Southeast Louisiana Legal Services and Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice - 070067
Abstract Number: 070067
August 2007
Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) and the law firm Womble Carlyle have been working together on a low-income homeowner's project since Hurricane Katrina. Many low income New Orleanians lived in homes passed on to them by their parents or grandparents, but they had never taken the legal steps to probate the estates and put the heirs into possession of the property. Soon after Hurricane Katrina, these homeowners discovered that they were not eligible for a range of benefits without clear title to their homes. The objective of the Womble Carlyle's project is to file successions (the Louisiana legal term for probating an estate) for the deceased homeowners and put the living heirs in possession of the property, making them eligible for the federal, state and insurance assistance needed to rebuild their property. Beginning in the summer of 2006, Womble Carlyle and SLLS began to work with Katrina victims to complete and file the legal work necessary to give these victims clear title. The firm interviewed hundreds of potential clients, and was able to begin helping almost 200 people over the summer. In total, more than 30 Womble Carlyle attorneys and staff members traveled to New Orleans, some each week from July 10 through August 31, 2006 to provide direct aid to the victims. Lawyers and administrative professionals throughout the firm's home offices provided drafting and research assistance. Womble Carlyle worked under the supervision of SLLS to provide a variety of legal services for the project, including interviewing homeowners, helping them obtain relevant legal documents for their property, advising homeowners regarding their options, preparing pleadings and affidavits for probate, and filing succession petitions and obtaining judgments of possession. To date, the firm has provided nearly 4000 hours of pro bono assistance to these Katrina clients.
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