The Boston Bar Association is committed
to serving military members, veterans and their families.
One way we accomplish this goal is through the Yellow Ribbon Project,
events organized by the U.S. military to support servicemen and servicewomen
preparing for or returning from deployment. At these events, BBA
volunteer lawyers present information to groups of service members and their families on
a variety of legal issues. This past Saturday, BBA volunteers attended
a Yellow Ribbon event, where 250 Coast Guard personnel and their families
prepared for deployment.
Rather than tell you what happened, we reached out to two volunteers, Cameron
Casey of Ropes & Gray and Paul
Lannon of Holland & Knight to share
their experiences. Here’s what they had to say:
 |
 |
Cameron
Casey |
Paul
Lannon |
1) Why did you volunteer your time to help military personnel
and their families?
Paul: As a former US Army
officer, I feel a personal obligation to support those serving in the
military. More broadly, I think all citizens have a duty to find ways to
support those who go in harm’s way to protect our nation and safeguard our
liberties. One way lawyers can fulfill that duty is by providing legal
advice to soldiers and their families.
2) What types of issues did you help
with?
Cameron: Most of the estate planning
questions last weekend involved Powers of Attorney, which are critically
important documents for service members leaving home for extended periods. Those
deploying were scheduled to sign Powers of Attorney prepared by JAG staff later
this week and had questions about the purpose of the document and the pros and
cons of a limited Power of Attorney versus a broader one.
Paul: When troops are deployed for long periods, a host of
legal issues arise. My area of expertise is in employment law, and so I
spoke with reservists about legal protections in their civilian workplaces under
USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act). At this past
Yellow Ribbon event, there were many questions about wills, health care proxies,
and giving others Power of Attorney over their
assets.
3) Why is it important that the BBA maintains a
presence at Yellow Ribbon events?
Paul: Our
soldiers put everything on the line for our community, and our community needs
to support them any way we can. Lawyers can support our troops through the
BBA by providing legal advice and representation to soldiers and their families
in need. The Yellow Ribbon events are an effective means of connecting
soldiers to the lawyers who can help them.
4) How was the volunteer response?
Cameron: The BBA had a tremendous showing Saturday, with
as many as ten volunteer lawyers on hand for all or part of the event. There
were specialists in employment law, consumer protection, family law and estate
planning, as well as a self-described country lawyer. In addition to
providing this terrific resource to address service members' legal questions on
the spot, the BBA has been instrumental in sponsoring a dedicated help line for
service members who have more complicated questions or need to engage a lawyer
for ongoing assistance. These two prongs of the Veterans' Initiative are an
extremely powerful way to support military families.
For more information on how to get involved in the BBA’s Veterans'
Initiatives, please contact Katie D’Angelo, Public Service Programs Coordinator,
at kdangelo@bostonbar.org.
The Boston Bar Association would like to thank those who spend their
Saturday offering assistance to Coast Guard personnel and their families.