Ethics

• "Lawyers for Warriors" by Charles Myers, U.S. Air Force Academy (1997): "Military lawyers face special concerns just because their clients are soldiers, sailors, or other military personnel responsible for preparing for, waging, and win ning the country's wars lawfully and morally. ...."http://ethics.iit.edu/perspective/pers16_2spr97_3.html
  
  

Jobs - Protection and Opportunities: USERRA and ETC.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) prohibits discrimination against persons because of their service in the Armed Forces Reserve, the National Guard, or other uniformed services.

USERRA prohibits an employer from denying any benefit of employment on the basis of an individual’s membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation for service in the uniformed services. USERRA also protects the right of veterans, reservists, National Guard members, and certain other members of the uniformed services to reclaim their civilian employment after being absent due to military service or training.

• USERRA Advisor: http://www.dol.gov/elaws/userra.htm at the Department of Labor
• Text of USERRA Chapter 43 USC : http://www.dol.gov/vets/usc/vpl/usc38.htm (also available at http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode38/usc_sup_01_38_10_III_20_43.html )
• USERRA Links http://esgr.org/userrathelaw.asp hosted by Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves: http://www.esgr.org/
• USERRA 101 online course: http://www.nvti.cudenver.edu/userra101
  
• Office Of Special Counsel on USERRA: http://www.osc.gov/userra.htm
• USERRA overview at military.com: http://www.military.com/benefits/legal-matters/userra/overview
  

See Also:
Veterans' Employment & Training Service (VETS):
http://www.dol.gov/vets/welcome.html

SCRA: Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a federal statute passed by Congress to allow military members to suspend or postpone some civil obligations so that the military member can devote his or her full attention to military duties.

There are a variety of important protections, with a lot of details:

• Stay of Proceedings
• Default Judgments
• Eviction
• Home and Auto Leases
  
• Mortgages
• Interest Rate Cap
  

Follow the links to learn more:

• About the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (Coast Guard)
• Guide to SCRA
  
• SCRA Pocket Guide (2-page Word Document)
  
• SCRA Text (32-page PDF)

Organizations in Service to Veterans

Links to organizations of, by or for veterans. Please add any you think helpful:

Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America: http://www.iava.org/

National Gulf War Resource Center: http://www.ngwrc.org

Veterans of Modern Wars: http://modernveterans.com/

Blind Veterans Association: http://www.bva.org

Disabled American Veterans: http://www.dav.org/

Employers in Support of the Guard and Reserves: http://www.esgr.org/

Fisher House (helps families of wounded veterans be near them during treatment): http://www.fisherhouse.org/ Please note "Hero Miles", its Frequent Flyer Donation program: http://www.fisherhouse.org/programs/heroMiles.shtml

Operation Unmet Needs: http://www.unmetneeds.com/

Veterans Eye Care: http://www.veteranseyecare.com/

CLEs and other training programs for lawyers....

Training programs for lawyers seeking to provide services for veterans (going beyond representations to the VA) go in this thread.

Here's one to start with:

"Lawyers For Warriors" Dec 27 noon-5p.m. at the Washington State Bar Association
Hosted by the WSBA Peace Through Law Section, cosponsored by the WSBA Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP) Section.

Video and handouts available free http://www.rewinn.com/9893.html

Helping with VA Claims.

One large category of legal need is working with the Federal Veterans Administration (VA).

"The U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals (now "U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims") asked Congress to reallocate part of the Court’s own budget for representation for needy claimants. A consortium of four organizations received a grant to operate a pro bono programto recruit attorneys willing to volunteer to represent needy individuals at the Court. See:
http://www.vetsprobono.org/train/faq.htm

Meanwhile, USAToday reports a multitude of efforts to help with these claims. Are they pro bono or in expectation of fee-on-success? Either way, it's noteworthy:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-11-26-valawyers_N.htm

Why Lawyers for Warriors?

Among those hardest hit by America's wars are the troops themselves, veterans and their families.

Few of us will give up our law practice to build schools in Afghanistan or judge in a war crimes commission, but nearly all of us who are in the law-and-justice arena will serve veterans. (Throughout this blog, when I refer to "vets" I mean to include active duty troops and their families; it's just clumsy to keep listing them all. Sorry!)

The need is huge. The JAG corps is reportedly overloaded and, at any rate, limited in what it does (e.g. it doesn't due civil law or much of anything for veterans and families.)

This blog collects and discusses resources for meeting this large need. Some general categories include:

• Training and networking lawyers (CLEs, etc.)
• Promoting pro bono services
• Enable self-help, both in the form of teach-ins for veterans, and in helping veterans through the long process of becoming lawyers themselves, so that they may better serve their buddies.

Have you got a CLE, a link, a resource, an idea? Let's see it now!


Show us what you got!