Major concerns of the students were twofold: How could they salvage the fall semester, and how would the interruption of their classes affect summer internships and clerkships that are so vital for a new lawyer’s resume?
Before Tulane law school dean Larry Ponoroff could formulate a reply regarding classes, he discovered that law schools across the country were offering to allow Tulane students to attend classes at their schools. Dean Ponoroff and Dean Brian Bromberger from Loyola jointly spoke with the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and asked for other American Bar Association-accredited law schools to take in the displaced New Orleans students. To date, the AALS has compiled a list of more than 160 schools from across the nation willing to admit law students from New Orleans. Most of the schools are waiving both tuition and fees for the students provided that students have paid tuition at their original universities. All scholarships are being honored, and financial aid issues are being worked out individually. Some universities, such as the University of Oregon, are also arranging for housing for the New Orleans students.
Carl Monk, Executive Director of AALS, is proud of his organization’s efforts to help. “What we have agreed to do is to collect on our website the policies of all of the accredited law schools regarding their willingness to accept students from Loyola and Tulane.'' He continues, “This is obviously a national tragedy that is beyond the ability of words to describe. As the AALS, we want to do our small part to assist in this tragedy.''
While Monk acknowledges the impact of Katrina on the New Orleans schools, he notes, “We need to keep things in perspective. This is a major tragedy for a lot of people—a human tragedy. It is not just law students pursuing their studies.''
Initially, Dean Ponoroff requested that only second- and third-year students be accepted at other schools, citing the extra year that first-year students have to make up for lost time. However, following the outcry from first-year students, Ponoroff posted a revised position on the website. “I rescinded that request and left it up to the individual schools and each of you,'' he wrote. He added that Tulane would accept credits from other law schools that were accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), but warned that differences in curriculum could cause problems for students in the future.
Dean Bromberger posted an announcement on the school’s emergency website that all first-year law classes and many second- and third-year classes will be offered at the temporary headquarters in Houston. Classes will start in October at the University of Houston Law Center.
Law schools are not the only ones offering assistance to students. West Law School & Foundation Press, Access Group, and Aspen Publishers are offering free replacement texts and materials for students affected by Hurricane Katrina. The ABA Young Lawyers Division has established a disaster-relief program with FEMA to assist with insurance claims, home-repair contracts, wills, and other related issues.
Both the Tulane and Loyola deans are assuring students that every effort will be made to help them secure clerkships and internships and that graduating students will have time to complete their studies in time to take the bar exam. The National Association of Legal Career Professionals (NALP) has posted a notice on its website asking employers to be flexible and to consider hiring first-year students even if they have not completed a first-year program.
Asked if he was surprised by the outpouring of help from law schools across the nation, Monk replied, “I think people at all of the law schools recognize what a tragedy this is, and I think they want to reach out to help human beings most directly affected by this. There have been many positive things about the legal profession and legal education that have had a major positive impact on the development of this country and the ideals for which is stands. I believe this [assistance] is a very recent and poignant example of the positive things that the legal education does in this country.''
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