ABA Free Legal Answers: Narrowing the Justice Gap While Providing Disaster Relief

Since its launch in 2016, ABA Free Legal Answers (ABA FLA) has been utilized at no cost by thousands of low- to moderate-income individuals across the United States to access brief legal advice from attorneys licensed in their state. More than 6,800 pro bono attorneys have registered to respond to more than 92,800 civil legal questions that have been posted, primarily in areas such as family law, housing, and consumer rights. ABA FLA is designed to allow any qualified user with an Internet connection to access civil legal advice and resources at any time from across their state—ultimately to prevent larger legal crises from developing and to allow existing legal services staff attorneys to focus on full representation. ABA FLA provides access to civil legal advice to users with income up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level and $10,000 in assets and those who are screened out by existing legal services due to conflicts, income/asset eligibility, or citizenship status, or who are unable to utilize traditional walk-in clinics or hotlines due to geographic/temporal limitations. For those who have nowhere else to turn yet cannot afford an attorney, ABA FLA often serves as a last resort for qualified legal advice.

We know that disasters produce, among other challenges, a variety of legal issues for the survivors; these legal issues persist for weeks, months, or even years following the initial impact. Legal issues include lease terminations, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) applications, insurance claims, property damage, bankruptcy, document loss, and guardianship. In response, ABA FLA provides wider access to pro bono legal advice and allows more volunteer attorneys to meet this need. For instance, when disaster strikes, ABA FLA temporarily lifts the income/asset cap in impacted states and adds disaster-specific categories for clients and alerts for attorneys to select those questions. In addition, ABA FLA provides access to out-of-state attorneys who are permitted by court order to temporarily practice law to assist in disaster relief.

Hurricanes Harvey, Florence, and Michael

After Hurricane Harvey hit in August 2017, Texas Free Legal Answers adapted its platform by increasing the income/asset caps to allow impacted residents to access civil legal advice and allowed out-of-state attorney registrations to offer pro bono legal advice per state supreme court order. The site also added hurricane-specific question categories to channel disaster-related legal questions to attorneys volunteering in disaster recovery. Texas residents, including many Harvey survivors, asked approximately 5,600 questions in one year, and 543 attorneys registered to participate in that same time period. Of those attorneys, a record 326 were out-of-state attorneys registered to answer hurricane-related questions.

Similarly, the North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia FLA sites adapted their platforms after Hurricane Florence hit in September 2018 by increasing the income/asset caps to allow impacted residents to access civil legal advice. The sites also added hurricane-specific question categories to channel disaster-related legal questions to attorneys volunteering in disaster recovery. State residents, including many Florence survivors, asked more than 2,300 questions in approximately six months, and 145 attorneys, including 41 from out of state, registered to participate in that same time period. On the South Carolina and Virginia sites alone, volunteer attorneys answered more than 90 percent of the questions submitted, representing two of the highest answer rates nationwide.

During the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, which made landfall in October 2018, the Florida site adapted its platform to assist clients and attorneys in submitting hurricane-related questions by adding hurricane-specific categories with an alert to attorneys encouraging them to answer hurricane-specific questions. As of January 2019, the Florida site had received 802 volunteer attorney registrations—the highest nationwide—since launch of the site, and 1,047 questions were submitted in the aftermath of the hurricane, many from disaster survivors.

Alaska Earthquake and Nebraska Floods

Following a large earthquake in Alaska in 2018, ABA FLA adapted Alaska’s site by similarly increasing its asset/income cap, allowing for out-of-state attorneys to volunteer per court order, adding earthquake-specific categories, and including an alert for volunteer attorneys. As of December 2019, there were 54 registered volunteer attorneys on the Alaska site, including 13 from out of state, and the site had received more than 170 questions since the site was adapted to respond to earthquake survivors.

Following the devastating floods in Nebraska in 2019, ABA FLA similarly adapted its state site by increasing its income/asset cap and adding flood-specific question categories. Since March of 2019, the site has received more than 420 questions.

Analyzing Data for Better Preparation

ABA FLA provides valuable data to industry researchers such as Stanford Legal Design Lab, with specific focus on disaster-related questions, to help identify the low-income populations affected, as well as the types, geographical locations, and seasonality of the legal problems that impact their households. This research will be used to determine how best to communicate legal information for the purpose of mitigating the effects of disaster-related and other legal problems. Ultimately, the data has the potential to assist in predicting legal problems before they occur, thereby avoiding access-to-justice challenges at the outset.

ABA Free Legal Answers provides a unique opportunity for partnerships between social service agencies, first responders, libraries, courts, the private bar, governments attorneys, legal aid providers, and law schools in response to legal issues, especially after a disaster occurs. Easily accessible through the Internet and available at any time or place, ABA Free Legal Answers has the potential to address legal issues as they arise and before they become critical.

To volunteer or make a tax-deductible donation, visit ABAFreeLegalAnswers.org. For further information, contact me at [email protected].