© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
EDITORS NOTE: The Texas Lawbook is providing constant updates on Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the legal community. For previous articles, please scroll down.
By Natalie Posgate
(Sept. 6) – The Houston Bar Association and Lone Star Legal Aid are partnering up to provide an in-person training disaster legal training CLE for lawyers who are interested in volunteering to help Hurricane Harvey victims.
Baker Botts’ Houston office is hosting the event, which will be this Friday from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The firm’s offices are located at the 32nd floor of One Shell Plaza at 910 Louisiana, Houston, TX 77002.
In addition, here is a link to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers’ portal for signing up for Hurricane Harvey disaster relief assistance.
Rob Ellis: Saving Lives and Gutting Homes
(Sept. 6) – Lucky for the residents in the Spring/Klein area, Rob Ellis had experience with providing disaster relief from flooding when Hurricane Harvey began flooding the northwest Houston suburb last week.
When he’s not spending time practicing complex commercial litigation at Yetter Coleman, Ellis attends to his duties as president of the Klein Texas Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a position that oversees eight congregations within the Mormon church.
When flooding hit Deweyville in East Texas and Baton Rouge in Louisiana last year, Ellis and hundreds of volunteers at his church traveled to both locations to help out. Their previous disaster relief experience provided momentum for a lofty task they had achieved by the end of Labor Day of gutting 171 flooded Spring/Klein homes affected by Harvey and evacuating dozens of people when the storm escalated in the area early last week.
“This was way worse than any of the Tax Day Floods,” said Ellis, referring to the floods that hit Houston on Tax Day last year and brought 17 inches of rain and destroyed more than 700 homes. “It’s worse than Baton Rouge and Deweyville – worse than all of those combined.”
Ellis had to evacuate his own home last Monday, located in the Wimbledon area of Spring/Klein. After putting his wife and four children in a canoe, Ellis assisted with and organized a team that had canoes and motorized boats to rescue neighborhood residents stranded. The currents were so strong in some areas that even “experienced kayakers could not make it,” so that group would have to deploy a motorized boat to complete the mission.
“It’s just kind of a shocking thing to see the amount of devastation,” Ellis said. “You had water that was over pickup trucks… mailboxes, up to people’s second story. There were reports of 80-year-old people stuck on their second floor.”
By the end of the week, the scenery had shifted in some areas to curbsides with several-feet-high piles of debris from homes as Ellis’ group began assisting gutting out homes, attempting to get everything out “before black mold sets in.”
Other than some flooding in the garage, Ellis’ house stayed dry and maintained power. But many in his neighborhood were not so lucky.
“It can be overwhelming when your house has nine feet of water and your belongings are done – you don’t know where to start,” Ellis said. “What we’re trying to do is help [Harvey victims] start that process.
“From here we rebuild,” he added. “I think people will get back on their feet, but it’s going to be a long process.”
Asked how Harvey has changed his perspective, Ellis said it has made him appreciate his community’s strong will to “lift up the other people who are down” despite all the devastation.
“It really just lets you realize this is a special place with people who want to lift those who are suffering,” Ellis said. “There’s nothing in it for them; they’re spending 16 to 19-hour days evacuating people and wading in very cold water up to [their chests] for hours on end. We’ve seen countless examples of that.”
The Heroes Behind Jackson Walker, Gray Reed’s Relief Efforts
(Sept. 6) – Jackson Walker and Gray, Reed & McGraw are among the many firms participating in Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, but both prefer to highlight several individuals at their firms who have made their efforts successful.
At Jackson Walker:
• Houston associate John Hays served fourteen years in the Marine Corps as a gunnery sergeant and is still a member of the reserves today. Hays’ unit was activated to assist with flood related rescues. After evacuating his family to Dallas on Monday, he returned to Houston and borrowed a boat from a neighbor. Hays spent most of Tuesday searching for those in need of help throughout the villages of Kingwood, offering assistance and shuttling water and food to people who did not want to leave despite being trapped. It’s estimated that he made contact with families in 30-40 houses, including house calls at the request of family members who could not make it to the area to contact their elderly parents.
– He also coordinated efforts with Marines operating in two-boat teams throughout Houston, primarily in between IH-10 and 288, passing addresses and names of people who needed some type of assistance. In all, the teams pulled out 15-20 families over a 24-hour period, and one deer swimming through a neighborhood.
– Hays also worked with his battalion commander to coordinate access routes for seven-ton vehicles coming from 14th Marines and amphibious assault vehicles coming from their Galveston detachment. Those seven-tons and AAV’s are currently conducting rescue/recovery ops on south side of Houston.
– Late last Tuesday night, Hays chased away a boat of apparent looters telling trapped families that there were mandatory evacuations in Kingwood and the water was going to rise 5-8 feet as a result of a damn collapse on Conroe. Hays and his team called them out and retraced their path correcting the misinformation they were passing to people and also reported them to the authorities.
– Hays spent most of Wednesday helping his younger brother clear out his flooded house near the Heights. Late last week, Hays coordinated with regimental Sergeant Major (owner of disaster recovery organization) and Marines to push out into the worst affected areas between Beaumont and Rockport, with the heaviest efforts spreading out through Houston.
• Houston partner Priya Coffey is Task Force Chair of the group that has been organizing and coordinating anyone who can lend hands-on support to members of the Jackson Walker family who have been displaced. This team, which includes many members of the Jackson Walker family, is also coordinating our monetary contributions, volunteer and pro bono efforts, and reaching out to displaced clients and the legal community affected by the floods to offer support in the form of coverage for hearings and closings, office space and technical support. One part of this Task Force led by Houston partner Alfie Meyerson will coordinate the firm’s monetary contributions and volunteer and pro bono efforts. Another part of this Task Force led by Houston partner Vytas Petrulis will administer our employee relief fund, which is funded by the firm and donations from Jackson Walker employees. The fund will enable Jackson Walker to quickly meet firm employee’s most urgent needs.
• Houston partner Scott McLaughlin offered his home to firm members who are displaced. He has also become Jackson Walker’s expert at navigating around road closures and figured out a way that IT staff member Rigo Duran could get to his home to feed his dog and get to the to finish the work that Lonnie started.
• Led by Houston partners Sara McEown and Alfie Meyerson, Dallas partner Brad Nitschke, and Dallas associate Sara Harris, Jackson Walker has formed a team to provide both short- and long-term assistance in connection with Texas-based legal aid agencies’ disaster relief programs.
• Houston associate Joel Glover and client development manager Judy Burgin are just a couple of the many Jackson Walker team members dedicated to providing community support at the George R. Brown Convention Center and other shelters in the wake of the floods.
At Gray Reed:
• Houston of counsel Robert Eckels, former county judge of Harris County and Texas House of Representatives member, was part of the core group that current Harris County Judge Ed Emmett enlisted to transform the NRG Center into a shelter that held up to 10,000 people. More details here from our partners at the Houston Chronicle.
• Dallas counsel and State Rep. Jeff Leach of the Texas House of Representatives traveled to Houston last week to assist with boat evacuations.
Legal Aid of Northwest Texas Begins Assisting Harvey Evacuees; Latham Hosts Disaster Relief Training
(Sept. 6) – The Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas said Tuesday that it began meeting one-on-one with evacuees over Labor Day in Dallas’ Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which opened as a shelter for Harvey victims. LANWT also manned a disaster hotline.
“The disaster response team has done an outstanding job of immediately and enthusiastically responding to help those in need,” said Tom Stutz, director of litigation at LANWT, said in a statement. “Not only are we anticipating additional assistance from our attorneys and paralegals firmwide, but we are also expecting to see an increase in assistance from the private bar, including attorneys who volunteer with the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program.”
LANWT is the fifth-largest legal aid program in the U.S. It provides legal services to low-income and disadvantaged clients, including family law, wills and estates, landlord/tenant cases, public benefits, tax issues, real property matters and revitalization efforts.
On Friday, Latham & Watkins hosted a training session conducted by Lone Star Legal Aid for about 50 law students on providing free legal assistance to Hurricane Harvey victims.
More Firms Assist Hurricane Harvey Victims & Tips on How to Help
(Sept. 4) – The efforts remain strong from Texas law firms looking to assist Hurricane Harvey victims.
Baker Botts has taken a leading effort in coordinating volunteers to serve four of the major shelters in the city, the George R. Brown Convention Center and NRG Stadium, Toyota Center and Lakewood Church.
Keri Brown, head of Baker Botts’ pro bono committee in Houston, said the firm got involved Tuesday evening after lawyers learned Lone Star Legal Aid, which was facing its own crisis from Harvey, needed help setting up in the convention centers so it could begin assisting victims, since many of its own staff could not safely make it there.“Over two days, we filled 79 volunteer shifts – 28 of which were filled by Baker Botts lawyers,” Brown said.
The volunteers assisted with tasks such as answering evacuees’ basic questions and helping them sign up for food stamps.
Brown said the response for volunteers was overwhelming, and shortly she had to turn away volunteers – both within and outside of Baker Botts – after the positions filled up.
But Lone Star Legal Aid and the Houston Volunteer Lawyers already have full dockets and will especially need more lawyers to take on pro bono cases in light of Harvey, she said.
“If you’ve been holding off on taking a divorce case from HVL, take it and take one more thing off their docket,” Brown said. “They’re all operating in disaster mode; it’s all hands on deck. Even in a hurricane, people still need to get a divorce, [deal with] property taxes, etc.”
She urged anyone who wants to help with pro bono services to consider doing so in the near future. The real challenge for victims will come months down the road – when victims have disputes with their landlords, run out of food stamps or need unemployment assistance.
“What the city is going to need are lawyers who are willing to take pro bono work in a month or three months or six months or a year because we’re still going to have Hurricane Harvey issues arising,” she said. “If you want to help and the shifts are full now so you can’t get in, remember us down the road.”
Justice Brett Busby of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston agreed.
“It’s really inspiring to see everybody come together and help those who need help,” Justice Busby told The Texas Lawbook. “The needs of the victims are not going to be taken car of [in a] week. It’s important for that spirit to continue.”
Justice Busby was one of the volunteers at the George R. Brown Convention Center. He would volunteer there at night after spending the days volunteering in other ways with his children (the GRB Center only allows adults to volunteer).
“It’s just inspiring to see so many people lined up just to help,” he said.
Though the response in Houston has been remarkable, he urged others to not forget about the communities beyond Houston affected by Harvey.
“It’s not just Houston that has been affected, it’s areas all over Southeast Texas – from Rockport and Port Aransas to Beaumont and Port Arthur near the Louisiana border,” Justice Busby said.
He also said those looking to donate should keep in mind that the needs will change over time. For example, by the end of last week shelters were already turning away clothing and food donations because their needs had been met.
“Social media has been a really great way to figure out what the needs are,” he said.
Latest Announced Firm Efforts
Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett is making a $250,000 donation to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, which has set up a Hurricane Harvey Legal Aid Fund that will go directly to the survivors of the hurricane. Lawyers at the firm also plan to work on pro bono projects with the Houston Volunteer Law Project to provide advice to Harvey victims.
Kirkland & Ellis is donating up to $500,000. The firm foundation is matching up to $250,000 each in donations made to the Red Cross and Team Rubicon. Lawyers at the firm also spent their time out of the office last week volunteering. Kirkland, which in July moved to a brand-new office in the 609 Main skyscraper with 62,000 square feet, has also offered up its office space to multiple displaced local charities – many of which have taken up on the offer already, Kirkland spokeswoman Olivia Clarke said in an email.
Andews Kurth Kenyon Managing Partner Bob Jewell announced Friday that the firm launched an online portal with links to helpful information from various agencies involved in the Harvey recovery process.
“Our intention is to provide a single repository of resources to ease the chaos of rebuilding,” Jewell said in the message.
The categories include: insurance claims and assistance, food assistance, helpful contact information, health information, FEMA links and forms, storm debris collection, consumer protection, volunteer information, donation information and a checklist and tips for helping your loved one.
Baker Botts has launched something similar on its website over the weekend. Its guide provides information such as how to file flood claims, renters’ rights, how to replace your passport and/or credit cards that may have been lost or damaged in the storm, information about schools and about small business administration loans, and tips to avoid home repair fraud.
Firm leaders at Vinson & Elkins, which reopened late last week announced its launch of the Vinson & Elkins Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund that matches donations made by lawyers and staff. V&E also announced its plans to providing “financial aid directly to organizations we believe will be most impactful.” The firm will also provide pro bono services for those in need of legal help after the disaster.
“As the city focuses on recovery, it is bittersweet that V&E marks our 100-year anniversary today,” V&E Chairman Mark Kelly and Managing Partner Scott Wulfe said in a joint letter sent out to firm clients, alumni and friends on Friday. “Our founders came together a century ago in Houston with a shared vision of creating an enduring law firm to serve our clients and the community. Today our V&E community extends well beyond our roots, and we remain inspired by a legacy of determination and spirit taking place across the city of Houston. Thank you for our continued thoughts for all who have been affected by this unprecedented storm.”
At Baker McKenzie, Family Goes Beyond Blood
(Sept. 4) – Justin Whittenburg had a few hours last Monday to gather his most important belongings.
He lives in the Sienna Plantation area on the south side of Houston, an area that went under mandatory evacuation as the unrelenting rain from Hurricane Harvey pelted down, causing a threatening swell in the Brazos River that runs along Whittenburg’s neighborhood, separated from the homes only by a levee that in normal circumstances brings comfort.
As scary as the process was, it made Wittenburg realize how little of his material possessions he truly valued compared to the immaterial: family, friends, pets, memories.
“At the end of the day, it was a relatively easy process,” Whittenburg said. “There are only a few things you care about that are material. You care about some pictures, and that’s really probably it. Everything else at the end of the day can be replaced, so you load up your family and everything important to you, grab your pets and leave.”
Fortunately, Whittenburg, a corporate lawyer at Baker McKenzie, had many options when he and his family evacuated their home. Numerous colleagues offered up their homes as a place to stay.
“It is a huge relief to know you have that kind of support system,” Whittenburg said. “For us, it was really troubling to think about what if we didn’t have that support system.
Baker McKenzie is among the numerous law firms providing deep support to Houston employees affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Beyond getting cash immediately to those who were left with nothing from the storm, Baker McKenzie lawyers have supported one another in ways such as ripping out carpet, doing laundry for colleagues whose homes were affected – even helping one colleague’s daughter get to her brother’s wedding.
“I’m so proud to work for people who really care about each other,” said Celina Joachim, a labor and employment partner in the firm’s Houston office. “The outpouring of support we’re seeing” is remarkable, she said, not just locally, but colleagues elsewhere, “checking on you and wanting to know, ‘What can we send down’” or what they should gather through their church’s donation drive.
Fortunately for Whittenburg, his house remained dry. But others at the firm were not so lucky.
Jonathan Newton, the managing partner of Baker McKenzie’s Houston office, said of the roughly 100 lawyers and staff in Houston, several employees were severely affected by the storm, some losing everything. One employee had to evacuate on short notice, leaving her cats behind. Someone was able to later retrieve her cats for her, but everything else was gone.
“The waters just rose and she had to leave the house immediately,” Newton said. “Her car is gone, house is gone, belongings are gone. She has nothing more right now than the clothes on her back. It’s just incredibly difficult to imagine.”
The firm has also helped Houston relatives of faraway firm employees.
Newton was in Chicago for meetings on Monday when one of the firm’s management committee members there said his daughter had just moved to Houston to attend Rice University the Thursday before Harvey hit. His son was getting married in Minnesota the following weekend.
Given the airport closures, the daughter could not fly and did not have a car. Even if she did, she wouldn’t be comfortable driving anything other than an SUV, given the rising waters.
“A partner named Rick Hammett said, ‘I have my car parked at my daughter’s house in Houston. Do you think she’d want that? It’s a Land Rover,’” Newton recalled.
With the help of Hammett, the Chicago partner’s daughter was able to pick up the car and, through his directions, take the backroads to Austin and catch a flight there to Minnesota.
“We have a term here at Baker McKenzie that we’re a culture of friendship,” Newton said. “This was the most perfect example. Here’s this poor young woman who had literally moved to Houston the Thursday before the storm; she was probably regretting her decision. I was just really proud of my partner (Hammett) that he was able to do this.”
Deans & Lyons: The Little Law Firm that Could
(Sept. 1) – Scores of large corporate law firms have announced generous financial donations to charities benefitting Hurricane Harvey victims, but one small Dallas-based firm is quite literally going above and beyond to participate in relief efforts.
Deans & Lyons announced Friday that it has teamed up with a firm client, Dallas-based Paragon Healthcare, to fly medical supplies into Houston to help address the severe limitation of cargo flights bringing vital medication and other supplies that some victims are depending on.
Paragon is a pharmaceutical services company that provides specialty infusions and other state-of-the-art services to patients with chronic health conditions or patients in need of post-acute care.
When Paragon CEO Rick Allen approached firm leaders about the difficulty Paragons’ patients were having receiving their treatments due to Houston’s two major airports being closed in light of Harvey, leaders at Deans & Lyons decided to step in and help, co-founding partner Mike Lyons told The Texas Lawbook during a phone interview.
“These are patients who have organ transplants, or people who need IV antibiotics or they will die,” Lyons said. “When he told me this was an issue, we wanted to make the aircraft available to do what needs to be done.”
Deans & Lyons co-owns a private jet with Allen and another Paragon executive. The firm agreed to front all of the expenses associated with operating a private jet, such as the hourly maintenance cost, fuel cost and pilot cost.
On Thursday, the Deans & Lyons-Paragon duo flew their aircraft to a commercial airport in Houston and successfully delivered supplies to meet the medical needs of 100 high acuity, cardiac transplant, nutritional and hospice patients. They served 75 more patients Friday by flying in Paragon’s supplies from Dallas and San Antonio.
The task itself posed a unique challenge because the airports in Houston that were open were restricted access.
“Among other things, there were helicopters everywhere so the air traffic was limited,” Lyons said. “In order to get into airports, we had to contact the airport managers for a two-hour window to land, which was only granted for medical reasons.”
Once on the ground in Houston, the plane was met by 15 drivers who delivered the medications throughout the city.
“I’m really proud of our little law firm that we could do this,” Lyons said. “We pride ourselves in being bold, even though we’re a small firm. It was a really important undertaking that was very worthy of our attention. We are glad to be associated with it.”
Deans & Lyons opened its Houston office last June when it lured three veteran lawyers from the now-defunct Beirne, Maynard & Parsons and two attorneys from Serpe Jones Andrews Callender & Bell.
Lyons said all of the firm’s Houston attorneys and staff are safe.
More Firms Announce Relief Efforts; Legal Clinics Begin to Hit Capacity
(Sept. 1) – Haynes and Boone, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Pillsbury have all announced their relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey victims.
In addition, the Houston Bar Association announced Friday that the Hurricane Harvey legal assistance clinic scheduled for today at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Outpatient Clinic is already at capacity.
“The Houston Bar Association, Houston Volunteer Lawyers and Lone Star Legal Aid are setting up additional clinics throughout the area that will be open to the public, and we will keep you apprised of all those clinic,” an HBA statement said.
Currently, the next open clinic in Houston will take place next Wednesday at the Montrose enter, located at 401 Branard St.
Haynes and Boone has set up an employee emergency relief fund though the Haynes and Boone Foundation. The firm also formed a rapid response task force.
In a message to clients and colleagues, Haynes and Boone Managing Partner Tim Powers said the task force includes “our most experienced partners who have worked with clients through all manner of crises, both natural and man-made.”
Topics the task force suggests prioritizing as those affected “begin to look at areas of need” include insurance claims and recovery; employee crisis funds; force majeure; supply chain disruption; employee welfare, compensation and benefits; prevention of price gouging (for the retail and hospitality industries); and specific application of regulatory guidance of state and federal agencies pertinent to the disaster.
“This group of experienced practitioners stands ready to assist in any way and will provide you with quick, actionable responses to any query,” Powers said in his note, which was published on the firm’s website.
Haynes and Boone isn’t the only firm that has started a disaster relief fund. Pillsbury Chairman Dave Dekker announced Thursday that the New York-based firm has started its own for Houston employees. In Texas, Pillsbury also has an Austin office.
In addition, Pillsbury is matching donations dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000 that employees make to benefit Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, Samaritan’s Purse, the Houston Food Bank and the Houston Humane Society.
In addition to donating its Astros season tickets this month to first responders and their children, Kirkland & Ellis announced that it gave $15,000 to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, which is taking the lead on actively fundraising for all legal aid programs impacted by Harvey.
One of them is Lone Star Legal Aid, the primary legal aid program serving the Houston area. Its Houston office burned down after an explosion rocked its building downtown on Fannin Street on Monday.
Sean Wheeler, the Houston office managing partner at Latham & Watkins, said the firm started a donation and firm matching program, which has raised more than $250,000 so far. The firm will split donations between the American Red Cross and Lone Star Legal Aid, which the firm has partnered with since Latham opened its Houston office in 2010.
“We were shocked and saddened by the explosion of one of its Houston-area offices earlier this week,” Wheeler said in an email. “In the aftermath of natural disasters, legal aid services are often overwhelmed with requests for assistance from vulnerable victims, so we will continue to look for opportunities for our lawyers and staff to donate their time and talents to organizations and individuals in need.”
Martin Beirne, a senior partner at Florida-based Akerman, said in an email that the firm was able to get hotel rooms for lawyers and staff who were evacuated from their homes.
He said the Houston team has received “terrific support from our partners in all offices.
“The nonstop, around the clock efforts by the Florida administration has been awesome,” he said. “no task too large or small – from hotel rooms, apartment rentals to food and clothing. Very inspiring.”
In partnership with the ABA, FEMA and other organizations, the State Bar of Texas has set up a toll-free legal hotline to connect low-income individuals affected by the disaster with local legal aid providers. The number is 800-504-7030.
In addition, Lynn Pinker Cox and Hurst announced that it raised a grand total of $14,450 through its firm donation matching program. The donations went to the Houston Humane Society, Red Cross, Americares, Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, Houston Food Bank and United Way of Greater Houston.
SCOTX Revises Emergency Harvey Orders, Hunton Launches Donation Site and More
(Aug. 31) – The Supreme Court of Texas has amended its order permitting out-of-state lawyers to practice temporarily in Texas and has added two new orders in light of court problems created by Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath.
The first new order permits the Aransas County Court at Law to sit in San Patricio County, which is located in Corpus Christi’s metropolitan area. The second one extends the Aug. 31 deadline for attorneys to pay their State Bar membership dues to Oct. 31. The deadline extension applies to attorneys whose principal offices are located in counties declared disaster areas. Attorneys who fail to meet the new Oct. 31 deadline will be put under automatic suspension on Nov. 1.
Information on the existing, amended and new Texas Supreme Court orders is available here.
Thursday morning, Hunton & Williams officially launched its microsite designed for Hurricane Harvey donations that will go directly to American Red Cross. So far, the website has raised more than $34,000. In addition, Hunton as a firm is making a $25,000 donation to Red Cross, Hunton spokesman John Eix said in an email Thursday morning.
The Houston Bar Association also announced new relief efforts Thursday morning. It launched its LegalLine to assist those impacted by Hurricane Harvey and has set up a toll-free number for Texas residents outside the Houston area, as well as set up legal clinics to assist veterans and other victims affected by Harvey. The HBA officially re-opened its offices Wednesday.
Here’s the email the HBA sent out:
“Beginning Tuesday, September 5 through Friday, September 29, the HBA’s LegalLine will have volunteer attorneys answering calls from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Extended LegalLine hours will be available from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 6 and Wednesday, September 20. The public can call 713-759-1133 or toll free at 1-866-959-1133 and speak to volunteer attorneys who will answer their questions, provide brief legal advice and refer them to appropriate resources for help. The attorneys will be able to answer questions on insurance, landlord/issues, contracts, lost documents, FEMA matters and other disaster-related topics.
The HBA’s Houston Volunteer Lawyers (HVL) is working with other local and state legal services providers to coordinate legal aid for low-income individuals affected by the storm. HVL will set up legal advice clinics to meet the needs of the community in various locations across the city and also will visit area shelters to provide information about how to access legal services and to answer questions.
The Veterans Legal Advice Clinic on Friday, September 1, has been opened to victims of Hurricane Harvey, in addition to veterans. The clinic will be held from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, 2002 Holcombe Blvd., 77030, first floor near the emergency room entrance. No appointment necessary.
Starting on September 1, HVL will be working with Lone Star Legal Aid to staff booths at some of the shelters housing those who have been displaced as a result of the storm. There will be booths initially at the George R. Brown Convention Center and NRG Stadium. Booths will be expanded to additional shelters next week. Lawyers at these locations will address legal questions for those who are housed at the shelter temporarily.”
For updated information on legal aid and other services, visit www.makejusticehappen.org/Harvey, call 713-228-0732 or 713-759-1133.
Two Houston Firms to Reopen Thursday; SMU Dedman Gets Involved
(Aug. 30) – Officials at Andrews Kurth Kenyon and Baker Botts announced Wednesday that they will re-open their Houston offices Thursday in light of Hurricane Harvey.
Both firms are headquartered in Houston.
Baker Botts spokesman Stephen Hastings said its office, located downtown, will be open “for those who can get to it in a safe manner.” He added that the firm remains open for business and Houston-based lawyers and staff continue to work remotely.
Spokeswoman Ashley Nelly of Andrews Kurth Kenyon said all the firm’s systems are online and functioning, and our nine other office locations are open for business, so we are fully operational and able to serve the needs of our clients.”
In a written statement, Nelly said firm leadership “has been connecting at least daily since Aug. 21 to prepare for, communicate and assess the impacts of the storm – we were well prepared and we communicated early.” She said the firm conducted a check-in process Tuesday for Houston and Woodlands employees “and have accounted for almost everyone.
“We have received tremendous encouragement and offers of assistance from law firms across the country and our other firm offices and we are very grateful for those generous extensions of sympathy,” she said. “Our Austin and Dallas offices have welcomed many of our Houston area lawyers to their offices so that they can continue to conduct client business. Events like these remind us that we are family at our firm. We are fortunate to have a worldwide firm, with exceptionally talented lawyers and staff around the globe, able to step in to help each other and our clients at a profoundly challenging time.”
More firms announce relief efforts
Hastings and Nelly both said their firms are participating in relief efforts.
“A number of Baker Botts lawyers and staff have been volunteering at Brown Convention Center, NRG and other shelters in Houston and will continue to do so,” Hastings said.
Nelly said Andrews Kurth Kenyon plans to coordinate fundraising efforts to help firm employees affected by Hurricane Harvey, as well as local non-profit organizations dedicated to supporting Harvey victims.
Norton Rose Fulbright also announced fundraising efforts on Wednesday. Carter Crow, partner-in-charge of the firm’s Houston office, said Norton Rose Fulbright is “raising funds across its 59 global offices through the firm’s foundation, which will contribute those funds and other support to those affected by Hurricane Harvey.”
He said the firm is also organizing substantial pro bono efforts to assist Harvey victims.
SMU Dedman’s Relief Efforts
In Dallas, SMU’s Dedman School of Law has formed a Hurricane Harvey Task Force to assess ways the school can help those affected. The school also invited displaced law students from Houston law schools to use SMU’s library while they are in Dallas.
In a letter sent out Monday to students, Dean Jennifer Collins and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Steve Yeager said the school’s initial relief efforts “will be focused on assisting with the immediate needs of the displaced individuals, and to that end, will be collecting donations of supplies to deliver to the shelters.
SCOTX Issues Harvey-Related Orders; More Firms Assist in Relief Efforts
(Aug. 30) – The Supreme Court of Texas has issued a series of emergency orders to address post-Harvey court implications.
Two of those orders, issued Tuesday, permits out-of-state lawyers to practice temporarily in Texas and suspends the statute of limitations for civil claims that have failed to been filed as a result of Hurricane Harvey. On Monday, Texas’s High Court issued a joint order with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals tells all Texas courts to consider disaster-caused delays as a good cause for modifying or suspending all deadlines and procedures.
More information on those three orders can be found here.
More Firms Assist in Relief Efforts
More Texas law firms are also coming forward to assist with the relief efforts for Harvey victims.
Firm leaders at Lynn Pinker Cox Hurst agreed to donate up to $10,000 to relief efforts such as the Houston Food Bank and Red Cross by matching any individual donations up to $500 made by Lynn Pinker attorneys.
“I am certain you all have seen the news footage and heard the coverage of the vast communities of people and pets so seriously affected by Harvey,” Lynn Pinker founding partner Mike Lynn said in a firmwide Tuesday morning memo. “It is just devastating, and it’s going to be a very long road to recovery.”
Lynn also sent the memo to some employees at his wife, U.S. Chief District Judge Barbara Lynn’s, office in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Individually, the Lynns have donated more than $2,000 and continue give, Mr. Lynn said in an email.
Jones Day attorneys joined a group of volunteers, firefighters and CERT teams to transform the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas into a “mega-shelter” to house up to 5,000 Harvey evacuees. The mega-shelter includes a pharmacy and medical center, phone charging stations, industrial-sized air-conditioning units, cribs, and playpens, including “row after row” of Red Cross cots.
“While many of the workers were Dallas natives, the effort drew volunteers from across Texas, and even included evacuees from Houston who were fortunate enough to be able to leave the city before the storm arrived,” Dallas Jones Day partner Jay Johnson said in an email. “Jones Day is collecting money, toiletries, and new clothing for those affected by the hurricane, and anyone wishing to make a donation can contact their Dallas Office Administrator, Sally VonderHoya, at 214.969.4813.”
Hunton & Williams is also getting involved. The firm is working with the American Red Cross to set up a microsite specifically for Hurricane Harvey donations by the firm’s attorneys and staff, John Eix, Hunton’s regional business development and marketing manager of Texas said in an email. In addition, Dallas paralegal Sarah Klein is traveling to Houston this weekend and is taking supplies and necessity donations to the hurricane victims.
Texas Lawyers Tackling Hurricane Harvey & Aftermath
By Natalie Posgate
(Aug. 28) – Hundreds of law firms across South Texas are closed Monday and Tuesday due to the horrific flood and damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.
From Houston to Corpus Christi, law firm leaders told employees to not even attempt to go to their offices as a risk management precaution. Many lawyers, paralegals and other staff are working from their homes or from out-of-town safe havens.
At the same time, lawyers across the state are contributing money and resources to relief efforts, including the American Red Cross.
Even corporate legal departments are involved in safety and recovery efforts.
Southwest Airlines General Counsel Mark Shaw said the Dallas-based airline provided five jets to fly more than 500 people out of Houston late Sunday to Dallas on unscheduled flights.
“Our weather disruption task force, which includes members of our legal team, have been meeting in person and by phone multiple times daily since last Wednesday,” Shaw said in an interview with The Texas Lawbook. “Our number one priority is the safety of our customers and employees.”
Shaw said the legal and financial teams are already working together to gather the data on any property damage or insurance claims related to business disruption.
Various bar organizations, including the Houston Bar Association, State Bar of Texas and American Bar Association are also providing assistance.
Though the HBA’s offices are currently closed from the flooding, HBA officials said they will “definitely be providing disaster relief efforts to the legal community and to the public,” including legal hotline programs and finding temporary office space for lawyers in need.
“Our members are incredibly generous and we know they will want to help in any way they can,” said HBA President Alistair Dawson. “One of our first tasks will be recruiting volunteers to staff all of these programs when we are able to get them set up. HBA is already working with the State Bar of Texas and the ABA to coordinate efforts, and we will no doubt be contacting other local bars in Houston and our sister bars in other affected cities to coordinate with them.
“We will have resources in place to provide legal assistance to those in need as soon as we can,” Dawson added.
Major law firms in Houston, including Andrews Kurth Kenyon, Yetter Coleman, Vinson & Elkins, Bracewell, Akin Gump, Gibson Dunn, Norton Rose Fulbright, Baker Botts, Kirkland & Ellis and Haynes and Boone have confirmed that they are currently closed. South Texas College of Law and the University of Houston Law Center have informed students that they will be closed through Wednesday.
In addition, all of the civil and criminal courts in Harris County have sent notice that they will remain closed through Labor Day.
V&E spokeswoman Melissa Anderson, who called from Washington, D.C., said she saw a camera shot by a local news station in front of First City Tower, which houses V&E’s global headquarters, that displayed water flowing in front of the building “like a river.” Her understanding is the building is “closed but operational.”
The firm itself has remained operational, she said, with other V&E offices continuing to provide assistance.
“We want to make sure our clients are getting what they need, especially as a lot of them are being impacted by the storm as well,” Anderson said.
In addition, Anderson said the homes of many at the firm have fortunately stayed dry, so attorneys and staff are opening up their homes to provide temporary shelter to others.
Many firms are currently unsure when exactly they will reopen their offices.
“We have activated our emergency operations procedures and are actively monitoring the safety of our lawyers and staff,” Yetter Coleman spokeswoman Kate Reynolds said in an email. “Any decisions about operations will be made on a day-by-day basis based on the weather and local emergency instructions.”
Kirkland partner Andy Calder said the firm’s Houston office will remain closed through the end of the week.
“Lawyers are working remotely on matters where possible to ensure clients are covered,” Calder, who served on the firm’s management committee, said in a statement. “Kirkland has also asked employees worldwide to donate to its Disaster Relief Fund, the American Red Cross and Team Rubicon, an organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams. The Houston office takes its responsibilities as a local corporate citizen very seriously and will also be absolutely committed to doing anything it can to help the city rebuild once the immediate difficulties have passed.”
All in all, Houston firms are currently focused on monitoring the safety of their attorneys and staff.
“Our first priority is and always be the safety of our Bracewell family,” Paul Grabowski, the firm’s chief marketing officer, said in an email. “We are keeping in contact with all attorneys and staff in the Houston area and will continue to monitor the situation. We will also follow the guidance of our elected officials as they respond to this storm and its impact on the Houston region.
Gibson Dunn partner Hillary Holmes confirmed the safety of Houston attorneys at her firm.
“Our Houston office is like family and we have been supporting each other all weekend – checking in with every lawyer and staff member consistently each day of the storm,” she said. “So far everyone is safe and sound. We have also received overwhelming support from our other offices.”
Holmes said lawyers at Gibson Dunn have already made personal monetary donations to the Red Cross and other agencies.
“We have already reached out to Houston Volunteer Lawyers offering to help in any way with the agency’s efforts after Harvey passes – likely by legal lines and clinics to assist flood victims,” Holmes added. “We have also been coordinating with friends at Houston-based clients on partnering to provide legal assistance. We as lawyers have a special responsibility to help those who will need legal guidance following this disaster.”
Holland & Knight is also donating to Red Cross. To encourage donations, managing partner Steven Sonberg on Monday told lawyers that the firm will provide a matching contribution of $75,000 so that total donations from Holland & Knight exceed $150,000.
Akin Gump Chairperson Kim Koopersmith also expressed her firm’s willingness to help.
“Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this tragedy, and we stand ready to provide assistance to the Houston community as we have done with previous natural disasters, including hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” Koopersmith said in a statement.
Haynes and Boone Managing Partner Tim Powers said the firm made an immediate donation to the United Way of Greater Houston.
“Our management team is in the process of creating a fund to help our own employees, as well,” Powers said.
Most firms have emphasized that they have been able to maintain their operations remotely through the support of their other offices.
“Our lawyers who were not affected continue to work remotely,” said Norton Rose Fulbright US Managing Partner Daryl Lansdale. “Nowadays, much of a lawyer’s workday is spent away from the office, so this unfortunate situation does not necessarily limit one’s capabilities. Also, as a global firm, we are able to rely on colleagues and tap into resources across the US and around the world.”
Baker Botts spokesman Stephen Hastings said the firm is “staying in touch with lawyers and staff and providing them with all possible assistance.
“While we have physically closed our Houston office until such time as it is safe for our people to travel, Baker Botts, through our 14 domestic and global offices, continues to respond to the needs of our clients,” Hastings said. “All systems are up and running and we are open for business. We are also in touch with our clients and are working with them on the special needs that they have as a result of the storm. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this terrible disaster.”
Some Houston firms have already received support from other firms all over the U.S.
“We have received tremendous encouragement and offers of assistance from other law firms across the country as well as from our colleagues in our other offices,” Ashley Nelly, director of marketing operations at Andrews Kurth Kenyon, said in an email. “We are very grateful for those generous extensions of sympathy.”
While conditions remain dire in Houston, some businesses located in Corpus Christi and other South Texas towns are starting to rebound from Harvey. The Corpus Christi International Airport reopened on Monday. Though all offices of Corpus-based firm Royston Rayzor were closed Friday, managing partner Christopher Lowrance said its primary office is open today with limited staff. He said the firm’s Brownsville office is also open. The firm’s Houston, San Antonio and Galveston offices, however, remain closed.
Mark Curriden contributed to this report.
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