2018 Equal Justice Conference: Pro Bono Legal Services in Disaster Relief

Many lawyers and law students are passionate about assisting in disaster relief, but two things keep them from offering pro bono: they don’t have the time and resources to help and they feel insecure about representing in a different legal specialty. But lawyer volunteers are enormously important in helping victims who are struggling with many different disaster-related legal issues. So how do we bridge the gap? In this report from On The Road at the 2018 Equal Justice Conference, host Kimberly Sanchez interviews Michael Hofrichter, Pablo Almaguer, and Jeff Baker about their panel titled “The Disaster is Gone — so Are My Volunteers! Strategies for Pro Bono Engagement During the Response and Recovery Process.” They discuss the importance of pro bono lawyers in disaster relief and how lawyers (and other legal professionals) can get involved.

Michael Hofrichter is director of operations for Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, the pro bono arm of the Houston Bar Association.

Pablo Almaguer is attorney at law and group coordinator at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Inc. in Edinburg, TX.

Jeff Baker associate clinical professor of law and director of clinical education at Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, CA.