Many of the men and women who served in the U.S. armed forces are cut off
from veterans’ services and benefits because they were given a
less-than-honorable discharge. They may have served in combat, experienced
military sexual trauma, or have suffered physical or mental wounds, but are
nevertheless unable to access much-needed treatment and support from federal and
state veterans agencies because of their discharge status. In many cases, the
origin of their need for support—for example, service-related post-traumatic
stress disorder or traumatic brain injury—also contributed to the conduct that
led to their less-than-honorable discharges.
This program offers the opportunity to hear directly from the leaders of the military
review boards. The directors of the Air Force, Army, and Navy records corrections
boards will present about how the boards operate and how pro bono attorneys can
best advocate for their veteran clients. The pro bono training will also include
an update about recent changes in the law.
This program builds upon prior discharge upgrade pro bono trainings held in
June 2015, May 2016, May 2017, and May 2018. Attorneys who did not attend the
prior trainings are welcome to attend this training. Please email Cassandra
Shavney at cshavney@bostonbar.org
for access to videos and resources from those prior trainings.
Attorneys
who participate in the training will be eligible to join the Veterans
Justice Pro Bono Partnership (VJPBP), established in 2015 by the Veterans
Legal Clinic at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School. Through the
VJPBP, the Veterans Legal Clinic screens and refers veterans seeking discharge
upgrades to private attorneys and then provides ongoing support and expert
resources to those attorneys throughout the case. The generosity and efforts of
VJPBP attorneys help to address the enormous gap in the provision of legal
services to veterans and will provide much-needed advocacy to those who served
the nation in uniform.
Law students are welcome but are not eligible to take pro bono referrals from
the Veterans Justice Pro Bono Partnership.
We invite you to stay immediately after
the training for a networking reception.