Alabama State Bar's YLS Releases Disaster Legal Assistance Manual
The Alabama State Bar's Young Lawyers' Section, like other state's similar sections, contracts with FEMA to provide emergency legal services in times of a disaster. Earlier this year, the Disaster Relief Committee of the Alabama YLS completed the Alabama Disaster Legal Assistance Manual to equip volunteer attorneys with the information they need to provide pro bono services following a disaster.
Included in the manual is an overview of FEMA and non-FEMA legal assistance, a description of the process of providing legal assistance to disaster victims and information to assist in answering frequently asked questions on issues such as housing, landlord-tenant, insurance, unemployment compensation, and taxes. The manual also contains an appendix including the FEMA Disaster Assistance Process, Case Intake and Closure Forms, copies of relevant code provisions and statutes, important telephone numbers, and Legal Services contact numbers.
Alabama's YLS hopes that the bar will find this manual beneficial in the event a disaster strikes our state. The YLS thanks those members of the Disaster Relief Committee, including Gray Borden, Brandon Huey, George Parker, Kitty Brown, and Brent Irby, for their work on this manual. The manual can be found on the YLS's Web site at http://alabamayls.org/ebooks/2008_FEMA_Disaster_Manual.pdf or contact Jimbo Terrell at (205) 939-0199 for a copy.
