Displaced Lawyers Apply for NACDL Grants Here

Any lawyer displaced or suffering loss from Katrina needs to look at the grant application at www.nacdl.org/relief

The application can be submitted on line and are reviewed daily. If you need the paper version, call Keith Nordyke at (225) 383-1601 or email at knordyke@nordykelaw.com and we'll get one to you. Funds are limited to a maximum of $1,500.00.

Update on New Orleans Bail office

On 9/22/05 Julie Kilborn reports:

Here's the bonding process for Orleans Parish as agreed to this morning by DOJ and DOC:

If bail has already been set, a family member or friend can bond an inmate out by going to the AG's office at 1885 N. 3rd Street, Baton Rouge. In the lobby of the AG's office is the temporary Orleans bonding office with bail bondsmen standing by. At that location, they can post a commercial surety or cash bond. Upon posting bond, the bail order will be faxed to DOC who will locate the inmate and fax the bail order to the facility where the inmate is being held. The inmate must then sign the bail order. The family member or friend must then physically go to the facility where the inmate is being held to pick up the inmate. The facility will release the inmate only to the person designated in the bail order. DOC will not transport the inmate anywhere.

If anyone has any questions about this process, they should contact George Steimel at gsteimel@bellsouth.net who gave me all of this information and who no doubt knows more about the process.

Louisiana State Bar Practice Aid Guide Available Online

From the Louisiana Bar Today - Wednesday, September 21, 2005

LSBA members who may no longer have access to their Practice Aid Guides (printed publication or CD) because of office relocation or hurricane evacuation can access the publication on the LSBA Web site at www.lsba.org/publications/practice_aid_guide.asp . You may download the whole publication, various sections or individual forms.

Federal Courts Establish Communications Center

From the Louisiana Bar Today - Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Judge Richard to Haik of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana has issued a court order establishing a Communications Center for attorneys displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane has affected almost 6,000 cases pending before the Eastern District (virtually all of which involve New Orleans attorneys); more than 9,000 cases in the Middle District (of which 50 – 75 percent involve New Orleans attorneys); and more than 600 Western District cases involving New Orleans attorneys. Special Master Gary Zwain, himself a displaced New Orleans attorney, was appointed by court order to oversee the operation of the Center. A cooperative effort between the LSBA, the federal courts and the Federal Bar Association, the Communications Center is housed at 810 South Buchanan Street in Lafayette in office space donated by the law firm of Davidson, Meaux, Sonnier & McElligot. The main priority is to locate attorneys and then keep them updated on the status of their cases in the federal court system. Attorneys should contact the Center at (337)235-2444; toll-free at (866)456-8297; or by email at: gary_zwain@laspecialmaster.com. For more information, go to: www.laspecialmaster.com .

Louisiana State Bar Publications to be Distributed Online Only

From the Louisiana Bar Today - Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Because displaced lawyers may be moving frequently in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the LSBA Board of Governors has approved the distribution of Bar publications (Louisiana Bar Journal and “Bar Briefs”) via the Web site only for the next few months. There will be no print versions produced or mailed. Bar members will be notified when the publications are uploaded to the Web site. Note to the arbitrators and mediators who have paid to be in the print and Web versions of the “Who’s Who in ADR 2005” Directory: The online version will be uploaded in October as usual; the print version will be produced and included in the next available printed Journal.

LSBA Expanding Hotline, Hiring Law Students to Handle Intake

From the Louisiana Bar Today - Wednesday, September 21, 2005

The LSBA, local bar associations and countless volunteers are working to expand the Disaster Legal Assistance Hotline established to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina with legal needs related to the disaster. To volunteer to provide legal assistance to storm victims, go to: http://www.lsba.org/home1/pdfvolunteer.pdf The hotline (800-310-7029) was activated in the aftermath of the storm and since that time has been housed at the offices of the Baton Rouge Bar Association. Anticipating the increased need for legal services, the LSBA is expanding and moving the Call Center to the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU. The Center will continue to be staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. The LSBA is hiring law students to handle telephone intake: a training session for intake operators will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept.22 at the Law Center. For more information on intake training, contact ljohnson@lsba.org.

LSBA Establishes Messaging Center for Attorney/Client Communication

From the Louisiana Bar Today - Wednesday, September 21, 2005

The LSBA has established an online Attorney/Client Messaging Center to allow clients to locate and communicate with their attorneys who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Since the storm, the LSBA has received numerous phone calls from clients, the courts and other attorneys searching for Bar members. Clients are able to use this feature by accessing http://www.LSBA.org/home1/attorneyclientssearch.asp and following the instructions. Attorneys should log in periodically to check whether they have messages.

Posting Bond in Jefferson Parish

In an email last night, LACDL Legislative Director George Steimel gsteimel@bellsouth.net reports that

A Bail agent can go to the Jefferson parish jail and bail someone out at this time. If the inmate was originally held at the Jefferson parish jail. The Jefferson parish sheriff will have that inmate transferred to and then released from Jefferson parish jail.

We are doing our best to work something out for New Orleans at this time.

Federal Court Looking For Attorneys With Pending Cases In New Orleans

The following article appeared in the Baton Rouge Advocate today

Court seeks attorneys with N.O. cases pending.

By RICHARD BURGESS

Acadiana bureau

LAFAYETTE -- Court officials are putting out an urgent call for the thousands of displaced New Orleans attorneys who have federal cases pending across the state.
Among the many lesser-known problems wrought by Hurricane Katrina is a major disruption to the legal system, as cases statewide for some 8,000 New Orleans-area attorneys are in limbo.

Federal court officials this week opened a "Communications Center" in Lafayette in an effort to track down those displaced attorneys and get cases moving again.

"It's a center for vagabond lawyers," said Gary Zwain, who has appointed by the court to oversee operations at the center.

Zwain, himself a displaced New Orleans attorney, said "thousands of cases" are unable to move forward because of difficulty in contacting attorneys.

Staff for the New Orleans-based U.S. Eastern District Court have set up makeshift offices in Lafayette, Houma and Baton Rouge. The district is accepting court filings, but all legal deadlines have been suspended.

The hurricane has affected 5,934 civil and criminal cases pending in the Eastern District in New Orleans, according to information from court officials.

In addition to those numbers, an estimated 600-700 cases in the Lafayette-based U.S. Western District Court and 4,700-7,000 cases in the Baton Rouge-based U.S. Middle District Court involve New Orleans-area attorneys.

There are no firm numbers on how many displaced attorneys have made contact with the court or how many are grappling with such problems as lost witnesses, lost evidence and lost clients.

"The system has suffered a serious setback," Zwain said.

He said the court system will be in recovery mode "for months."

New Orleans-area lawyers with cases pending in federal court are urged to call the communications center at (337) 235-2444 or at (866) 456-8297, or visit the Web site: http://www.laspecialmaster.com .

The center can provide updated information on pending cases, temporary e-mail addresses and aid in finding or replacing damaged files or documents.

NACDL Offers Grants To Criminal Defense Lawyers and Organizations

NACDL Offers Grants To Criminal Defense Lawyers and Organizations

NACDL Executive Director Ralph Grunewald has asked that we give this information widest dissemination possible.

NACDL's Katrina Disaster Relief Fund.

Lawyers from the three states are now able to submit applications online for individual Grants to assist them in rebuilding their practices by visiting www.nacdl.org/relief . Criminal justice organizations in the Gulf states are also encouraged to apply for grants to help rebuild their institutions.

NACDL established the Katrina Disaster Relief Fund within a day following the disaster. By mid-September, NACDL had received gifts and pledges exceeding $80,000. This includes the Foundation for Criminal Justice (NACDL's charitable supporting organization) whose Trustees have established a challenge grant of up to $50,000 to match individual member contributions dollar-for-dollar. The Foundation is administering the Katrina Disaster Relief Fund, and grants are now being made to needy defense lawyers and criminal justice institutions to help them rebuild their practices and organizations; most have few options, and NACDL is there to ensure they will not stand alone.

Included in the $80,000 total raised to-date, is $5,000 in "seed money" donated by the NACDL, $4,500 raised at a September fundraising event by NACDL members in Seattle, and a $1,000 contribution from the Tarrant County (TX) Criminal Defense Lawyer Association. The Texas Lawyers Educational Institute of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association has pledged $5,000, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has pledged an additional $5,000, as well as the Miami Chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers which has pledged $1,000. NACDL is encouraging all its Affiliates to contribute in whatever way they can.

Likewise, NACDL is encouraging members of our Affiliates to make tax-deductible contributions to the Katrina Disaster Relief Fund. Either fill-in the attached Giving Form or give a gift online at www.nacdl.org/foundation .Please donate today.

Immediately after the hurricane, NACDL also established the Katrina Disaster Bulletin Board. This is the place where NACDL members can offer assistance, where those in need can learn about the assistance being offered, and where we can match-up those in need with those who are able to assist. The Bulletin Board appears on our Web site at www.nacdl.org/relief .

Offers of assistance on the new Bulletin Board have already included

(1) providing housing and shelter for any members and their families in need;

(2) assisting affected members with temporary office space;
(3) providing short-term employment for affected lawyers;
(4) providing short-term case oversight; and
(5) donating office equipment and supplies, telephones and cellphones, calling cards, etc. once conditions improve and these supplies can be delivered to them.

Further, NACDL hired Keith Nordyke, a criminal defense lawyer in Baton Rouge, to serve as our Katrina Disaster Relief Liaison. Keith is coordinating efforts on-the-ground to assist lawyers in the affected areas to rebuild their practices and to provide resources and information to them. He interacts with federal, state, and local agencies in the three affected states, developing databases of prisoners and their lawyers in order to bring a semblance of order to the chaos brought on by Katrina.

NACDL looks forward to working in partnership with our Affiliates to ensure that every defense lawyer from the affected areas knows he or she does not stand alone during these difficult days of rebuilding their lives and practices.

www.nacdl.org/relief