
January 2007 |
|
A small but enthusiastic group of
legal aid attorneys, law students, and citizen activists gathered in Pensacola
on September 21 to confront issues facing Florida communities during
post-hurricane rebuilding.
A joint project of Florida Legal Services and Access to Justice Subcommittee of
the Public Interest Committee of the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of
the Florida Bar, the workshop “Environmental Justice-- In the Aftermath: A Look
at the Effect of Hurricanes on the Environment and Affordable Housing” aimed to
bring awareness of disparity of environmental impacts to attorneys serving
disadvantaged communities. Additionally, the workshop was an endeavor to provide
those attorneys with tools needed to identify similar issues with their clients
and to properly address them.
Featured speakers included Leslie Powell and Rocky Cabagnot of Legal Services of
North Florida; Francine Ishmael of Citizens Against Toxic Exposure, Inc.; Howard
Jones of Holley Action Group; Marilyn Kershner of Florida Community Loan Fund;
Nicole Kibert of Carlton Fields, P.A.; Deborah Schroth of Florida Legal
Services; Randall Webster of Sapient Consultant Group; and Jeanne Zokovitch of
WildLaw. They touched on a number of topics, including disposal of construction
debris, green building, and the inclusion of affordable housing in rebuilding
efforts.
“I have never had such a good time listening to so much bad news,” stated
attorney Barbara Curbelo Cusack, who attended the program. “I am motivated to
research more about these issues.”
The Florida Bar Foundation underwote the majority of the costs of the
CLE-accredited workshop, enabling participants to attend for a nominal fee.
Plans are in the works to repeat the workshop in other locations.
Attorneys and law students with an interest in environmental justice are invited
to visit the Florida Legal Services online training calendar (http://www.floridalegal.org/Training/Calendar
List.htm) or the ELULS website (http://www.eluls.org)
for further information on upcoming workshops as it becomes available. Other
resources are available on the ELULS website, including basic information
intended for practitioners outside of the environmental field and the general
public. Want more? Membership in ELULS entitles you to access the online ELULS
Treatise, with in-depth features on the full range of topics relevant to the
Florida environmental attorney.