When Covid-19 created unprecedented medical needs in 2020, the medical profession swiftly responded by creating pathways for medical students to graduate early and become first responders. The medical profession quickly adapted and students asked to enter the profession early in order to serve. As frontline responders to the pandemic, the medical profession cultivated a deeper understanding of their responsibility and integrity to serve the larger community.

Meanwhile, the legal profession wrestled with how to maintain the unnecessary barriers to enter the profession instead of focusing on the unprecedented legal needs created by the pandemic. Decisions to safely administer a bar exam or allow entry through diploma privilege were important concerns but did not focus on the needed legal response for lawyers to address the access to justice gap. The heavy dependence on the National Conference of Bar Examiners became evident as many jurisdictions waited for NCBE's decisions when states could release the standardized exams, while bar applicants were at the mercy of decision-makers and unable to enter the profession.

This article highlights the disruption to bar admissions during the summer of 2020 and advocates that supervised practice and a service requirement is now possible for admission into the profession. The article proposes a 500-hour service requirement for admission to cultivate service leadership and create legal first responders to address the rising legal needs in the community. The supervised practice rules adopted this past summer by thirty-one jurisdictions showcases the ability to implement such a requirement and allow the profession to come together to implement change.

A recent onslaught of domestic natural disasters created acute, critical needs for legal services for people displaced and harmed by storms and fires. In 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Michael struck much of Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, displacing millions from their homes. Wildfires burned throughout California and tested the capacity of pro bono and legal aid systems across the state. In 2018, Hurricane Florence flooded North Carolina, and Hurricane Michael devastated the Florida Panhandle. California again suffered wildfires, the largest and most devastating in recorded history. Natural disasters are both more common and more destructive, the “new abnormal.”

Social and economic inequities emerge sharply after each natural disaster. Low-income and vulnerable people both suffer more from disasters and experience heightened barriers to accessing the post-disaster resources necessary to survive, rebuild, and return home. Marginalized and vulnerable populations, in particular, need legal assistance and expertise to overcome these barriers.

Natural disasters also inspire law students, law clinics, law schools and law faculty to help. Law school responses to assisting with post-disaster legal needs have been diverse. Some efforts have been law student initiated, while several law school clinics have provided legal assistance in a variety of ways. Some law schools have launched clinics with a devoted budget and strict focus on disaster practice. Some took on disaster work because it was the greatest need for existing clients and communities. Others shifted the focus of existing clinics to disaster needs, and still others launched temporary clinics in various forms to respond to acute crises. Some wanted to help but did not have ready relationships or resources to be responsive.

Each of the authors has direct experience surviving natural disasters and providing legal assistance from within the academy. This article provides necessary information about the nature of natural disasters, the ecosystem of response systems, and common legal issues for law schools and clinical programs interested in providing legal assistance to disaster-affected communities. It then describes varying models of law school institutional responses to increasingly common natural disasters. Building on lessons learned through these experiences, law schools can develop a blueprint for community-engaged disaster response. Building a framework for institutional responses in the legal academy can advance and improve access to justice for vulnerable communities recovering after a disaster and can provide students with an opportunity to learn from this social justice engagement.