidewalks and into a work environment. We are
blessed with working Internet and phones unlike much of the city. Lawyers
will thrive in a community with other lawyers and the Internet Café is the
perfect place to do so. We are providing essential services such as computers
with wireless Internet access, a location to do business, meet with clients,
hold a deposition and of course, to get the all important cup of coffee.
What New Orleans Bar Association Needs
We leased space adjacent to our offices for the Internet Café and are
collecting both cash and in-kind donations to fund the Café and to help
lawyers. For the Café, we need money to pay the rent and utilities, the
insurance, furniture (chairs, desks with electrical connections for
computers), individual file cabinets, telephone service for lawyers, and even
to buy coffee. While money is the easiest way to help right now, if you want
to donate we can use laptops, office supplies, coffee, etc. Even a simple
donation of a pack of legal pads or pens is a welcome sight for the New
Orleans lawyers without homes and offices. A laptop computer or printer is a
tremendous gift that allows a lawyer to practice law and serve clients.
Office furniture can be used to refurnish a space in the many buildings that
were literally washed away by black, muddy floodwaters.
The United States Postal Service is not fully operational in our Central
Business District. Your tax-deductible donations are most quickly received if
sent via UPS or FedEx to New Orleans Bar Foundation, 228 St. Charles Ave.,
Suite 1223, New Orleans, LA 70130-2612 or you may donate on our web site at
www.neworleansbar.org. If you want to wire transfer your donation, please
call us at (504)525-7453 for instructions.
On television, everyone watched the failure of local, state and the federal
governments while the rule of law unraveled in New Orleans. The New Orleans
Bar Association remains committed to returning the justice system and the
rule of law to our beloved City. We need New Orleans lawyers to return and to
survive, for the system of justice resides in their hearts and has been kept
alive by other lawyers in America.
Please continue to help us now.
With sincere gratitude,
Helena N. Henderson
Executive Director, New Orleans Bar Association
and a proud member of the National Association of Bar Executives
and the American Bar Association