Produced to help local communities and the lawyers who advise them become better able to plan for, manage, respond to, and recover from potential disasters, this documentary-style video program addresses key legal issues in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. It brings together lawyers and other experts from around the nation with experience in responding to catastrophic events. They describe in simple but powerful ways how lawyers can help prepare their communities and the nation for the effects of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, or tornados, and man-made disasters, such as terrorist attacks or biological warfare. Whether discussing the response to an urban forest fire in Albuquerque, the challenge of continuing operations after a disaster on the scale of the World Trade Center collapse, or the destruction caused by a hurricane in Florida, their advice has a practical edge.

Topics addressed are:

• The role of the lawyer: drafting multi-jurisdictional agreements and limiting liability exposure while enabling response
• Prevention and mitigation: enforcing building and flood plain management codes
• Preparedness and response: continuity of operations and tips on keeping your office open
• Organizing resources for response recovery - mutual aid agreements and National Incident Management System
• Recovery: procedures to assure FEMA reimbursement and land use issues raised by disaster housing programs

The program aims to stimulate audience members to enhance their "pre-event" emergency planning, and to increase awareness of the legal resources that are available in planning for and coping with disaster.