PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008 - (Page 7)

CovER SToRy and cultural issues, it becomes exponentially challenging for us and overwhelming for the client.” One of the aspects of this project of which we are most proud is that it includes paralegals, administrative staff and interns, in addition to dozens of associates and partners. For example, Carla BiasoFalkenstein (Boston) has participated with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm in organizing electronic materials, disseminating information, preparing for firmwide teleconferences and serving as the de facto “secretary” for the project. She attends all teleconferences, writes the minutes of the meetings and distributes the minutes in the Katrina eRoom. By linking her office phone to a 1-800 number for victims in need of legal assistance, she now serves as the link between the clients in Mississippi and our DLA Piper lawyers. Carla says, “I am loving the fact that I can help so many that unfortunately lost so much with the Katrina devastation, when I have been so fortunate and blessed since I moved to the USA from Brazil.” Wendy Francois (New York) has visited Mississippi numerous times since joining the project and has been deeply impacted by her involvement. “Not many people are still talking about Hurricane Katrina,” says Wendy. “This August will be three years since the storm, and the topic has long outlived its popularity in the media. I was shocked when I first arrived in Biloxi. There were barely any bridges, boardwalks, homes, schools or stores. What I saw were a lot of FEMA trailers. Twentysix months after Hurricane Katrina, the federal, state and local governments have not provided adequate response or aid to a life-changing, life-shattering emergency.” Through its relentless commitment, the Real Estate practice group has shown that DLA Piper can indeed be a reservoir of hope. The firm is helping families rebuild, move back into their homes and begin to return to a more normal life. Aimee working on homes in New Orleans VOLUNTeeRINg In nEW oRLEAnS after seeing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, aimee Heilbrunn (Chicago) resolved to contribute to cleanup efforts. On Christmas eve 2006, she boarded a plane bound for New Orleans to volunteer with Nechama, a disaster relief organization. For a week, she gutted damaged homes of those who could not afford to pay for demolition work. each day consisted of about eight hours of hard physical labor: removing drywall, ripping up floors and hauling ruined appliances outside. aimee spent two days working in the Lower Ninth Ward on the home of Mr. C., a blind 90-year-old man. “His neighborhood looked as if it had been struck by a bomb,” aimee says. “Only one other house on that street was inhabited, but its homeowners lived in a FeMa trailer on their front lawn. Virtually no homes in that neighborhood had electricity, and even fewer had indoor plumbing. Mr. C. hoped to rebuild and really appreciated our help.” aimee then spent three days helping Clara, a 49-year-old woman who saved for years to buy her home. Its elderly seller had made Clara promise to never to tear it down. “We helped Clara keep her promise,” aimee says. “We ripped out the plaster, insulation, wood floors and sub-flooring so Clara could restore her home.” Upon seeing her newly gutted house, Clara wept out of sadness and appreciation. aimee was impressed with how grateful all of the people of New Orleans were for help. “every single person we met bent over backwards to thank us for coming,” she says. “It was not about the work that we did, or the houses we cleaned, but that we showed up.” SUMMER 2008 | 07

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008

PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008 Contents A Firm Response to a Natural Disaster Protecting Our Electorate National News An Interview with Sandy Gohn Mapping Impact FourThought Signature Project Update New Perimeter Launches Addis Ababa Law School Project Awards and Recognition What Our Clients Say About Us

PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008

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