Past Events

Disaster Legal Aid Fundamentals and New Developments in Disaster Justice & Resilience 

  • New Developments in Climate Disaster Response & Resilience (available until November 2023) - Pro Bono Net, Equal Justice Works, and Lone Star Legal Aid developed this free CLE program for pro bono managers, volunteers, nonprofit legal aid professionals, and advocates involved in disaster response and recovery. Attorneys seeking CLE credit for their jurisdictions can see CLE details on the page.
  • The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018: What Legal Aid Providers Should Know - On October 5th, 2018, the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 was signed into law. The act contains over 50 provisions that amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by requiring FEMA to change its policies and regulations. The goal of this webinar was to provide participants with an overview of changes to the Stafford Act that affect their representation of disaster survivors.  Panelists covered changes related to housing, rental assistance, recoupments, duplication of benefits, and Community Development Block Grants.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Trainings & Related Programs 

  • 2023 FEMA Appeals Trainings -  Pro Bono Net and Legal Aid of Sonoma County hosted these free trainings on the 1.) basics of the FEMA appeals process and 2.) guidance on using and adopting Pro Bono Net’s FEMA appeals digital tool (www.femaappeals.org), to create, edit, and print an appeal letter. The general FEMA appeals process is consistent across all states and territories, so this training was tailored to a national audience. The recordings and materials are available in the Library under the Folder “2023 FEMA Appeals Webinar Trainings.” If you're not a member, you can create a free account on Advocates for Disaster Justice by clicking here. 
     
  • Disaster Resilience, Equity, & The Next Four Years of FEMA: What Lawyers Should Know - As part of Disaster Resilience Awareness Month, experts talked about the equity initiatives FEMA will be implementing through 2026 and what that means for disaster survivors. 

Disaster Legal Aid National Roundtable Series  

In 2018, we launched a national Disaster Legal Aid National Roundtable Series to discuss topics of cross-cutting interest to disaster legal aid practitioners across regions. Click here to access the materials and recordings of each roundtable. Please note that this requires access to the Advocate Network. 

  • November 29, 2018 | Disasters & Disability Inclusion
  • October 24, 2018 | Ready, Willing, & Able: Organizing the Legal Community's Response to Disasters
  • September 27, 2018 | The Disaster Never Seems to End: Insurance Issues Post-Disaster
  • August 30, 2018 | Disaster Recovery and Recoupments
  • July 26, 2018 | Introduction to Federal Disaster Benefits and the ABA-YLD Disaster Legal Services Program
  • June 28, 2018 | 5+ Pro Tips for Working with FEMA: Lessons Learned That Work

Other Emergency Responses

Days before COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, Lone Star Legal Aid and Pro Bono Net, in collaboration with the Disaster Legal Assistance Collaborative in California, and the Alameda County Bar Association and Legal Access Alameda, convened two national calls to discuss legal response strategies in the wake of the pandemic. We had legal aid and pro bono advocates join from across regions in the United States. The calls were chaired by Tiela Chalmers, co-chair of the Disaster Legal Assistance Collaborative in California, and CEO the Alameda County Bar Association and Legal Access Alameda. These calls were not recorded. For California-specific efforts and resources, you can visit the statewide disaster legal services website here.

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