Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP)

The term Legal Assistance to Military Personnel and its acronym LAMP are how the American legal community denotes civilian lawyers helping out members of our military, veterans and their families. Take advantage of the resources made available through various LAMP groups; if you're a lawyer, join one yourself for networking, information-sharing and leadership opportunities.

Lawyers and non-lawyers alike can find a lot of useful resources on the LAMP page of the various bar associations. Here's a few:

• The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Assistance to Military Personnel - much current information; more added frequently
• Oregon State Bar Military Assistance Panel: http://www.osbar.org/programs/map/osbmap.html provides opportunities for Oregon attorneys to receive specialized training and offer pro bono services to active duty service members deployed overseas. Initiated in 2003, by Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers, Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace P. Carson, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the OSB, the program now has over 120 volunteer attorneys. A two-hour online CLE is available to volunteers. PLF coverage for those not otherwise covered is under a special umbrella policy for OSB Certified Pro Bono Programs.
• North Carolina State Bar Association LAMP Section: http://www.nclamp.gov/ - has plenty of handouts. In fact, North Carolina LAMP resources seem pretty impressive: look here.
• New Mexico State Bar Association has a special LAMP referral program "....providing advice and representation to military personnel and their families, including Reservists and National Guardsmen who have been activated, throughout the State of New Mexico. (505) 797-6005 - 1-800-87-N-M-BAR (1-800-876-6227) In a time of national emergency our men and women in uniform and their families shouldn't have to worry about their legal rights at home. To protect these rights, New Mexico lawyers are ready to help at no or modest cost. Call for more assistance or email mkelley@nmbar.org for assistance. You may fill out the Intake Form and email."
• Washington State Bar Association LAMP Section: http://www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/lamp - has a listserve at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wsba-lamp

Now there are 46 other state bars out there, and who knows how many local and specialty bars? If your bar has a LAMP program, add it via the comment feature below; if it doesn't then form one!