Disaster-hit firms are thrown lifeline as the search for missing lawyers goes on

The US legal community has voiced its condemnation and united to support law firms worst hit by last week's terrorist attacks, amid fears for staff who are still missing.Three US lawyers are believed to have died on the hijacked planes that crashed into New York's World Trade Centre (WTC) and Pentagon.

Five US law firms have also reported 13 members of staff missing.

In addition, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has lost two lawyers and four paralegals, and Fiduciary Trust Company reported its chief corporate counsel missing.Of the firms, worst hit was Harris Beach & Wilcox, which has five of its 113 staff unaccounted for.

Top five US firm Sidley Austin Brown & Wood - which took up five floors in the middle of the WTC's north tower - admitted that with just one person missing, the loss in terms of casualties was 'far less than might have been expected at a facility which housed 600 people'.English lawyer Mark Oliver, who had worked at Sidleys for just three weeks, described how aeroplane parts and other 'things he did not want to mention' flew past his window before he escaped.

'I tried to keep calm and was aware that the explosion had happened above me, so I knew I had to keep moving to the foot of the building,' he said.

'As time went on I had to move to one side and let the injured pass.

A lot of people were burnt.

It was awful.'Other large firms based in the WTC include Thacher Proffitt & Wood, with 135 employees, believed to be all accounted for.

Several smaller firms also had offices in the towers and surrounding areas.Meanwhile, Cleary Gottilieb Steen & Hamilton has dismissed reports that its offices in One Liberty Plaza have collapsed.

Managing partner Peter Karasz said the firm had evacuated the premises but hoped to move back 'in the near future'.

Other firms in the area were forced to close their offices.Lawyers have rushed to help their colleagues by offering office space and other facilities to those practices affected by the attacks.

They have also organised blood donations.

The firms have pledged to their clients to maintain as normal a service as possible; Sidley Austin has leased extra space at its other office in midtown New York for all WTC staff.The attacks and their consequences are expected to have a vast impact on the US legal system, affecting areas ranging from human rights to international trade.American Bar Association president Robert Hershon said lawyers have an important role in dealing with the tragedy's aftermath.

'The lawyers of America know that, despite its vulnerability to terrorism, the rule of law is our strongest weapon in the battle against anarchy and human destruction,' he said.Paula Rohan