UMLawyer

The Mornings, Afternoons and Evenings After
Leader of young lawyers throws herself into helping Katrina victims

When Amanda Jones (JD 96) was elected president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi Bar in February 2004, she never dreamed she’d be orchestrating efforts to provide legal assistance to thousands of people affected by a disaster of catastrophic proportions.

Hurricane Katrina was more a nightmare than a dream, and it has pulled Jones into a different aspect of law practice.

“There was really no way to be equipped for what happened,” Jones said. “I am amazed and proud to be a part of a profession so willing to pitch in.”

After Hurricane Camille hit the Mississippi coast in 1969, the local chapter of the American Bar Association charged the Young Lawyers Division with providing legal assistance to victims after a disaster. Just hours before Katrina struck, Jones went to her Jackson office and grabbed the division’s disaster-assistance manual, which was of little use for this event. In the hours immediately following, a more useful plan was implemented as she and other attorneys began to set up the logistical infrastructure needed to provide legal assistance to those who would be dealing with the reality of mass devastation.

Attorneys were stationed at 32 Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Recovery Centers on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and other locations across the state. In addition to staffing the DRCs, a toll-free number was established so victims could ask attorneys questions, which Jones said pertained mainly to landlord-tenant law, domestic issues, and mortgage, insurance and other legal topics.

After the August disaster, more than 4,200 disaster survivors sought legal assistance through either the hot line or a

FEMA DRC. More than 300 lawyers worked at the DRCs, and at least 265 lawyers provided legal assistance by phone.

“We have had over 55 out-of-state lawyers volunteer to provide on-site legal assistance or telephone assistance to disaster survivors,” said Jones, whose lifelong connection to Mississippi and association with the Ole Miss law school were great assets during the time she and others responded to the crisis.

“Being an Ole Miss law graduate definitely helped in responding to the legal needs arising from Hurricane Katrina,” she said. “I found that as a graduate of Ole Miss law school, I had access to a tremendous network of people who were ready to assist immediately and in any way.

“Just days after the hurricane hit, several Ole Miss law professors called the bar center, asking me how they could help. Professor Debbie Bell instantly had her Civil Legal Clinic updating portions and adding to the current version of the Young Lawyers Division Disaster Legal Assistance Reference Manual. Ole Miss faculty and students also helped the Young Lawyers Division equip volunteer lawyers to provide this assistance and provided free legal assistance themselves to disaster survivors.”

Jones is grateful for the assistance provided by so many attorneys across the country and admits the tasks she and other attorneys faced were not easy.

“A lot of the questions victims asked were hard to answer,” she said. “For example, I talked to some people wanting to know if they still had to pay their house payment when all that was left of their house was the foundation. And the answer is yes.”

As president of the Mississippi Young Lawyers Division, Jones temporarily turned her existing cases over to other attorneys at Bradley, Arant, Rose and White of Jackson while leading the division’s efforts every day for more than two months.

“It became apparent she was going to have to do this, and that was fine with us,” said Wayne Drinkwater (JD 74), a partner in the firm. “It had to be done. This was a heroic effort by her.”

Drinkwater said it was refreshing to see a young attorney who is willing and able to help her state’s citizens deal with legal issues in a time of distress.

“I saw her up here a lot, and she put in at least 295 recordable, billable hours in this disaster, but she was able to bill [only] for two,” he said. “It was amazing to see her work.”

Jones is hesitant to take credit for her work or her time but is quick to say she learned a lot during those long days.

“I learned that in situations like this you must be flexible and willing to step out and take a risk,” she said. “You must be willing to respond when needed. It certainly put my leadership skills to the test.”

Law wasn’t always at the forefront of Jones’s plan when completing her undergraduate degree in political science at Mississippi State University, but becoming a professional was a goal from an early age.

“My mom wanted me to choose a profession so I would always have a means of supporting myself, and my dad encouraged law school,” she said. “I decided to work in the legal field for a year to see if I really wanted to pursue a career in the legal profession. Tom Fortner, the Hinds County public defender at the time, hired me as a legal secretary in [his] office, and thus my legal education began. Within months of beginning my first real job, I applied to law school and was accepted to Ole Miss.”

Jones admits she is fortunate to work for a firm so willing to allow her time off to help her state’s citizens.

“I was so amazed by the lawyers who came from around the country to help,” she said. “Although this was a responsibility of the Young Lawyers Division, it took lawyers of all ages to help out. It’s been a neat experience to see the masses of people who have been sent to our state to help with this disaster.”

A native of Thompson, Jones earned her bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University in 1992, then graduated cum laude from the UM School of Law and was admitted to the bar in 1996. She specializes in products liability defense, insurance sales practices cases and commercial litigation in state and federal courts.

Despite the destruction Katrina left in its wake, the disaster created a spirit of giving and sharing the likes of which she had never seen, Jones said. Once coastal counties opened to traffic, attorneys immediately volunteered to travel to the area to help provide assistance.

“People came and gave their time, paid for their own gas, slept on the floor or in their cars and just seemed to be so happy to help,” she said.

Jones said that the time she has spent in her leadership role has been challenging, but she appreciates the opportunity it provided to serve residents of Mississippi.

“I wish I could have changed the path of Katrina,” she said. “But I was glad to be in my state and honored to be president of the Young Lawyers Division during this time of great need.”

—Rachel Malone