Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with those who are suffering in the wake of this terrible natural disaster. We also plan to do our part to help those reeling from its effects.
ABI is implementing a number of initiatives to help its members affected by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The steps include:
ABI is also looking into ways to coordinate contributions from its members to assist bankruptcy professionals and those supporting our legal systems in the affected areas. While it is too soon to announce exactly how this will be implemented, we will advise our members by posting the information on ABI World as it becomes available.
John D. Penn
President
You can help by donating your time and expertise to those in need. ABI is gathering and providing to relief agencies information from members willing to provide legal assistance to those in need in the hurricane-stricken areas of the Gulf Coast.
I would like to volunteer my professional legal services.
Note Regarding FEMA Assistance: those willing to accept pro bono referrals must be licensed lawyers in one or more of the affected states. If you are not licensed in that state, you may answer the hotline calls, but you cannot give legal advice, only complete the intake form which will then be given to an attorney who is licensed. You need not be licensed or a member of ABI to operate the hotlines.
Many lawyers and firms have been displaced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. If you have office space that you can share with business and/or lawyers, please click on the link below.
Margaret Zainey, September 14, 2005
Thanks, Caroline, we need all the blessings we can get right now! I have attached one more quote. In speaking with John and telling him that I had contacted you now that my computer was up, he mentioned the tremendous amount of support he received from his ABI friends at this time.
His comments were very heartfelt, and I thought you may find them of interest.
Margaret
John Duck Quotes
"Through membership in ABI, I have made so much more than good connections—I have made life-long friends. Throughout the days following Hurricane Katrina, my family in New Orleans received a remarkable out-pouring of support and well wishes from my friends in ABI. Friends in ABI near and far offered my family in New Orleans everything from shelter and aid to a shoulder to cry on. These gestures will always be remembered and of course were deeply appreciated."
Alan H. Goodman, September 14, 2005
Dear all: Please excuse this format of sending a blanket e-mail to all of my contacts, many of whom I know well and are probably worried about me but have not yet heard from me. It has been a hectic two weeks plus. All of my loved ones are safe and sound, as are my business associates as far as I can tell. My e-mail is same as before (agoodman@lemle.com). My new cell no. is 281-467-1936 -- please add to your contacts as best number to reach me for the next month or so. My other cell (504-452-3680) will work off and on only. I'll be working out of our Baton Rouge and Shreveport offices (as now expanded) until we can return to New Orleans. The mailing address in Shreveport is Lemle & Kelleher, L.L.P., 401 Edwards Street, 10th Floor Louisiana Tower, Shreveport, La. 71101-3289. My wife and younger kids are in Houston but I'll commute each week to Shreveport where I can stay with my brother or to Baton Rouge where I can stay with my brother-in-law. I'm hoping to be able to return to our New Orleans office within the next 30 days to work there. There's a lot of personal information I could share but won't for now. Again, we are all okay and will persevere..
Alan H. Goodman
Lemle & Kelleher
Claude Lightfoot, September 13, 2005
To All of My Friends and Clients,
I am happy to report that I escaped the wrath of Katrina and have temporarily relocated to Miami for this period of exile. I hope to return to my office to resume my busy consumer practice and Chapter 7 trustee work as soon as power and telephones are restored. I am fortunate that my home near the river levee in Orleans Parish survived, as it has done since it was built in the 1840s, although it is presently prohibited for us to return. I am grateful for life and a home to return to. In the interest of those without a voice, I urge my fellow ABI members to consider asking their legislators to support the proposed legislation to defer the effective date of the bankruptcy reforms for Katrina victims.
Hoping to reunite with my friends and colleagues in better times sure to come for our city,
Claude Lightfoot
Claude C. Lightfoot, Jr.
Claude C. Lightfoot, Jr. P.C.
Bankruptcy Attorney and Chapter 7 Trustee
Evacuation Address:
1409 Baracoa Avenue
Coral Gables, FL 33146
(305) 665-9345
Cellular (504) 723-4222
Email: claudelightfoot@cox.net and/or claudelightfoot@comcast.net
Patrick Vance, September 5, 2005
ABI Friends:
Please excuse the mixture of personal and business information, but I wanted to get this email out to all of my friends as soon as possible. The Vance family is fine. Sarah and I are living in Baton Rouge during this involuntary flood exile. Our son, Bobby, has returned to Philadelphia for his senior year at Penn.Jones Walker is up and running. We are bursting at the seams in the Baton Rouge office, but we will make do. We had contingency plans for an outage of one of our offices. However, no one anticipated a total evacuation of the City of New Orleans.We have challenges and will meet them.
I am working and living in Baton Rouge. My contact information is at the end of the email. The phones are still congested and you may find email the easiest way to communicate with me for awhile.
Read Full Letter
Rudy Cerone, September 5, 2005
To All:
I and my family are alive and well. We evacuated to the West of the
City before the storm.
My ability to access my firm's email finally has been reactivated. I
will be relocating to our offices in Baton Rouge in the next few days.
Will keep in touch.
I have a feeling that next Mardi Gras will be the best ever.
Rudy
Just wanted to let you know that I and my family are now safe and staying with relatives in Atlanta. This is my wife’s email address and you can get to me through this address. My regular email is down as it is based on my firm’s server in New Orleans.
My home in New Orleans made it through the storm but, apparently, not through the looting. Check out the article in the left hand column on page 3 of today’s USA Today. My home is in the Carrollton area described in that article. I also lost a car in New Orleans and a summer home and boat on the Miss. Gulf Coast.
Please let everyone at the ABC and the ABI know the we are OK and will get through this eventually. Please ask all to say a prayer for the victims of the storm.
Rudy
If you are in need of assistance, please email katrina@abiworld.org.
ABI Members offering assistance can be found on this page.
Access a list of law schools Here Complete List.
ABI’s efforts to coordinate in kind and pro bono contributions extends to its investment banking members. Gordian Group, LLC and Peter Kaufman, the Head of Gordian's Restructuring and Distressed M&A practice, were the first to step up to offer pro bono or reduced rate services to those businesses that were affected and who now desperately need financial advisory services to deal with the unprecedented catastrophic losses from Hurricane Katrina.
ABI will advise the development departments of the States of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi of this opportunity to provide much-needed assistance to their respective businesses since recovering from Katrina will require the efforts of both the private and public sector.
ABI hopes and trusts that other investment bankers and financial advisors will join this efforts to put their skills in dealing with crisis situations to work where they are so needed.
Please click here to add your financial firm to this roster.
Relief efforts links available at: http://www.abanet.org/katrina/.
The NCBC has established the “NCBC Hurricane Relief Fund” and donations are now being accepted. Please make checks out to the “NCBC Hurricane Relief Fund” and send them to Celia Strickler, NCBC Treasurer, 537 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101-3318
The NCBC Board of Directors will work closely with the affected courts to determine the best use of any of these donations and will fully disclose how the money was distributed.
Contact: ABI member Gary McKenzie from Baton Rouge (225-368-1006), Partner with B.R.B.A. Pro Bono Project/Bankruptcy Law Section to help handle disaster related emergency filings pre- and even post- October 17th.
The Alabama State Bar is providing Alabama lawyers a way to directly help victims of Hurricane Katrina in Alabama and her neighboring states of Mississippi and Louisiana. The Alabama Law Foundation will be accepting donations for the Katrina Disaster Fund, with 100 percent of the funds received going directly to relief efforts now being undertaken by the American Red Cross and Salvation Army.
Both credit cards and checks will be accepted and donations should be made to “The Alabama Law Foundation Katrina Disaster Fund.” A donation form can be found at http://www.alfinc.org/donationform.cfm or donations can by mailed to the Alabama Law Foundation Katrina Disaster Fund, P.O. Box 671, Montgomery, AL 36101.
The Louisiana State Bar Association is establishing the “Hurricane Katrina Legal Community Relief Fund” to help assist lawyers who lost their homes and offices in the storm. This fund is to provide a mechanism for caring members of the legal community to assist their colleagues in this time of need.
More information will be posted soon.