The American Bar Association is dismayed by the devastation caused by Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene. We mourn the deaths and the ongoing suffering of our fellow Americans.
The ABA has taken swift action. The ABA Young Lawyers Division has mobilized and provided in one place resources to get help and offer assistance.
Here is how you can ask for help if you have been affected or offer help to those in need:
- Get help
Apply for FEMA and legal assistance, file for disaster unemployment, get up-to-date information and more
State and county listings - Volunteer to help
Lend your skills to help hurricane survivors navigate legal challenges through the Young Lawyers Division Disaster Legal Services program
Sign up here - Donate today
Support free civil legal aid to storm victims through your charitable contributions earmarked for disaster relief
Give now
Additional Resources
- Standing Committee on Disaster Response and Preparedness
- ABA Free Legal Answers
- ABA policies related to disaster preparedness and response
- Disaster resources for lawyers & law firms
For more than half a century, the ABA Young Lawyers Division has been helping disaster survivors address their legal needs through its Disaster Legal Services (DLS) Program and this tragedy will be no different. Since 2007, DLS has responded to more than 300 declared disasters in 45 states and five U.S. territories. In 2024 alone, the program is actively helping in 31 locations. Through this program and in concert with FEMA, state and local bars, Legal Services Corporation and many other agencies, thousands of lawyers have provided free legal advice and representation to hundreds of thousands of disaster survivors in the United States and its territories.
The DLS program is designed to help survivors navigate the aftermath of disasters declared by the U.S. president. It also provides a place for lawyers to volunteer to help. Volunteers are crucial in the days, weeks and months after major natural disasters and there will be a need for attorney volunteers to assist with disaster-related claims once operations are established. As always, for those who cannot volunteer their time, the ABA offers ways to donate money to help those affected by the storm.
It is embedded in lawyers’ DNA to try to assist when people are in need. Looking at the destruction caused by these storms, it is clear many people have lost everything. It will be a long road to recovery. Now is the time for us all to pull together to help our neighbors regain their lives.