Vet Law 2014 Veterans Law School Clinics A Snapshot What constitutes a veterans law school clinic Law students working on real veterans legal cases or issues with an experienced professor or affiliated attorney in a supervisory role providing feedback ID: 149867
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Law School Clinical Programs Serving Veterans
Vet Law 2014Slide2
Veterans Law School Clinics: A Snapshot
What constitutes a veterans law school clinic?
Law students working on real veterans’ legal cases or issues with an experienced professor or affiliated attorney in a supervisory role providing feedback
L
aw school or outside organization may supply infrastructure, clinic resources or funding Currently, there are 29+ veterans’ legal clinics in as many law schools. At today’s Vet Law 2014, 31 law schools from 17 different states are represented!
Vet Law 2014Slide3
Why clinics?
Why are these clinics
so important
?
Provides pro bono legal services to the community of vulnerable Veterans and their familiesEngages students with real cases while teaching valuable hands-on legal skillsAllows for a reflective practiceInspires public interest law careersVet Law 2014Slide4
Different potential clinic models
Direct civil legal
services:
eviction or foreclosure proceedings, child support issues and outstanding warrants or fines
Disability benefits and/or appeals: initial claims, appeals before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) or Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) Law school + VA Medical Center: clinic may be hosted in VA
Medical Center, Vet Center or through a Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP)
Veterans Treatment Courts:
Criminal pre-trial diversion courts in state or federal court offering other
types of treatment rather than jail sentences
Focus on particular legal need: Wills/Estate Planning; Consumer protection; Elder LawHybrid: Clinics have effectively combined one or more of the above, and/or include policy or legislative advocacy work.
Vet Law 2014Slide5
George Mason Law Clinic
The clinic provides
servicemembers
and Veterans with representation in a variety of civil legal issues, including consumer protection, administrative law, bankruptcy, family law and landlord-tenant law. 85 students have participated in the clinic, which has directly served more than 100 clients from all five branches of the armed services. Vet Law 2014
Model: Direct civil legal services
Law Professor Laurie Neff meets with students in the legal clinic class. Photo by Alexis Glenn.Slide6
William & Mary School of Law Puller Clinic
Model: Disability Benefits/Appeals
Complex (pro bono) appeals cases in which veterans can have difficulty providing the evidence they need to substantiate their disability compensation claims. The cases the clinic takes on often involve post-traumatic stress disorder either from warfare or a sexual assault that there may be no record of.
Vet Law 2014
Clinic collaborates with the Center for Psychological Services and Development at Virginia Commonwealth University, which provides counseling and assessment for clinic client facing mental health issues.
The Puller Clinic receives a Pro
Bono
Award from the
Virginia State
Bar in April 2013. Slide7
John Marshall Law
Situation:
In 2006, three John Marshall law students recognized that many veterans were having trouble navigating the Veterans Benefits Administration claims process.
Action:
Inspired to provide legal assistance to such veterans, they created the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic (VLSC). Result: Now in its sixth year, the VLSC serves our nation’s veterans by providing free legal services and resources, including assistance with health care and mental health benefits, family law issues, housing matters, and employment and education issuesVet Law 2014
Model: Direct civil legal services + Disability Benefits/Appeals
Founders
of the John Marshall Veterans Law Clinic
:Slide8
University of Arizona Law Clinic
Arizona Law students provide
the
majority of
legal representation to veterans in a pre-trial diversion Veterans court under the supervision of law professors and local attorneys. In just two years, over 25 students have provided legal representation to nearly 150 veterans
in Vet Court
.
The clinic recently expanded its
docket to
include
disability benefits, discharge upgrades, and policy work, including an amicus brief to the 9th Circuit.Vet Law 2014
Model: Veterans Treatment Courts + Disability Benefits + PolicySlide9
Yale Veterans Legal Clinic
Vet Law 2014
Hybrid Model: Direct civil legal services + Disability benefits/appeals + VA Vet Center + litigation and policy work
Partnership with
the Connecticut Veterans Law
Center
: Students
represent veterans in litigation before administrative agencies and
courts
on benefits, discharge upgrade, and pardon matters. Intake at the
VA New Haven Vet Center: Students staff a clinic at this VA facility which offers
a range of counseling and other services to combat veterans. VA personnel facilitate by hosting the students and providing space for seeing clients.Policy and state legislative efforts: Clinic students researched and drafted S.B. 114, An Act Concerning Pretrial Diversionary Programs, which
expands
access for veterans to several of the state’s diversionary programs, i.e., Veterans Treatment
Courts, effective October 2012.
The Yale clinic gather with Connecticut Governor Malloy on the day he signed S.B. 114. Slide10
UC-Berkeley Law
Model: Law
school + VA Medical
Center
Situation: In the Fall of 2013, UC-Berkeley Law students wanted to meet directly with veterans, but did not know where to start. Action:
The students went to the San Francisco VA Medical Center, talked to VA Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO), and a partnership was born.
Result:
Since the clinic started this past October, law students have provided legal consultation to over 160 veterans. VA’s Office of the General Counsel has worked with Berkeley to establish an MOU for this space-sharing clinic in VA Medical Center.
“Stu
Berkeley Law students meet with Veterans at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
Vet Law 2014Slide11
Touro Law Center
Clinic
students work closely with the Suffolk County Veterans Court, a specialized
court that
helps veterans charged with criminal offenses by diverting them from the traditional criminal justice system and providing treatment and judicial monitoring. Students may also represent veterans in benefits claims and employment issues.Touro, in Central Islip, NY, is the only full-time law clinic serving Long Island's more than 150,000 veterans.Vet Law 2014
Touro
Law
students
Jusun
Yook
, Christina Forte,
Tryan Bryks and Harrison Corcoran, on hand to provide free legal help and advice to Long Island vets.
Model: Disability
Benefits/Appeals + Veterans Treatment CourtSlide12
University of San Diego Law School
Model: Focus on Particular Legal Need: Education/GI Bill Consumer Protection
The
Veterans Clinic provides free legal services to veterans struggling to resolve disputes with for-profit education companies over the use of GI Bill funds and related
loans.Vet Law 2014Slide13
Models…and Examples
Vet Law 2014
CLINIC MODEL
EXAMPLE(S)
Direct civil legal services
John
Marshall Law;
Arizona
Law;
Widener Law;
George Mason LawVeterans benefits and/or appeals
North Carolina Central; Law; Puller Clinic; Widener Law; Missouri Law
Law school + intake at a VA Medical CenterYale Law; Berkeley Law; Hofstra LawVets Treatment CourtsArizona Law; Tour
o
Law Center
Focus
on particular type of legal need
Gonzaga
Univ
Law (Wills Clinic); Univ. of San Diego (
Education/GI Bill Consumer Protection);
Syracuse Elder Law clinic
Hybrid
John
Marshall;
Yale
; Widener Law; George Mason Slide14
Parting Thoughts…
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead
Many clinics have started just from the students acting in response to a clear need in the community.
Vet Law 2014Slide15
Thank you for coming to Vet Law!
Vet Law 2014