Veterans need help, and law students are ready to assist
Veterans, says retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Michael Dick, can struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and brain injuries. They can have trouble getting or keeping employment.
And they can find themselves lost in a bureaucratic system as they try to get disability compensation, Dick adds.
“Too often, when veterans return from war, they encounter bureaucratic and societal challenges,” he explains.
Dick is the director of the Lewis B. Puller Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic at William & Mary Law School, where about 16 second- and third-year students each semester receive course credit for helping veterans navigate the disability benefits system.
The student representation is free for veterans chosen to become clients. Students typically handle three to four cases each semester.
The Puller Clinic is one of at least 66 law school clinics specifically aimed at helping veterans, says Morgan Zimarakos, president of the National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium.
“We are slowly seeing more and more law schools across the country establishing veterans clinics, which is truly exciting,” she says. “All veterans deserve the support they were promised, and we are here to help make that happen.”
While many of the law school clinics primarily help veterans with their disability benefits, others work on civil legal issues, including family law and housing, Zimarakos adds.
More than 32,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, according to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development census reported in The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress.
There are about 15.8 million veterans in the U.S., representing about 6.1% of the adult civilian population. Women make up about 11% of the veteran population. Almost 28% of veterans are 75 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Veterans can suffer from a variety of disabilities, including neurological conditions; substance addiction; musculoskeletal injuries; respiratory, hearing, and vision problems; and mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Ongoing need
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Community Homeless Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups, referred to as Project CHALENG, published 2024 survey results assessing the lives of homeless veterans and where they could use help. The unmet needs include legal assistance for outstanding warrants and fees, child support issues and criminal records expungement.
Will A. Gunn is general counsel and vice president for legal affairs at the Legal Services Corp., a nonprofit formed by Congress and federally funded. Gunn, who is chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel, also served as general counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs under President Barack Obama.
LSC says it helped about 34,205 veteran households through its grants in 2024, up from 34,142 the year before.
“These are people that have served our nation, and then, for various reasons, they have come across hard times,” Gunn says. “I believe that we have an obligation to take care of those who have served us and this nation.”
Gunn emphasizes that there’s an ongoing need for lawyers to help veterans. The Veterans Consortium, a national nonprofit, partners with law firms, law schools and corporations to train attorneys in veterans assistance.
The ABA Military and Veterans Legal Center webpage consolidates the ABA’s legal services and resources for military personnel, veterans and their families. The ABA Veterans Claims Assistance Network webpage provides information on obtaining VA accreditation.
Test-drive careers
Zimarakos is the interim director of the Veterans Advocacy Clinic and the associate director of the Veterans Law Institute at Stetson University College of Law.
About eight students participate in Stetson Law’s veterans clinic each semester. The students learn how manage clients in multiple time zones and communicate with clients who have experienced trauma or don’t speak English as a first language, she says.
In addition, about three students each semester work in an advanced clinic pertaining to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
At the Puller Clinic, Dick and Assistant Director Zachary Outzen work together to ensure students get hands-on experience with cases, including talking to clients and billing hours. Dick says ensuring veterans have their appropriate disability payments can help them get and keep housing.
Dick says that both the clinic and the law school are trying to “inculcate our students in the idea of public service.”
Since the Puller Clinic started taking clients in 2009, it has successfully assisted veterans and their families with over 800 disability claims, he says.
By working in the clinic, Dick says, students “become proficient in their chosen craft.”
“It’s an opportunity to test-drive their careers,” he explains. “Lawyers need to be problem-solvers, and they get the opportunity to do that here.”
Army Capt. Robert Kunkel, in his third year at William & Mary, is one of the law students helping represent clients at the law school’s clinic. He describes the experience as an opportunity to “sink his teeth” into cases.
“It’s fulfilling to work with clients who are underrepresented and need help from us,” Kunkel says.
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