The BBA presents live webinars
and virtual events via Zoom. Please register for this program through your BBA
account at least two hours before the start time of the program
to receive the Zoom webinar link.
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 focuses on a strategic question in every discharge upgrade case:
how to address a veteran client's post-service conduct in a petition to the
military review boards, particularly in light of the new Wilkie Memorandum
guidance to the boards. The panelists will offer views from their practice about
how to build an argument for an upgrade based on post-service conduct, how to
present post-service conduct both positive and negative, and related topics.
They will also present early data on the impact of the Wilkie Memorandum and
updates on recent developments in discharge upgrade law.
The information will benefit both attorneys new to discharge upgrade practice
and attorneys with some prior experience. The program builds upon prior
discharge upgrade pro bono trainings. Attorneys who did not attend the prior
trainings are welcome to attend this training. Please reach out to the BBA staff
contact listed below for access to videos and resources from those trainings.
Attorneys who are interested in volunteering to represent a veteran in a
discharge upgrade with the Veterans Justice Pro Bono Partnership, a project of
the Veterans Legal Clinic at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School,
should contact Dana Montalto at dmontalto@law.harvard.edu.
BBA Webinars & Virtual Events are supported by the Joan B. DiCola
Fund. To learn more or support this fund, click here.