Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliff, LLP
Marlene Zarfes and Bill Karazsia
We knew that our work with the MCJ would require not just an investment of time and diligence, but also a solid commitment to real families in peril of losing basic human needs – shelter, food, and medical care, to name only a few.
Our client was a mother with a grown child and an 8-year old son with medical needs. Prior to Katrina, our client lived with both of her children. Their home was destroyed by the storm. When we first accepted representation, they were living temporarily in a hotel where the mother was working. Although the hotel manager allowed them to stay beyond the date to which he had originally agreed, our client was required to leave when the hotel manager needed to rent the room. Faced with the possibility of being totally
homeless, they turned to a friend who allowed them to stay for several weeks. FEMA eventually worked with us by suggesting several possible shelters, but we felt that we were clearly in an adversarial position with FEMA. We eventually reached a point where we had exhausted any relief that we could provide and had no choice but to terminate our representation.
We came away from our work with a clear understanding that free legal services are vitally important to those recovering from natural disasters.