Opportunities to Provide Legal Help to Veterans
In recognition of Veterans Day, we wanted to highlight opportunities for attorneys to get involved in assisting veterans and military personnel with their legal needs. Below are four projects that do just that. By providing opportunities and resources for lawyers to offer pro bono legal services, ranging from protecting veterans benefits to providing general civil legal assistance to active-duty military personnel, these projects help to ensure that those who serve our country are not left without legal representation on issues that fundamentally impact their livelihoods.
ABA Military Pro Bono Project - The American Bar Association's Military Pro Bono Project connects active-duty military personnel to free legal assistance for civil legal issues beyond the scope of services provided by a military legal assistance office.
National Veterans Legal Services Program - NVLSP is an independent, nonprofit, veterans service organization dedicated to ensuring that the U.S. government honors its commitment to our veterans by providing them the federal benefits they have earned through their service to our country. NVLSP recently launched Lawyers Serving Warriors, which provides free legal representation in disability, discharge and veterans benefits cases to service members and veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program - The Veterans Consortium was created by a grant from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) as authorized by the U.S. Congress. It is an ongoing cooperative effort by four national veterans service organizations - The American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the National Veterans Legal Services Program and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
Project SALUTE - Project SALUTE provides free assistance and/or representation to thousands of low-income veterans exclusively on federal benefits issues throughout the United States. -M
Thanks for sharing!
-RFW
On a related note, Kojo Nnamdi talked about JAGS & Military Justice today on his show.
The State Bar of Georgia is designing a statewide lawyer referral service for veterans with disability claims and for servicemembers. The program will include a pro bono component for income-eligible servicemembers.
The State Bar (a mandatory bar) circulated a survey among its members to gauge interest in participating in the paid referral service and in the pro bono component. The survey will close soon.
It is envisioned that JAG offices will "qualify" servicemembers for the pro bono referral component and that servicemembers will also be able to access the State Bar directly for case referral services.
In the meantime, the special committee formed by the current Bar president, the Military and Veterans Pro Bono Committee is conducting visits to military legal services offices at bases here in Georgia.
BTW, the State Bar Committee has been using a listserv in the planning process that includes committee members, JAG offices and other supporters. If you (i.e. a legal aid or pro bono program staffer or a bar leader) are interested (i.e. developing a project or interested in partnering), you may join. The Committee's listserv is here: www.GeorgiaAdvocates.org/GOJC/Groups.
Thanks for the links, which I'll try to use wisely!
I'm compiling a state-by-state list of Legal Assistance for Military Personnel resources (including veterans & families; the ABA's LAMP list unfortunately doesn't stay up to date.
Any additions or suggestions you might have would be gratefully received. There's a lot of ideas out there:
http://lawyersforwarriors.blogspot.com/2009/01/state-by-state-legal-assistance-to.html