Hochul sends off law students as they continue work in Puerto Rico

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul joined members of the UB law school community Friday morning in sending off student attorneys as they prepared to leave for Puerto Rico to continue their work providing direct access to justice to residents more than a year after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.

The visit this week — Jan. 20-26 — is the third to Puerto Rico by the School of Law’s Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic since Maria hit the island in September 2017.

In addressing the student attorneys and staff, Hochul commended the group for its previous efforts in helping the U.S. territory and reminded them of the widespread impact of their work.

As part of SUNY’s only law school, the Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic is aligned with state’s New York Stands with Puerto Rico Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative.

The UB clinic, as well as the law school’s U.S.-Mexico Border Clinic, comprise the School of Law’s #UBLawResponds clinics, whose mission is to help people navigate the legal system during times of crisis while providing legal research and pro bono service opportunities to UB law students.

More than a year after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans continue to live without essentials, and many have been forced to leave the island.

During their week on the island, students are taking part in a variety of activities, including meeting with local academic researchers and community partners to assess the state of access-to-justice needs and resiliency planning one year out; providing detailed law and policy assessment on existing coal-fired power, which scientific studies show presents serious public health and environmental safety risks to many Puerto Ricans; providing business creation support for a small nonprofit; researching local government transparency law efforts and roadblocks; and preparing records request to investigate federal government contracts and spending in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane.