Pepperdine Caruso Law and American Bar Association Host Disaster Relief Symposium

Pepperdine Caruso Law hosted a Disaster Response Symposium on Friday, February 21st in partnership with the ABA Standing Committee on Disaster Response and Preparedness and the ABA Young Lawyers Division Legal Services Program, and with generous support from the Malibu Foundation. Panelists and participants gathered from over twenty-five different organizations to foster collaboration on legal services in response to natural disasters.

The president of the American Bar Association, Judy Perry Martinez, gave the keynote speech, commenting on her experiences during hurricane Katrina and encouraging lawyers on their ability to provide key services in response to natural disasters.

Dean Paul Caron, Jeff Baker, Assistant Dean for Clinical Education and Global Programs, along with Andrew VanSingel, Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Disaster Response and Preparedness, opened the symposium with remarks on the state of disaster response. Shelley Ross Saxer, Laure Sudreau Chair in law, and Sophia Hamilton, Executive Director of Externship and Pro Bono Programs and Adjunct Professor of Law, participated as panelists for a presentation titled Avoid Dressing for Yesterday's Weather – Current Topics in Disaster Advocacy.

Panelists and participants traveled from as far as Alaska and Puerto Rico to learn, collaborate and present on disaster response topics that included the state of disaster response in California, integrating technology, and strategies for working with vulnerable and remote communities.