Disasters in the United States require coordinated responses by many levels of government and necessitate many areas of technical assistance and expertise. Since at least Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it has become increasingly evident that effective disaster response requires legal assistance and expertise. This need for legal expertise became particularly prominent in the Covid-19 crisis of 2020, where federal, state, tribal, and other governments took extraordinary measures to contain the pandemic, raising questions about the legal authority and limits of such measures. To help prepare lawyers for engagement in future disasters, this chapter reviews basic tenets of disaster law, including governing statutes such as the federal Stafford Act and foundational theories such as the Disaster Cycle. The chapter also introduces useful materials, such as the National Response Framework, and key operational concepts, such as the Incident Command System.