Tcl - the Sadness - November 2005 - Cba President's Message to Members

• Publication year: 2005
• Pages: 4
• Citation: Vol. 34 No. 11 Pg. 4

34 Colo.Law. 4 Colorado Bar Journal 2005.

2005, November, Pg. 4. TCL - The Sadness - November 2005 - CBA President's Message to Members

The Colorado Lawyer
November 2005
Vol. 34, No. 11 [Page 4]

In and Around the Bar
CBA President's Message to Members
The Sadness
by Roger E. Clark

"If it don't stop raining, the levee's going to break

And all those people won't have no where to stay."
- Traditional New Orleans Blues Ballad

I woke up one September morning, in the midst of a spate of days occupied by depositions, and realized I was nearing a deadline for the President's Message for the November issue. I hurriedly tried to think of some topic, but found myself completely preoccupied with the tragic consequences of Hurricane Katrina. As this is being written, the media is full of little else. Even Justice Rehnquist's death and Judge Roberts's nomination are relegated to the back pages. So, perhaps because of the sadness we all are feeling now, the broad topic for this message is compassion and service.

I was born in New Orleans, although I did not grow up there. My wife and I have visited the city often, and I am familiar with other parts of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We saw the 1982 Final Four in the Superdome. It has been startling to see television coverage and photographs of damaged and destroyed landmarks where we have had such a good time in the past - the stripped façade of Commander's Palace; the shattered shell of the Superdome.

More startling, and certainly more tragic, are the indelible images of the faces of our fellow citizens who have lost so much. Without question, those most affected are segments of our society who already had the least.

Effect on the Legal Profession

Our colleagues in the Bars of the affected states were not spared. The CBA received information e-mailed by CBA members and Tulane Law School graduates Laura Drosman and Todd Jascott that reflects these estimates of the effects of Katrina on the lives of lawyers and the legal system in Louisiana:

* From 5,000 to 6,000 lawyers (one-third of the state's lawyers) have lost their offices, their client files, and many clients. Schools the lawyers' children attended have been destroyed; schools in eight parishes won't reopen until after December 2005, if then.

* Courts, including the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the state supreme court, and the city and district courts in eight or more parishes are under varying...