Dennis E. Benner, Giving Back - Thomas M. Cooley Law School

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almost a week in his home. It was in the living room ofthis cramped, over-populated apartment that I providedmuch-needed legal assistance and assurance to a group ofyoung Coast Guard members suddenly made homeless bythe hurricane.However, the most memorable trip during my deploymentwas my first journey into the city of New Orleans. Once wereached the city limits, our team was escorted by an armedconvoy through the city and into Coast Guard Station NewOrleans. The military presence was overwhelming; therewere literally tens of thousands of troops in encampmentsthroughout the city. When we arrived on site, our memberswere living and working out of a “tent city,” but the smellthey had to endure was unimaginable; it was the smell ofnatural gas leaking into the air, raw sewage, and decay. Iimmediately arranged for an impromptu town meeting in amakeshift bunker.All around us, helicopters were landing every two minutes,taking sandbags to the levy breaks, all of which made for adramatic setting for a legal briefing. After the briefing, I wasable to counsel members individually. I heard their oftenheart-wrenching stories and did whatever it took to lend ahelping hand from a legal perspective.I served about a month in the impacted area before beingrelieved by other Coast Guard JAGs from various legal unitsaround the country. Some of the unique legal issues Iaddressed included:• whether a divorced parent, whose custody order preventsher from moving out of Orleans Parish, wouldviolate that order by relocating across country whenthe entire area within Orleans Parish was uninhabitable;• whether a lease automatically terminated if the rentalproperty was uninhabitable;• and a very common issue was if an apartment had notbeen destroyed, but a civil order prevented the tenantfrom entering the property, was the tenant still required topay rent during that period.However, the most complex issues involved insurance companieswhere the companies would not pay claims until anadjuster assessed the damage. However, the insuranceadjusters would not visit residential properties until utilitieswere restored, which for some areas could take manymonths. When insurance adjusters did visit properties,homeowners were often informed that their damage was notBENCHMARK
Feature99When insurance adjusters did visit properties, homeowners wereoften informed that their damage was not from the hurricane, butfrom flood damage, and thus their homeowner’s insurance policydid not cover the damage.from the hurricane, but from flood damage, and thus theirhomeowner’s insurance policy did not cover the damage.In addition to addressing these, and many other issues, myfellow JAGs and I also fulfilled the tremendous need forrevised estate planning and powers of attorney.As anticipated by the Coast Guard’s legal division, legalconcerns and issues affecting the area have now turned fromthat of a first-responder to a higher degree of legal assistancethat may ultimately result in litigation involving complexenvironmental, property, insurance, and contract law.Regardless of the future legal direction taken by the courseof events, Coast Guard JAGs remain Semper Paratus — theCoast Guard’s motto — always ready. For those of us fortunateenough to have served on these first-response legalassistance teams, the experience gained from working inthe field and supporting our teammates was invaluable andunforgettable.Lt. Sonya L. Leibowitz is a member of the Michigan State BarAssociation, and is a past president of the Calhoun CountyBar Association. In 1995, Lt. Leibowitz was appointed to theFamily Court bench as a Family Court Referee in CalhounCounty, Mich. Lt. Leibowitz entered the Coast Guard inAugust 2003. She serves as a staff attorney at theMaintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic, the CoastGuard’s largest legal field office in the country. Lt. Leibowitzregularly instructs the Child Custody and Child Supportclasses at the U.S. Army JAG <strong>School</strong>, and has authoredsections of the Army JAG’s legal assistance course book.BENCHMARK
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Page 9: Feature 7The purpose of this rapidl
Page 13 and 14: It has been my fortune to be to som
Page 15 and 16: Cooley Brings Exhibit From the Nati
Page 17 and 18: AwardsSTUDENT15Alumni President Dia
Page 19 and 20: 17GraduatesStarr Class, September 2
Page 21 and 22: Joseph Kimble,ProfessorSigned, his
Page 23 and 24: 21Christopher A. Shafer(1993 Hooker
Page 25 and 26: 2003 Smith Class: $560.06Patricia S
Page 27 and 28: 25Alison P. Kramer(Kuhn Class, 1995
Page 29 and 30: The Admissions Office would like to
Page 31 and 32: alumni matters 29alumninewsNevada A
Page 33 and 34: alumni matters31alumninewsAlumni En
Page 35 and 36: classnotesThe Benchmark encourages
Page 37 and 38: class notes35Ressler, Russell, apar
Page 39 and 40: THANK YOUThe Career and Professiona

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