60 students will gain valuable legal experience in weeklong spring break effort
—By Gilien Silsby
It has been nearly four years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, and while most of America has moved on, the city has not. Residents are still battling insurance companies, FEMA and other bureaucracies.
USC Gould School of Law students haven’t forgotten about the Gulf Coast. More than 60 USC Law students—the highest contingent ever—will spend their spring break, March 16-20, working alongside practicing attorneys to help residents with legal issues.
This is USC Law’s fourth public service trip to the region, and the first time that two international law students will join the group. One is from Korea; the other is from Latvia.
USC Law students will be joined by about 400 other law students from universities across the country, including Columbia, Fordham and University of Oklahoma. Student Hurricane Network is organizing the legal triage, which some have called the biggest effort by law students since Freedom Summer of 1964.
In addition to completing public service, the USC Law students will gain valuable work experience, particularly important in today’s tough economy when the job outlook is bleak for many newly minted attorneys.
The students will be placed with practicing attorneys to offer a variety of legal services, including helping renters with eviction cases, sorting unemployment claims and even sifting through court records to help prisoners who have served past their release times.
“You wouldn’t believe how much government inertia still exists in the Ninth Ward,” said Jessica Hewins, a second-year USC Law student and president of Legal Aid Alternative Breaks. “Residents are dealing with so much red tape and–even four years later–these hurricane victims are in desperate need of legal help.”
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