6-Hour Program

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Overview

Why You Should Attend
In the aftermath of disasters, survivors face a wide variety of legal problems and barriers to recovery. This training will enable attorneys to help serve as “legal first responders” and will prepare attorneys to participate in disaster legal services pro bono efforts, including brief phone assistance, providing legal information and referral, in person assistance at know-your-rights workshops, community forums and legal aid clinics (general or subject-specific), and legal representation (limited and full scope).

This training is part of a regionally coordinated disaster legal services planning effort in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California. The Bay Area Resilience Collaborative (Alameda County Bar Association and the Volunteer Legal Services Corporation; Bar Association of San Francisco, San Francisco-Marin Lawyer Referral Services, Justice & Diversity Center; Bay Area Legal Aid; California Rural Legal Assistance; Legal Aid Association of California; OneJustice; Pro Bono Net; and the State Bar of California), developed a regional coordination plan for the provision of legal services in the aftermath of a major disaster in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Collaborative’s pre-planning and coordination efforts were effective in responding to the Northern California wildfires in 2017, and in supporting the response to the Southern California wildfires and mudslides in 2017.

This training is intended to provide an overview of the most common legal issues that arise in the aftermath of a disaster and will rely on Federal and California law and policy, but will be useful for attorneys in any jurisdiction to form the basis for a disaster recovery legal response.

What You Will Learn
• Framework for providing post-disaster legal services and pro bono opportunities
• How to conduct intake, triage, and provide brief legal information and referral
• How to work with survivors of trauma
• Insurance issues
• Employment and workers’ rights
• Mobile home occupant rights
• Housing issues faced by tenants and landlords
• Foreclosure information for homeowners
• Consumer fraud and protections
• FEMA application, appeals, recoupment and other issues

Who Should Attend
Nonprofit organization attorneys and advocates, pro bono attorneys from all practice settings, law firm pro bono coordinators, court-based self-help staff, incubator attorneys, law students, or anyone who wants to learn how to assist low-income disaster survivors with legal issues.

Credit Details