Pro Bono CLE Series: Disaster Resiliency: How Our Legal Communities Can Prepare for and Help Others Recover

Can't attend in person? Attend Online! CLE+ Live Webcast Registration

 

Organizer

BAMSL's Pro Bono Committee

 

Description

Natural disasters happen all over the world. In the U.S. alone, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and fires ravage our land and the residents who live in those areas. Disaster survivors and evacuees face countless legal issues—from insurance disputes, FEMA appeals, landlord tenant disputes, consumer fraud, health and education issues, and so much more.

Moreover, even before a disaster strikes, communities need legal assistance with disaster preparedness through individual planning, business continuity planning, securing title documents, meeting insurance needs, and other assistance.

In conjunction with ABA’s celebration of National Pro Bono Week, please join us for a panel discussion centering around “Disaster Resiliency: How Our Legal Communities Can Prepare for and Help Others Recover.”

 

Agenda

11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.		Registration & Lunch
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.		Seminar

 

Speakers

Jamie Rodriguez, Program Director, Public Benefits Program — Legal Services of Eastern Missouri

Jamie Rodriguez joined Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) as a staff attorney in 2014 and is now Public Benefits Program Director. She focuses on low-income health issues, including nutrition assistance (food stamps) and Medicaid access for clients who are elderly, blind, or disabled. She engages in administrative advocacy and litigation in these substantive areas. In addition to direct client services, Jamie works with community partners through participation in task forces, advisory groups, and community education events.

Prior to LSEM, she served two years as an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Legal Aid of Western Missouri in Joplin. This fellowship was created to meet the needs of low-income clients affected by the May 2011 Joplin tornado. She continues to serve as Co-Chair of the statewide Legal Help in Disasters Committee.

Education: JD, Saint Louis University School of Law, 2010; BA, Washington University in St. Louis, 2007.

Brett Rolwes, Legal and Community Services Coordinator — The Missouri Bar

Brett is the Legal and Community Services Coordinator at The Missouri Bar located in Jefferson City, Missouri. He has held this position since November 2016. Brett assists in the coordination of several programs provided through The Missouri Bar, including disaster related legal assistance.

Brett has spent over 25 years in government and non-profit work, including program development and assessment, volunteer recruitment and coordination, staff development and facilitation, program training, policy development, program marketing, meeting facilitation, public speaking, and organizational strategic planning. He has worked extensively with government agencies, state legislators, not-for-profit agencies, businesses, school administrators, boards and committees, and city and rural community planning groups.

Pam Roychaudhury, Managing Attorney — Legal Aid of Western Missouri

Pamela Roychaudhury received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1998. She received her Juris Doctorate in 2001 from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. She is licensed in Missouri and Kansas.

She has been a staff attorney with Legal Aid of Western Missouri(LAWMO) since 2001. Ms. Roychaudhury was a member of the Domestic Unit in the Kansas City office of LAWMO from 2001 to 2007, specializing in family law and representing victims of abuse in divorce, paternity, custody and orders of protection. She also served as Guardian ad Litem in Child Order of Protection matters. In 2007 she joined the Joplin office of LAWMO as their VAWA-STOP grant attorney representing victims of abuse in order of protection matters. She continues to represent victims of abuse in other family law matters, and also handles Landlord Tenant, Consumer Law, Probate and Income Maintenance cases. In January 2015, Ms. Roychaudhury became the Managing Attorney of the Joplin Office, managing a staff of 5 attorneys and 4 support staff. The Joplin office services, McDonald, Newton, Jasper, Barton, Vernon and Bates Counties in Missouri.

Ms. Roychaudhury is a member of the Jasper County Bar Association and Family Law Section Member of the Missouri Bar and committee member of the American Bar Association-Domestic Violence section. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Lafayette House and CASA. She is also active with the United Way of Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas.

Andrew Jack VanSingel , Special Advisor to the Disaster Legal Services Program — American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division

In addition to his volunteer role as the Special Advisor to the Disaster Legal Services program, Mr. VanSingel is the Local Taxpayer Advocate for Taxpayer Advocate Service’s (TAS) Chicago office. TAS is an independent organization within the IRS and is the taxpayer’s voice at the IRS. TAS’ job is to ensure that every taxpayer is treated fairly and knows and understand their rights as a taxpayer.

TAS offers free help to guide taxpayers through the often-confusing process of resolving tax problems that taxpayers are not able to solve on their own. Prior to joining TAS, Mr. VanSingel managed the Low-Income Tax Clinic at Prairie State Legal Services, Inc., where he was responsible for all Clinic activities, including client representation, supervision of interns and volunteers, community outreach, staff training, and grant preparation and reporting.

Mr. VanSingel is admitted to practice in Illinois, New York, and the United States Tax Court. Mr. VanSingel is a former member of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, a Federal Advisory Committee comprised of 75 individuals dedicated to making systemic improvements to the IRS. Mr. VanSingel received his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University in 2006, and his J.D., cum laude from Touro Law Center in 2010.

Mr. VanSingel is also involved in the American Bar Association and holds leadership positions in both the Section of Taxation (Pro Bono & Tax Clinics Committee) and in the Young Lawyers Division (Disaster Legal Services Program). He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Community Support Services, Inc., which provides services to individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Mr. VanSingel is deeply involved with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. In addition to volunteering at VITA Clinics, he regularly teaches tax law for Ladder Up, a VITA grantee which prepares over 10,000 income tax returns annually.

 

Moderator

Jennifer Schwendemann, Senior Director & Associate General Counsel - Risk Management — Littler Mendelson, P.C.

 

This program has been approved for credit in the following jurisdiction(s):

Missouri Bar, MCLE Department

Credit has been approved with the Missouri Bar, MCLE Department for 1.80 MCLE credits.

Event Location: BAMSL Bar Center

BAMSL Bar Center — Classroom
555 Washington Ave, Ste 100
Saint Louis, MO 63101

Materials available with registration:

Parking Information

There are a variety of parking garages, surface lots, and meters on the street near BAMSL’s Bar Center. Additional parking information and maps are available at parking.bamsl.org.

Cancellation Policy

It is BAMSL's policy to collect payment for events, meetings, and seminars prior to admittance to the event. If payment is not made during registration for the event then you will be required to pay upon check-in at the event. BAMSL may collect an administrative fee for registration cancellations or transfers made within seven (7) days of an event: $10 for one-hour CLE seminars, $25 for half-day CLE seminars and ticketed social and membership events, and $50 for full-day CLE seminars and conferences. Due to the cost of catering, no refunds will be given for pre-ordered meals unless BAMSL received the cancellation request at least seven (7) days prior to the event. All registration change, cancellation, and refund requests should be made in writing.