AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has dropped a ban on lawyers representing poor disaster victims suing the government.
FEMA notified the American Bar Association of the change on Friday, the Austin, Texas, American-Statesman reported. The agency has been working with the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division for more than a decade to provide legal services for disaster victims who could not afford their own lawyers.
"FEMA no longer sets limits on participating counsel's ability to advise or represent disaster applicants on litigation matters and will no longer enforce this provision of the agreement," Carlos Castillo, a FEMA official, said in a letter to the ABA.
The ban applied to all levels of government.
Two non-profit groups, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid Inc. and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, had filed a lawsuit against FEMA, claiming they were kept out of disaster centers. FEMA says that its policy change makes the lawsuit moot.
