William P. Quigley
Professor and Director of the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center and Loyola Law Clinic
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law

In late August 2005, Katrina and its aftermath shut down New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, displacing all the faculty, staff and students of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.

Once it became clear that New Orleans was not going to reopen, the University of Houston generously offered to host Loyola Law for the rest of the fall 2005 semester. Hundreds of law students, along with faculty and staff, moved to Houston to re-start the fall semester.

One of the first priorities was to set up the Loyola Law Clinic in Houston to help provide legal assistance to the tens of thousands of Gulf Coast families who were temporarily living there.

The clinic faculty and staff conferred and arranged for most to come to Houston, where the clinic set up a Katrina Clinic in the main Katrina/Rita Disaster Relief Center. Others stayed behind to track down incarcerated criminal defense clients and to work with the Louisiana State Bar Association to set up and staff an 800 number for civil advice and referrals.

The Houston-based Loyola Katrina clinic faculty and students partnered with as many pro bono organizations and individuals locally and nationally as possible. Students and faculty directly assisted approximately 1000 people during the fall of 2005. Other organizations assisted thousands more. Loyola students and faculty helped people get copies of birth certificates, reinstate social security, restart child support, and assist with landlord-tenant and consumer problems. Faculty were also involved in major federal and state litigation to re-open the courts, address landlord tenant problems, voting issues, public housing, public education, trailer problems, and create due process reviews before home demolitions started.

When Loyola moved back to New Orleans in January 2006, the need for the Katrina clinic increased. Loyola started a new worker justice clinic and hired two full-time Katrina staff attorneys while continuing its clinical work in family, immigration, and criminal defense.

Law students and lawyers from across the country came to Loyola to join in and provide volunteer legal assistance with the Loyola Katrina Clinic. In all, nearly 3000 law students and representatives from every legal assistance organization in the country came to help out organizations across the gulf coast. This tremendous outpouring of support has been one of the true reasons for hope despite the adversities continued to challenge the people of the area.

Loyola University New Orleans has made participation in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast one of its institutional priorities. Law and undergraduate courses have concentrated on the effects of the disaster and the many challenges ahead. Clinical and service learning educational opportunities have involved thousands of students and continue to expand.

Many obstacles remain for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Over 200,000 people have not returned to New Orleans alone. With continuing national and international assistance and solidarity, our communities will not just be repaired to pre-Katrina conditions, but will be rebuilt fairly and with more justice for all.