George T. "Buck" Lewis of Baker Donelson has been named to the Legal Services Corporation's (LSC) Disaster Taskforce.
LSC, the nation's largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income people, has created the Disaster Taskforce to address the legal rights of and issues faced by disaster survivors and the particular needs of low-income communities in the aftermath of disaster. The Disaster Taskforce includes a diverse group of LSC grantees, business leaders and emergency management experts.
Mr. Lewis has been named to the taskforce given his efforts and experience toward ensuring access to legal services. He is in his second year as chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, which helps other ABA entities and state bars marshal pro bono assistance for disaster victims. Mr. Lewis was instrumental in leading Baker Donelson's efforts in the development and launch of the country's first interactive pro bono website, ABAFreeLegalAnswers, which has been licensed as a free service to 42 states and the Virgin Islands. Because Texas and Florida were among the states with FreeLegalAnswers websites, disaster survivors impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were able to connect with lawyers from far away immediately after the hurricanes made landfall.
Mr. Lewis, a shareholder in Baker Donelson's Memphis office, is former chair of the Mid-South Chapter of the American Red Cross, past chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court's Access to Justice Commission and past president of the Tennessee Bar Association. In 2016, he was named a recipient of the William Reece Smith Jr. Special Services to Pro Bono Award from the National Association of Pro Bono Professionals.