Volunteers Need for Disaster Legal Services

The PBA Young Lawyers Division is in search of volunteers who may be called upon to provide legal services following disasters such as major flooding.

The Disaster Legal Services (DLS) program provides free legal aid to disaster victims who do not have a lawyer or cannot afford one. The program is implemented by the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division under an agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The PBA YLD coordinates efforts in Pennsylvania and works in conjunction with local bar associations to respond to requests.

When help is needed, volunteers receive a fax or e-mail detailing a particular legal service request and attorneys contact the requester by telephone.

Attorneys with insurance claims/coverage experience will likely be needed most, but all lawyers are asked to volunteer. Help is also needed in areas such as filing insurance claims, landlord/tenant matters, home repair contracts, consumer protection matters, mortgage foreclosures, replacement of wills, powers of attorney, contract fraud and other issues of this nature. Attempts will be made to match requests with the volunteers’ areas of practice.

These are pro bono cases and minimal time commitment is usually required.

To volunteer, please contact YLD Coordinator Maria Engles at yld@pabar.org. Contact also may be made by sending a fax to 717-238-7182 to Maria’s attention. In your response, please include your name, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, and county of practice and area of legal specialty. Also indicate if you are fluent in Spanish or other languages.