Morrison & Foerster

In the aftermath of the wildfires that ravaged Southern California in 2007, leading international law firm Morrison & Foerster created a handbook to aid people affected by the disaster. Because many of the area’s residents were native Spanish-speakers, the firm teamed up with TransPerfect Legal Solutions’ Pro Bono Practice Group to create a Spanish version of the guide. As a result of this collaboration, thousands of displaced residents received critical legal advice and post-disaster information.

The Client
With a network of more than one thousand lawyers in offices around the world, Morrison & Foerster offers its clients comprehensive, global legal services in business and litigation. The firm is distinguished by its legendary litigation skills, its unrivaled reach across the Pacific Rim – particularly in Japan and China – and its unsurpassed expertise in finance, life sciences, and technology.

Morrison & Foerster has a strong tradition of providing free legal services that benefit the public interest and serve those in need. MoFo’s pro bono activities cover the full range of public interest work, and the firm’s attorneys contribute over 80,000 hours every year to pro bono causes.

The Challenge
In 2007, a series of wild fires broke out in Southern California, destroying at least 1,500 homes and burning over 500,000 acres of land from Santa Barbara County to the US–Mexico border. Nine people died as a direct result of the fire.

The Helping Handbook, which contained information about legal issues that people may face in an emergency, as well as contact information for organizations offering assistance, was originally created as a legal guide for individuals, victims’ families, and small businesses affected by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Since then, MoFo has continued to work with state and local bars to create versions of the Helping Handbook for people displaced by natural disasters such as the Southern California wildfires of 2003, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the New York flooding in 2006.

With the 2007 wildfires leaving many people displaced in its wake, MoFo decided to create a version of the Helping Handbook to help victims manage in the aftermath. Many of the affected residents’ primary language was Spanish. During this critical time, when advice on how to manage this critical situation was needed most, MoFo and TransPerfect Legal Solutions decided to work together to provide Spanish-speakers with accessible, accurate information about the resources available to help them.

The TLS Solution
In a truly collaborative effort, Morrison & Foerster lawyers in California and New York, with the active support of county bar associations across Southern California and the California State Bar, partnered with the TLS Pro Bono team to create the Spanish version of the guide. The 109-page Handbook covered critical post-disaster topics, such as finding temporary housing, navigating insurance and unemployment issues, dealing with government agencies such as FEMA and the Small Business Administration, replacing lost documents, and more.