Three San Francisco Lawyers Describe Haiti Work Trip That Turned Harrowing

Bob Page, Grace Brown and Jessica Vapnek sat down to a meeting sometime after 4 p.m. on Jan. 12 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They were there working on a project to strengthen the country's shaky judicial system and had come to talk with local lawyers. Their firm, San Francisco-based DPK Consulting, helps build judicial systems in developing countries. Just before 5 p.m., there was a huge roar and shaking, "like a train coming right through your living room," recalls Page.