NY Forms Legal Assistance Task Force to Help Texas Hurricane Victims (New York Law Journal)
New York Law Journal, September 7, 2017
NY Forms Legal Assistance Task Force to Help Texas Hurricane Victims
“Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced the formation of a task force to help victims of Hurricane Harvey and to assist Houston-area courts in their recovery. Last week, the Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency order temporarily allowing lawyers from other states to provide assistance to needy clients through legal aid, pro bono programs and bar associations. The task force will be co-chaired by John Kiernan, president of the New York City Bar and a senior litigation partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, and Sharon Katz, the special counsel for pro bono at Davis Polk & Wardwell. The New York State Task Force on Legal Assistance Related to Hurricane Harvey will work with the Texas government and the legal community to ‘coordinate the pro bono efforts of New York legal volunteers to best address the needs of Texans affected by the storm, who may require help with home insurance claims, FEMA benefits, mortgage matters and other pressing legal issues,’ a news release from the New York State Unified Court System said.”
