Spring 2006 - The Texas Lend-A-Lawyer program coordinator will recruit the state's major law firms to lend associates on a rotating basis in 2006 to assist in staffing legal aid offices, hot lines and legal referral services in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and other Texas cities.

Fellowship

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP agreed to underwrite a year-long fellowship position in support of the Lend-A-Lawyer program. The Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw Legal Fellow, Lynn White (see sidebar on next page) is housed at Texas Appleseed, a non-profit public interest law center, and is designing and coordinating the program.

Similarly, ConocoPhillips recently agreed to fund a legal fellow based at Louisiana Appleseed, who will work to increase pro bono assistance to residents and to continue to engage in the issues around the state's reconstruction. These fellows will develop the expertise to serve as advocates on key issues and to engage lawyers from local and national law firms to lend their assistance.

ConocoPhillips Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Steve Gates, formerly with Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, made the commitment after attending a dinner at which the Texas program was being discussed.

"We are thrilled to provide this fellowship opportunity," said Charles Kelley, a partner in our Houston office and member of the firm's Pro Bono Committee who helped put the fellowship together. "The position leverages help from the private bar to deal with the legal issues brought about by the 250,000 evacuees who moved to Texas after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita."

Need is Immense

"Today, many Louisiana communities are challenged to meet the legal needs of displaced low-income people who will reside there for the foreseeable future," said Mr. Gates in announcing the program. "We feel it is critical to secure pro bono assistance from the region's largest law firms to help those affected by these devastating natural disasters." "We are tremendously grateful for this support from ConocoPhillips and Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw," said Linda Singer, Executive Director of Appleseed. "But the need is immense and we encourage the support from other law firms and corporations to fund ongoing legal services and advocacy and/or to lend their lawyers to the effort."

"In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it is estimated that Texas absorbed more than 250,000 hurricane evacuees from Louisiana and Mississippi," said Jim George, chair of Texas Appleseed. "A majority of them will be residing in Texas for the foreseeable future, placing unprecedented demands on legal aid offices to help address complex issues such as property loss, housing needs, child custody and child support, interrupted public benefits, and bankruptcy claims."

"In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it is estimated that Texas absorbed more than 250,000 hurricane evacuees from Louisiana and Mississippi," said Jim George, chair of Texas Appleseed. "A majority of them will be residing in Texas for the foreseeable future, placing unprecedented demands on legal aid offices to help address complex issues such as property loss, housing needs, child custody and child support, interrupted public benefits, and bankruptcy claims."

Bolstering Existing Resources

Legal aid organizations close about 100,000 cases each year, but they do not have the resources to help everyone who needs and qualifies for free legal assistance. A recent study confirmed that for every one person assisted by legal aid, a qualified applicant is turned away. However, the study was conducted prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; since the disasters, legal aid programs have seen a significant increase in applicants. The Lend-A-Lawyer program was conceived as a way to bridge the gap between the need for services and available resources.

"The Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation is pleased to have a role in this partnership," said Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Foundation. "We are able to use the strengths of each organization to help increase desperately needed resources to provide legal services to victims of the two devastating hurricanes."

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP has funded a number of fellowships for lawyers working for a year or more with U.S. legal services organizations that specialize in such areas as housing, immigration and domestic violence. The law firm also pays stipends to its new lawyers who choose to work for legal services organizations while they are studying for the bar exam prior to joining the law firm full time. At the global level, the firm has funded lawyers and law students who have participated in legal services fellowship projects sponsored by law schools and bar associations in Eastern Europe, South America and Asia.

Providing Tax Relief from Katrina

Brian Trauman, an Associate in the New York office as well as a member of the firmwide Pro Bono Committee, is serving as the Co-Chair of the American Bar Association's Tax Section's contribution to the ABA Hurricane Katrina Task Force.

The ABA Task Force serves three main purposes: (1) collecting and disseminating taxrelated disaster relief information, from the maintenance or reconstruction of records to the changes in rules applicable to certain credits; (2) providing volunteers who, by phone or in person, can assist practitioners and low-income taxpayer clinics with answers to urgent tax questions; and (3) submitting comments regarding needed or desired changes in the law or administrative guidance.

"We have established a website to complement the IRS's well-stocked site (http://www.abanet.org/tax/katrina/help.html); registered volunteers through the ABA Center for Pro Bono and made ourselves known to organizations and clinics in need of assistance," said Brian. "[We have] submitted comments regarding exempt organizations and employee benefits, and otherwise made ourselves available to Members of Congress as a group of nearly 20,000 tax professionals willing to lend our resources, should they need additional review."

The Task Force will continue to exist as long as the ABA finds it necessary, and it plans to work with the Taxpayer Advocate Service (ombudsmen) to debrief the service on how to most efficiently deploy disaster-relief guidance in the event of future catastrophes. Brian was selected for the position because he is Chair of the ABA Tax Section's Pro Bono Committee, and the Section's Liaison to the Young Lawyers Division of the ABA.