Pulling Together — Tarrant County’s Legal Community Cooperates in Clean-Up

by Melissa Sherman

The tornado that devastated downtown Fort Worth March 28 continues to cause problems for that legal community. Many firms, large and small, located in downtown Fort Worth were affected. The Tarrant County Bar Association estimates that approximately 325 attorneys and their staffs were displaced. Due to safety issues resulting from broken glass on some of the skyscrapers, as well as structural-integrity issues, many unaffected buildings remained closed or inaccessible for several days after the storm. The significant street closures in downtown were finally reopened April 10. However, many problems remain to be overcome. The post office and telephone companies assisted those firms who were affected with mail retrieval and telephone calls. The post office held mail and provided a central location for these firms to retrieve it. The telephone companies assisted by allowing staff members and displaced attorneys access to Call-Notes or forwarding their office numbers to other locations. Documents, entire files, calendars, computers, furnishings and supplies were been lost. There have been reports of documents from these offices being found in Meadowbrook and Arlington. Although the firms were allowed into some of the buildings for limited amounts of time to retrieve their possessions, decisions as to what to retrieve in a two-hour period must have been as difficult as those faced by Solomon. Those of us who were not displaced by the storm attempted to provide assistance by looking through our files to see if we had cases with paralegals in the firms that were. Attorneys were too busy going from depositions to meetings. Legal assistants needed that information. Luckily, the courthouse was not affected by this tragedy. The Tarrant County clerks’ offices—district, county and federal—worked and continue to assist the displaced attorneys and staff members in reproducing court files at no cost as well as in recreating files. Although there are no copying charges, there is a need for copy paper. Many displaced staff members from these firms are assisting with copying files. Tarrant County judges are also working with the attorneys by granting continuances and extending deadlines. But, disaster or not, the practice of law must go on. The State Bar of Texas has set up a hot line to assist clients with locating their displaced attorneys. The local bar association is also assisting law firms and attorneys in locating temporary office space. There are several ways paralegals and their firms can help:

1. If you or anyone in your firm is involved in a case with an attorney that has been affected, you can copy your file (with the exception of privileged documents), any scheduling orders, etc. and forward them to the attorney. Offers of extensions on upcoming deadlines to the affected attorneys would be welcomed.
2. The Tarrant County Bar Association is taking donations of paper, offices supplies, computers, office furniture, fax machines, general office supplies and money to assist those attorneys (many of them solo practitioners) in their practice. Call the Tarrant County Bar to notify it of anything you have available or send cash donations payable to the Tarrant County Bar Foundation. This fund is being used to supply copy paper to the courts and assistance to affected attorneys. The bar is also accepting volunteers to help with copying, staffing legal clinics and general volunteer duties. 3. The American Red Cross is also accepting monetary donations to aid in the relief efforts.

Melissa Sherman is the president of the Fort Worth Paralegal Association and a paralegal at Amis, Bell & Herald—Farmer’s Insurance Group. She can be reached at sherman5@sprynet.com or (817) 649-7847.

(Updated: 06/06/00)

Reprinted with permission of Texas Legal Pro April 17, 2000.