Sponsored by the Gulf State Regional Consortium of Public Interest Lawyers and Advocates
(September 20-21, 2010) Pensacola, Florida

The Gulf State Regional Consortium of Public Interest Lawyers and Advocates will sponsor a regional training conference in Pensacola, Florida for public interest lawyers and community advocates in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The conference will begin at 1:00 p.m. on September 20 and conclude by 4:00 p.m. on September 21. Conference location and housing is at the Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach-Gulf Front, 2 Via de Luna Drive, Pensacola Beach, Florida. There is no registration fee, but you will be responsible for making and paying for your own hotel reservations (see Hotel Information section below). In order to receive the hotel discount rate ($109.00-$119.00/per night), your reservations must be made by August 20, 2010.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Legal aid attorneys, other public interest lawyers employed by non-profit organizations, and community advocates in the Gulf Coast region that are engaged in addressing claims and collateral legal matters arising out of the BP oil disaster. NOTE: PRIVATE ATTORNEYS THAT REPRESENT, OR ARE SEEKING TO REPRESENT BP OIL DISASTER VICTIMS FOR FEES ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND.

CONFERENCE TOPICS WILL INCLUDE:

Oil Disaster Claims Process and Delivery Systems
Collateral Legal Matters (accessing public benefits, home and vessel foreclosure, bankruptcy, unemployment, etc.)
Intersection of Environmental Law and Economic Justice
Federal Policy Framework and Advocacy
Tapping into National Resources (national law firms, and advocacy and support centers)
Pro Bono Partnerships
Community Lawyering - Relationships Between Lawyers and Community Advocates
Addressing Language and Cultural Differences

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS WILL INCLUDE

National and Regional Experts on Substantive Law and Delivery Systems
Community Advocates from Impacted Communities, including Vietnamese-Americans

NOTE: Invitations will be issued to public interest lawyers who worked on the Exxon Valdez disaster and officials from Washington, D.C.

REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS

Please answer questions as they relate to you. For most answers, check the boxes most applicable to you or fill in the blanks.

Any questions please contact:

Kathy Grunewald
Statewide Director of Training
Florida Legal Services, Inc.
kathy@floridalegal.org
(850) 385-7900

Or

Sharon Ferguson
Training Coordinator
Florida Legal Services, Inc.
sharon@floridalegal.org
(904) 768-8561

PLEASE NOTE: We cannot guarantee true vegetarian/vegan meals. Nor can we provide or guarantee food is free of any specific allergen (e.g. soy, diary, wheat, nuts, etc.). Any participant likely to suffer a severe anaphylactic reaction to an allergen or on a restrictive diet may want to consider bringing their own food items.

Reservation deadline: August 20, 2010

Property Location and Reservation Information
Hampton Inn
2 Via de Luna Drive
Pensacola Beach FL 32561
1-800-320-8108 Ask for “Reservations”
Call directly to 850-932-6800

Amenities: Directly on the Gulf of Mexico this property, renovated in 2006, offers full complimentary continental breakfast, “Gilligan’s” tiki bar, fitness room, two outdoor pools, complimentary business center. All guest rooms feature microwave, refrigerator, coffeemaker, hair dryer, iron & ironing board, Internet access.

Online Reservations

Website: www.hamptoninn.com

A credit card is required to make online reservations.

• Enter check in & checkout dates on screen and click “Go” button.
• “Dates” These dates must be within the time period the rooms are blocked for your group. Dates for your group are: Arrival 2010-09-19 00:00:00 and departure 2010-09-21 00:00:00. If you try to book dates outside of this range, you will most likely get a message that there are insufficient rooms available. In that case, make your reservation directly with the hotel by calling the number above.
• Choose “Room Type Preferences.”
• “Special Accounts” Enter your Group/Convention code of FLS.
• “Continue” This should pull up the rate that has been set up for your group.
• Complete your reservation.

Please be sure you have provided a viable work email address as all future communications will be through emails.

You will receive a confirmation email once your registration is completed. Occasionally due to email restrictions this confirmation may not be accepted by your email server. DO NOT submit another registration. Contact our Training Coordinator, Sharon Ferguson at sharon@floridalegal.org to confirm whether your registration was received.