“To help meet the growing legal needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,  the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division has teamed up with RingCentral Inc. to create a national hotline to connect the Disaster Legal Services Program (DLS) with those seeking civil legal services. As with other national disasters, the COVID-19 public health emergency has dramatically increased the need for civil legal services. To answer that need, RingCentral is providing a toll-free hotline, 888-743-5749, to connect disaster survivors to legal assistance in every state and U.S. territory as the Young Lawyer Division’s relief efforts are implemented…RingCentral’s Contact Center Technology will greet the customer in either English or Spanish, and from there, voice commands will direct the caller to the appropriate state’s DLS hotline. The hotline has already been active routing calls from the recent tornadoes in Tennessee and earthquake in Puerto Rico. As of April 2, the hotline began routing COVID-19 related calls in Texas and Nebraska. Other states are expected to implement similar DLS hotlines for the coronavirus soon. After natural disasters, DLS brings together volunteer attorneys and the state bar to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local legal aid offices to provide legal assistance to disaster survivors. Disaster-related legal issues include landlord/tenant problems, insurance claims, FEMA claims and consumer issues such as securing government benefits and contractor fraud, among many others. Since 2007, ABA YLD has responded to more than 193 declared disasters in 44 states and four U.S. territories.”