25 Years After 9/11: The City Bar Justice Center Remembers and Reflects

Together with the whole New York City Bar Association community, the City Bar Justice Center pauses to solemnly recognize the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

We honor the 2,977 people who tragically lost their lives that day — including six members of the NYC Bar Association community — and we stand with all those who still mourn loved ones killed on and in the aftermath of 9/11. We also salute the emergency responders who heroically stood in harm’s way, thousands of whom who currently face lifelong — and, in many instances, fatal — after-effects of their service.

The events of 9/11 devastated and forever changed many places, particularly New York City as survivors searched for missing loved ones, small businesses and street vendors especially in Lower Manhattan lost their livelihoods overnight, and immigrants and individuals perceived as “other” were targeted and detained. Our organization also was part of the hope and deep human effort for healing that materialized that day. Legal needs in the aftermath of the attacks were urgent, enormous, and tremendously varied and complex. Along with the broader City Bar, the Justice Center quickly mobilized New York’s legal community to connect victims and their families with much-needed support and legal assistance.

During the recovery efforts in the weeks that followed, a critical role played by the City Bar was to organize a volunteer-based infrastructure to support legal processes triggered by an expedited death certificate procurement procedure adopted in the wake of the tragedy. The City Bar and the Justice Center organized an effort virtually overnight to train volunteer lawyers to assist families in the wrenching, complicated process that followed. After 400 lawyers filled the Meeting Hall in our historic building, hundreds of others filled the the lobby and formed a line which stretched down 44th Street to 6th Avenue. Almost 2,000 death certificates were processed in just one month because of the overwhelming response.

The City Bar Justice Center also trained over a thousand lawyers as “facilitators” to assist 9/11 victims in a comprehensive way. Under this model, individuals and families were matched with attorneys who assessed their needs across legal subject matter areas, and either provided the needed service when possible or referred the matter for specialized legal services if the attorney facilitator could not provide them directly. As soon as Thanksgiving 2001, over 600 facilitators were matched with clients who reported a high level of satisfaction with their experiences. That trained facilitator model became a paradigm that our organization and many others adapted in subsequent times of sudden legal need.

The 9/11 recovery efforts also resulted in what became the Justice Center’s Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project (NELP), an innovative pro bono-supported program providing legal support to microentrepreneurs striving to achieve financial stability and independence. Among those who helped shape the project from the start is current NELP director Akira Arroyo, who coincidentally began her employment as a brand-new law graduate at the Justice Center in the days following 9/11 and went on to assist  small businesses in Lower Manhattan as the community began to rebuild.

The City Bar Justice Center’s skill in mobilizing the legal community to respond to unmet legal needs materialized in historic moments calling for rapidly organized, large-scale, pro bono-supported legal assistance, beginning in the aftermath of 9/11 and continuing through relief efforts related to Hurricane Katrina, the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, Superstorm Sandy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and significant shifts in immigration policy and enforcement. All such efforts demand the best of the legal profession and helps practicing professionals realize the public service dimensions of their calling. The events of 9/11 were one such moment — a day that devastated our community, but also reminded us how to best serve our community when need arises.

And so, on this day twenty-five years later, we remember all those who lost their lives, lost loved ones or livelihoods, and we extend our gratitude to every member of the legal community and other helping professionals who stepped up to respond and to serve in generosity and fortitude.

For More Information and Reflection:

City Bar President Matthew Diller hosted a recent podcast exploring this response, including the coordination of volunteers and legal services providers across New York City, support offered at an assistance center for 9/11 families at Pier 94, a triage system for immigrant detainees at the Metropolitan Detention Center, and then-innovative uses of the internet and other technologies.

The City Bar Justice Center also joins the New York City Bar Association in inviting readers to review the City Bar’s 9/11 Commemoration Message Board, which shares City Bar community members’ memories and reflections on 9/11 and its impact, and to consider attending The 25th Anniversary of 9/11: A Conversation with Kenneth R. Feinberg at the City Bar on Wednesday, September 23, which will address the aftermath of the attacks, including the creation of the Victim Compensation Fund, and offer audience Q&A. Register to attend here.