But that’s about to change.
Recent efforts to help veterans obtain benefits or gain access to other resources are underway at law schools, bar associations, community groups and even the VA itself.
“I think the sheer number of claims, and the resources that are available to process them, necessitate more lawyering in this area,” says Hugh McClean, director of the new Bob Parsons Veterans Advocacy Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law. “There’s just a tremendous need for veterans’ assistance right now.”
Four law students supervised by McClean, a veteran of the Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps and a former Air Force law professor, will work about 20 hours each week handling cases while also learning through a weekly seminar and reading assignments, he says. In the spring, the number of students in the clinic will likely increase to six.
There are only about 30 such veterans clinics at law schools across the country, McClean says. Pushing for more, the American Bar Association voted at its annual meeting Aug. 11 to urge law schools to create veterans’ clinics or, if that’s not possible, to serve veterans’ needs through an existing clinic.
At UB Law, the clinic’s initial focus will be on cases in which veterans need legal help to access their service-connected disability benefits and on “discharge upgrade” cases. The two are often intertwined, McClean says, since a veteran who received a dishonorable discharge may be prevented from accessing benefits.
