IN THE WAKE of the September 11 terrorist attacks on America, members of bar associations across the country, including the NH Bar Association, are responding with efforts to provide assistance or to recognize those affected by the tragedy.

According to Executive Director Jeannine McCoy, the NH Bar plans to work with the ABA and its Division for Bar Services to offer coordinated assistance that will be helpful in New York City, Washington, DC and Pennsylvania. "Several NHBA members have called to offer help in a coordinated response by New Hampshire attorneys," said McCoy. Bar President Peter Hutchins has asked that the Board of Governors adopt a resolution expressing the NHBA’s support and condolences to all the immediately impacted bar associations.

On the home page of the this site, a message titled "Attack Aftermath: How to Help" points readers to NH Helpline, a statewide resource coordinating volunteer and social service efforts. Blood donations and monetary donations to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund are recommended. Links to NH Helpline and to other links such as http://helping.org, which has links to a variety of nonprofit organizations providing aid to victims of the attacks, enables NH Bar members to donate online. The Bar’s Web site message will be periodically updated as new resources or needs are identified.

The following is a roundup of local and national responses and efforts. (Also, see personal perspectives on the attacks by NHBA President Peter Hutchins and ABA President Robert Hirshon on page 4.)

Kenneth Bouchard, a veteran trial attorney, said that, like everyone else, the Sept. 11 attacks left him reeling, then feeling helpless. "What can I do?" he asked.

"We are glued to our televisions, and can’t imagine the scope of this disaster. We see our National Guard and others being mobilized. We can’t all go to Washington or New York to volunteer. We can’t make contact with the families of the many missing, lost, injured and deceased," said Bouchard.

In addition to making financial contributions, Bouchard saw the need for people to reach out personally to others in a visible way.

He formed a grassroots non-profit organization, United We Stand, Inc., whose purpose is to sell and encourage people to wear a patriotic button. "We have arranged to have them made at a price, depending on quantity, of something in the range of 25 to 30 cents, plus postage. We want to get as many people as possible in New Hampshire wearing one of these buttons and, if we are successful enough, many people across the country. Our short-term goal is to get EVERY man, woman and school-aged child in New Hampshire to wear one daily."

Bouchard is reaching out to his fellow members of the Bar because they are an easily identifiable group.

"The cost of each button will be $2. The net profit after expenses (mostly the cost of the buttons plus shipping) will go to the specific Red Cross disaster relief fund that will benefit the survivors of the explosions. This is a completely volunteer effort, and no one handling these buttons will make one penny for their time or efforts," Bouchard said. "We have volunteer lawyers setting up a non-profit corporation to handle the funds, volunteer accountants who will keep the books and take care of the federal forms, and many other volunteers who will help with distribution and collection."

Bouchard hopes that purchasers will do more than buy buttons for themselves. "We want you to find neighbors, employers, schools, fraternal organizations, etc. to get these buttons to. Every minute you spend will come back to you in personal satisfaction, knowing that you have done something to help our fellow Americans in need."

Send checks payable to United We Stand, Inc., P.O. Box 7, Hampton, NH 03843-0007, indicating quantity of buttons ordered. Payments for postage would be appreciated. Minimum quantity shipped will be 20 buttons. Contributions are tax deductible.

Address all inquiries and volunteer of fers to Ken Bouchard (603-926-9333) or Bob Mittelholzer (603-926-7455). You can also e-mail them at unitedwestand@bestnhlaw.com.

In the first week after the attack, the NH Bar staff initiated efforts to contribute to the Salvation Army, which was gathering food and clothing for the rescue workers in New York City. Legal Services Director Ginny Martin and Pro Bono department staff member Cindee Carter purchased clothing to donate and Carter arranged for the donation of a pickup truck full of food from Bi-Wise Market in Allenstown and 30 cases of water from Great State Beverage in Hooksett, which were given to the Salvation Army for distribution in New York. The food was delivered by the Bar’s finance director, Tom Manter, and Bar News managing editor Lisa Sandford.

• The Manchester Bar Association has established a Disaster Relief Fund that will funnel donations to the American Red Cross. The Association started the fund with a $1,000 donation and is collecting contributions until Nov. 1, 2001. Send contributions to Manchester Bar Association Disaster Relief Fund, c/o David I. Bailinson, Abramson, Bailinson & O’Leary, PC, 67 Central St., Manchester, NH 03101.



• In an unprecedented move, Leo Boyle of Massachusetts, the president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (www.atla.org) issued a statement extending ATLA’s condolences and stating, "...for the first time in our history, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, in this time of national crisis, urges a moratorium on civil lawsuits that might arise out of these awful events."



• This was the message from Brad Carr, director of communications for the NY State Bar Association:
  "While we appreciate the flood of e-mails we have received from individual lawyers throughout New York State, from fellow bar association staffers, and from the presidents of five young lawyer sections of state bars throughout the U.S., right now the two things that all lawyers can do:
  
  1. Donate blood to the Red Cross.
  2. Make a monetary contribution to the Red Cross.
  
  A check of the membership rolls indicates that more than 300 NYSBA members had law offices in the World Trade Center complex. We have not been able to identify how many of those persons may have been injured or killed. The NYSBA Mass Disaster Response Team has been called upon by the State Bar president and a member of the team was at ground zero yesterday. We continue to monitor the situation and very much appreciate the offers of assistance and prayers that we have received.



• The ABA Journal was planning for the January 2002 launch of a new weekly electronic publication when the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 took place. According to publication editor and publisher Danial J. Kim, the ABA Journal later decided to issue a special edition of the electronic publication, the ABA Journal eReport, to bring ABA members "important stories about how these events affect lawyers and the legal community." Included in the special edition of the publication are first-hand accounts of the attack by New York attorneys, an article on new laws being proposed that would authorize greater investigative powers and a look at suggested reforms to the US’s immigration policy. The publication was e-mailed only to ABA members who have provided an e-mail address.



• The ABA’s Division for Bar Services has created a special disaster-related Web page to capture and disseminate information of value to its constituents. The ABA says it plans to update the information on the page on a regular basis. Of particular interest is the bibliographic link to law firm crisis-recovery literature, which includes approximately 100 articles and resources for firms and private practitioners alike.

The page is accessible from the DBS home page, http://www.abanet.org/barserv or directly at http://www.abanet.org/barserv/disaster/.

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