Course Overview
A vital part to any response, agency attorneys and corporate counsel are needed to address liability concerns that arise during an incident or event. The government will generally seek to recover its own response costs and injured parties will seek compensation for a variety of losses. Insurance claims may be filed and mutual aid agreements might be invoked. Given that there could be civil fines, criminal penalties, or natural resource damages, it’s prudent for Incident Management Teams to retain a Legal Officer as part of their team.
This course is an instructor-led training that supports learning through discussion, lecture, and active participation in multiple exercises that provides a realistic, hands-on approach to mastering the skills required of a Legal Officer.
Specific Course Topics
- Review of ICS principles
- Introduction to and the integration of a Legal Officer into Incident Management Teams
- Roles and responsibilities of a Legal Officer
- The Legal Officer’s contributions to the ICS organization and process
- Limitations and constraints on a Legal Officer
- Legal implications of modern day incident management
- Introduction to the Operational Planning Cycle (Planning “P”)
- Incident Action Planning and the IAP
- Applicable statutory or regulatory authorities or individual organizational policies/constraints; relevant disaster law and applicability
- Assisting with Command level decision-making, documentation, and official incident documents/memos
- Appropriate incident documentation and record-keeping requirements
- Financial processes, such as claims, contracting, or procurement
- Insurance requirements
- Information requests/releases
- Potential liabilities and post-incident legal proceedings
- Best Practices, Lessons Learned and tools to assist the Legal Officer in performing their job
- Interactions and information exchange between the Legal Officer and members of the IMT
Target Audience
Response personnel assuming the role as a Legal Officer on an Incident Management Team.
Duration
Duration: One day (8 hours)
Pre-requisite (recommended)