SALT Cover Workshop, January 2007

In the fall of 2006, SALT began conversations with members of the Student Hurricane Network (SHN), a national organization of law students whose mission is to assist gulf coast residents meet legal needs in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Since that time, SALT and SHN have developed a working relationship to promote coordinated law school support for the students’ ongoing efforts. Toward that end, SALT dedicated the 2007 Cover Workshop to post-Katrina issues, sponsored an informal gathering of law teachers, students, and local providers in New Orleans in May, and established a working group to facilitate collaborations between SALT and SHN.

THE SALT WORKING GROUP
During the spring of 2007, the SALT Board, in coordination with the SHN, formed a working group to help marshal the power and authority of the legal academy in some of SHN’s efforts. In addition to aiding in organizational strategies and supporting student-run direct service efforts through law clinics, pro bono projects, and other initiatives, the working group expects to help by documenting, analyzing, and publicizing conditions and events. Members of the working group participated in SHN’s annual retreat in April, and the entire working group met with SHN representatives in an all-day planning meeting in Baltimore in July.

The partnership is focusing heavily on curricular development and promoting and developing projects at law schools across the country. For its part, the working group is conducting outreach to determine the current scope of law school involvement and is developing a set of model programs to assist students in getting their home schools committed to post-Katrina work. A particular need in the gulf coast area is for longer term commitments on site (several weeks to a year) and dedicated, well-supervised long distance research and investigation, and the partnership is exploring ways to meet those demands. Take a moment to fill out the Survey, located at the bottom of this page. In addition, the partnership is committed to offering assistance in ways that are both professionally responsible and responsive to the expressed needs of gulf coast residents. Accordingly, the group is working to maintain clear lines of communication and to develop coordinated linkages among law schools, student and practitioner volunteers, and gulf coast service providers, without putting any additional strain on gulf coast resources.

The working group’s members – Doug Colbert (Maryland), Nancy Cook (Roger Williams), Hillary Exter (Fordham), Linda Harrison (Nova Southeastern), Paula Johnson (Syracuse), and Bill Woodward (Temple) – are connected to a number of pro bono initiatives in the northeast, as well as support agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi. While the SALT/SHN partnership and its related network of pro bono collaboratives have grown out of the particular legal and humanitarian crises rising out of Katrina, there is also a shared belief that the work relates in a much greater sense to universal and unsolved problems of institutionalized racism and professional indifference.

The call for assistance from the Student Hurricane Network presents an opportunity to engage as part of a united front against large-scale injustice that is now being acutely felt along the gulf coast.

MATCHMAKERS 4 JUSTICE PROGRAM

The Student Hurricane Network seeks law faculty mentors for the Matchmakers 4 Justice Program (M4J). M4J was created in 2006 to provide law students the opportunity to assist Gulf Coast residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina over an extended period of time.

In 2006-07, M4J matched approximately 70 law students with 70 Gulf Coast residents, and over the course of a semester, the law students helped their residents navigate government bureaucracies and obtain basic services. Referrals were made to Gulf Coast legal aid providers when appropriate. On occasion, law students worked on case files forwarded by Gulf Coast legal aid providers.

Law faculty mentors are needed to guide the work of law students at their respective schools for the 2007-08 academic year.

If you are interested in mentoring students at your law school as part of M4J please contact us by November 15, 2007, at matchmakers4justice.

We look forward to working together!

NEWS AND UPDATES

Volunteer Opportunity
The Working Group has received a request for assistance from artists living in the New Orleans area. Many visual artists who had their work displayed in area galleries have had difficulty in recovering their work from dealers whose shops have closed or moved. In some cases, no contracts exist between artists and store operators.

If you can help or make recommendations, contact Nancy Cook, Roger Williams School of Law.