News Article

• Pro Bono at Womble Carlyle

More than a year after Hurricane Katrina, many New Orleans residents remain in desperate need of help. While the immediate threat to life has passed, thousands of flood victims have been unable to resume any semblance of a normal life.

Entire neighborhoods remain vacant because homeowners cannot access the funds to rebuild. Tracts of land remain in a confusing legal limbo, with residents unable to prove ownership and reclaim their homes.

Womble Carlyle has decided to help. Teams of attorneys and staff members will travel to New Orleans from July 10 to August 31. There, they will meet with homeowners and help them establish a clear title to their homes and property, all free of charge.

In all, Womble Carlyle expects to provide more than 4,000 lawyer hours to the people of New Orleans.

Generally, property ownership isn’t in dispute. But many New Orleans families, particularly in low-income areas, simply have passed homes down informally through the generations without filing succession papers.

"That title means everything," said attorney Cal Adams, chairman of the firm’s pro bono committee. "Without proof they own the property, they can't get FEMA assistance, state help, insurance payments or even loans."

Teams of four to six attorneys will travel to New Orleans for one-week shifts. In addition, other attorneys will process information and provide support from Womble Carlyle’s offices.

Low-income residents who need proof of home ownership in order to receive assistance will meet with Womble Carlyle attorneys for in-person interviews. These homeowners have been referred and screened by the Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, or SLLS, a not-for-profit legal aid organization.

The attorneys will conduct title and lien searches, check tax documents and file the necessary paperwork to establish an up-to-date title. Attorneys back in the Womble Carlyle offices will draft the pleadings to submit to the court – a process that takes roughly four hours per case.

"We’re looking to take advantage of our manpower and technology to see how many of these people we can get through the system," said attorney Cris Windham, who is helping lead the project.

Attorney Tripp Greason, Womble Carlyle’s Pro Bono Director and one of the organizers of the relief effort, said that like everyone, Womble Carlyle attorneys and employees were moved by the tremendous hardships caused by Hurricane Katrina and wanted to help. Once the initial wave of humanitarian needs were met, Greason said it made sense for Womble Carlyle to use its strongest assets—the firm’s legal experience—to attack a specific need in New Orleans.

He estimates Womble Carlyle will be able to help as many as 200 families claim the titles to their homes, although an actual number won’t be known until lawyers begin working on cases.

Windham said there is a definite sense of urgency to clear up these ownership cases. Grant money to rebuild houses will become available in August and there is a September deadline for seeking legal redress of insurance disputes.

A January decision by the Louisiana Supreme Court making it easier for out-of-state attorneys to do disaster-related pro bono work in the state opened the doors for the Womble Carlyle project. The firm will work under the supervision of SLLS.

Two well-respected New Orleans law firms – Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC and Sessions Fishman Nathan, LLP – are working with Womble Carlyle on the pro bono effort, providing office space, training and legal advice. Womble Carlyle has long-standing relationships with these firms.

While the Louisiana legal system has significant differences from that of any other state, Greason said Womble Carlyle attorneys will be able to handle these matters. By focusing their attention on a narrowly focused, but important, set of cases, attorneys will be able to provide the maximum amount of help without extensive additional training.

Clearing up the legal red tape will spur much-needed economic activity in some of New Orleans’ poorest and hardest-hit neighborhoods. More importantly, though, it will allow victims of this devastating natural disaster to return home and rebuild their lives.

"This is something we can do to help," Greason said.