It's been a while since we posted about legal issues concerning veterans. Here are a few important links that orient as to the landscape.
This article, from the American Bar Association (ABA) website, is directed to lawyers, and talks about a few of the issues facing veterans. It's a generic but comprehensive list of topics about which veterans might want to seek legal advice, written to lawyers who might find veterans contacting them for representation. The topics lightly covered include: veteran status; disabled veteran status; disability ratings; employment rights (including five-point preference, ten-point preference; and vocational rehabilitation); dependency and indemnity compensation; health care; home loans; insurance; education; the Montgomery GI Bill; the Veterans Educational Assistance Porogram; the Dependents' Educational Assistance Program; disability pension; death and burial benefits; correction of military records; and appeals. The article, which goes back to 2005 but still serves as a good resource for what the key topics are, is linked here. (The article's author is Captain Leslie C. Rogall (Ret.), who served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps prior to her medical retirement from injuries sustained in a training accident. She is an appellate attorney for the Disabled American Veterans in Washington, D.C.)
Other quick takes:
- Here's a short article from November of 2007, orienting lawyers to the fact they may now be representing veterans, linked here.
- For a little background on why several veterans rights groups were suing the Federal government recently, here's an article, also directed to lawyers, linked here.
- Here's the text of a letter lawyers wrote petitioning for the ability to represent veterans and get paid for doing so, linked here.
- And finally, an article from the well-regarded Nolo Press -- source of published self-help materials for non-lawyers, written by lawyers -- on "taking family leave for military employees," linked here.
Editor's Note: What would be really nice would if Berkeley, CA's Nolo Press would go ahead and publish a guide for veterans needing to get their claims approved, or appeal claims that have been denied.
Also, if you're a lawyer who's developed a specialty representing veterans, please contact us so that your information can be listed in a directory. Thank you.
