ABA creates national task force to cope with legal needs during pandemic

The American Bar Association has created a nationwide task force to cope with legal needs during the coronavirus outbreak, chaired by James J. Sandman, former president of the Legal Services Corporation.

The task force’s mission will be to identify legal needs, such as pro bono work in domestic violence, employment and unlawful detainer matters, make recommendations and help mobilize volunteer lawyers and legal professionals for people who need help.

The first meeting of the group was set to take place today via conference call.

“We really want to mobilize the legal community who has been so generous with rendering pro bono help in their towns and cities and areas of their work,” ABA President Judy Perry Martinez said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “We really want everybody to step up their game because we know that we anticipate that there’ll be a significant uptick in legal needs on both the civil and the criminal side.”

After other extraordinary events such as Hurricane Katrina, Martinez explained, the ABA saw an uptick in various legal issues that arose as a consequence of people being under stressful situations. One of those issues is domestic violence, she said.

“We know that with good help and legal information that volunteer lawyers and others can put out, we can help prevent in some cases incidents of domestic violence and also address those when they do occur,” Martinez said. “We know it’s important anytime that lawyers are working on rendering pro bono legal services to make sure that we’re thinking smartly about how that can be done and how we can work with the courts.”

Martinez mentioned other issues that the ABA is expecting will increase as a result of the pandemic, such as child custody modification because of school closures or parents losing their employment.

“On the criminal side we are certainly keeping our eye on and are concerned about what happens to an individual when a family member is arrested and there is no money because of a lack of a job that has been lost because of the pandemic,” Martinez said. “There’s going to be a challenge on making money bail, paying fines and fees. If it’s money bail, they may have increased pretrial detention that could arise. And how do we address those issues?”

According to an ABA news release, the Task Force on Legal Needs Arising Out of the 2020 Pandemic will include up to 20 representatives from top legal organizations in the United States. The members represent organizations such as the National Association of Bar Executives and the Legal Services Corporation. Specific states are not represented.

The task force will include experts in disaster response, health law, insurance, legal needs of families to protect basic human needs such as food, shelter, medical and employment benefits, criminal justice, civil rights and social justice, according to the news release.

Martinez said she knows from previous experience the timeline for how far the legal needs extend post-disaster is quite extensive. She said Southeast Louisiana Legal Services concluded its last Katrina case in February.

“People without resources, the poor, people who have disabilities and the elderly are often going to be those who are least able to recover, if ever able to recover fully,” Martinez said. “And so that’s why it is critical that this is not only seen as a sprint for pro bono and other legal services but also seen as the marathon that we know it will be.”