Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Service During Disaster as a Form of Professionalism
by
Robert "Trey" Vermillion Goldsmith on Feb. 11, 2016
Summary: An article outlining the responsibility of the Bar to come to the aid of the community in times of disaster and suggesting that service of this nature is, in essence, the evolution of professionalism.
Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Service During Disaster as a Form of Professionalism
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
– Winston Churchill
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, attorneys mobilized within days to begin
sculpting the American Bar Association (“ABA”) website into a clearinghouse of information for
affected individuals.1 The website was up and running by Wednesday, August 31, just three
days after the storm.2 By the end of November, the ABA Katrina website had received 50,000
visitors and nearly 2,000 offers of assistance.3 Over the course of the next year, thousands of
attorneys volunteered their services across the southeastern United States. State Bar
organizations continue to maintain websites created to assist storm victims on a pro bono basis
for problems ranging from locating lost loved ones to estate settlement issues.
The recent rash of tornadoes that swept across the Southeast was deadly and devastating.
Between April 25 and April 28, 2011, an estimated 305 tornadoes occurred; 201 are confirmed
by survey.4 To date, the recent storms are responsible for 326 fatalities,5 with 309 occurring
during the 24-hour period beginning April 27, 2011. The most devastating twister, an estimated
F4, tracked 80 miles through Alabama, from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham, reaching a maximum
width of 1.5 miles and causing at least 65 fatalities.6 When the storms subsided, the National
Weather Service Weather Forecast Office cited a minimum of 24 killer tornadoes spanning six
states. The disaster has sparked action in the legal community on a scale not seen since
Hurricane Katrina.
Within hours, the State Bars of Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, and Virginia
began to mobilize their respective members to provide service to the community. Alabama, the
most severely impacted area, saw its attorneys fill streets with chainsaws and clearing equipment
before turning to legal work.7 The Alabama Bar formed a disaster assistance plan consisting of a
community hotline that funneled calls to volunteers from the Young Lawyers Division, provided
free legal clinics at the University of Alabama School of Law open to anyone affected, formed a
discretionary fund, and provided a Disaster Assistance tab on its website.
(www.alabar.org/public/tornado-disaster-assistance.cfm). Attorneys from around the state
responded to the affected areas to work in food lines, assist in debris removal, transport medical
supplies, serve as translators, and undoubtedly, in myriad other capacities.
1 In The Wake of the Storm: The ABA Response to Hurricane Katrina, A Midyear activity report, ABA, 2006 at10.
2 Id. at 11.
3 Id.at 12.
4 April 2011 tornado information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
www.noaanews.noaa.gov/april_2011_tornado_information.html; updated May 9, 2011.
5 The current fatality breakdown by state is Alabama 236, Mississippi 35, Tennessee 31, Georgia 15, Virginia 5,
Arkansas 4. By contrast, Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people.
6 Id.
7 Karen Sloan, Pro Bono Push Part of Alabama Tornado Recovery, The National Law Journal, May 4, 2011
(quoting Alyce Spruell, President of the Alabama Bar, “A lot of our [B]ar members have been out working in soup
kitchens or doing debris removal. There’s some law practice going on right now, but not a lot.”)
2
The assistance for the affected areas, particularly Alabama, spread quickly through the
legal community as lawyers, near and far, responded to calls for help. Using relationships
formed in the practice of law, lawyers mobilized corporations, schools, professional sports
teams, legal professionals, and others to join in a common effort to help storm victims.
Disasters bring out the best (and the worst) in human nature. They demonstrate to a
weary public and to one another that being an attorney stands for more than being technically
proficient. As the rigors of a law practice bear down, particularly in economic hard times, it is
easy to omit community service from busy calendars.8 Disasters bring, with harsh reality, a call
to duty.
Attorneys are neither magicians nor makers of widgets. Our various roles are often
difficult to explain or defend in the public eye. Thus, in addition to being a good and right thing
to do, disaster relief efforts provide a way to reinforce a positive image of the profession. Often
such efforts are magnified since, although natural disasters do not discriminate, their effects are
felt more deeply in already disaffected economic communities, often home to minorities and
historically disadvantaged groups.
The Merriam Webster Encyclopedia defines professionalism as “the conduct, aims or
qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional.” The actions we take, “on the
court or off,” in court or in the community, reflect upon us individually but also upon us as
professionals. Becoming an attorney included an unspoken agreement to be measured by a
higher standard of accountability to the public. Fortunately, the very qualities of professionalism
that serve us well in the heat of advocacy equip us in times of external challenge: being firm but
reasonable, focused but cooperative, and ethical beyond reproach.
Lawyers are leaders. The influence of attorneys extends beyond what they physically
contribute to immediate disaster efforts. The Council on Litigation Management is the largest
fully inclusive defense organization, comprised of thousands of insurance companies,
corporations, corporate counsel, risk managers, insurance professionals, claims adjusters and
attorneys. Two years ago, at the suggestion of one of its attorney members, CLM pioneered a
program offering local volunteering opportunities for members who attend its annual
8 In addition to looking out for others, lawyers may also be victims and must look out for themselves, their families
and practices. On May 12, 2011, as this article was going to print, the Section Council of the ABA Law Practice
Management Section voted at its 2011 Spring Council meeting, to co-sponsor the Recommendation of the Special
Committee on Disaster and Preparedness. Among other recommendations, it urges lawyers and firms to prepare for
disasters so if one strikes they will be better able survive themselves and continue to serve their clients. It also urges
state and local bars to create permanent/standing committees related to disasters and to participate in community
wide efforts with the courts, legal institutions, emergency management agencies and others. As Stephen N. Zack,
current President of the American Bar Association, notes, “History has taught us that there is always another natural
disaster lurking, but in today’s world we must also prepare for manmade disasters. Disaster preparedness is the
least important thing until it becomes the most important thing. It has to be done before it is too late. In times of
crisis, it is our duty to make sure that our justice system continues to operate: that's when they are needed most.
There is nothing more important than making sure we are prepared, now.”
3
conferences. This year, New Orleans hosted the CLM’s annual conference. The event offered
two alternative volunteering opportunities to CLM members. Hundreds of members signed up
to spend an afternoon replanting a city park ravaged by Hurricane Katrina or working with the
Beacon of Hope, a grass roots organization helping rebuild neighborhoods in New Orleans. As
busloads of weary volunteers arrived back at their conference hotel, they were greeted by a lobby
lined with hotel employees applauding and saying “thank you” as the volunteers passed by.
CLM Executive Director Adam Potter says of the new volunteering program: “It’s important
for us at the CLM to demonstrate the value of volunteerism. So many of our Members and
Fellows are active in their own communities and by bringing all that spirit and talent together in
one city, we hope to reenergize each individual’s commitment to making a difference.”
Lawyers render service9 and service is needed in times of disaster. Contact the State Bars
of the affected states and offer what you can. Start a collection campaign for needed items.
Send a team from your firm to help rebuild. Provide free legal services.10 Humility and
assistance is a bridge over troubled waters. Service, which forms that bridge, is a badge of
professionalism.
http://southerntrialcounsel.com/attorneys/robert-v-goldsmith.html
9 “Lawyers Render Service” is the creed of The Alabama Bar.
10 See, e.g., The Florida Bar’s efforts to assist Haitian refugees after earthquakes forced them to flee to the United
States. http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/JNNews01.nsf/Articles/036CBCBFFF6413FF852576C1004A94E9;
efforts to provide legal assistance after the April 2011 tornados, http://www.atlawblog.com/2011/05/georgia-legalservices-
program-offers-assistance-to-tornado-victims/ (Georgia), and
http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/uncategorized/disaster/ms_press_release_5_10_2011.authcheckdam.p
df (Mississippi). Of course, this short list is regionally slanted simply because of the location of some of the most
recent disasters and similar examples can be found across our nation. The authors particularly recognize the
contributions of the ABA Committee on Disaster Response and Preparedness.