Learning to Advocate for Veterans ...

Persons eligible for Veterans Administration benefits sometimes need help in filing their claim, or may not even know the benefits that they are entitled to. A well-structured claim can also assist the VA in efficient administration. Now you can pick up the basics while earning credit:

• Introduction to Veterans Benefits - by Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. This one-hour program is a good place to start.
• Advocating for Veterans - the Basics on Benefits, Discharge Upgrades and Cultural Competency - by Practising Law Institute. This is a longer, more detailed program.
• More at http://4freecle.blogspot.com/p/veterans.html

Seeking More Resources

If you have free CLE in support of our military and veteran families, or are interested in developing them, please contact us so we can post them here and/or assist in development.

Jan 9/Houston, TX - Lone Star Legal Aid Needs You!

An announcement from Lone Star Legal Aid:

Lone Star Legal Aid Needs Volunteer Attorneys, Law Students and Community Partners!

•     Do you want to gain experience or help less fortunate families?
•     Can you volunteer a few hours each week or month to help?
•    Are you a licensed attorney, an attorney awaiting bar exam results, a new law graduate, or a law student?
•     Are you a graduate student, an undergrad, even a high school student?
•     Are you a retiree, a stay-at-home parent, or anyone else who has some time to spare for volunteering?

We want YOU!


 2012 Kick-Off Volunteers’ Meet-n-Greet!

Date/Time/Place:
Monday, January 9, 2012
10:00 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Lone Star Legal Aid
1415 Fannin
Houston, TX 77002

We provide training, supervision, support, and equipment.
For attorneys, we provide malpractice insurance for cases you handle for our clients.
To meet us, learn more about what we do and how you can help, and to sign up to volunteer, please consider attending this special event.
Contact:   
Linda Good
lgood@lonestarlegal.org

Learn More:
http://lonestarlegalaid4veterans.wordpress.com/

Banks Caught Stealing Homes of Servicemembers

Some rob with a gun, some rob with a pen ... but the easiest way is to use computers and the legal system:

From the Financial Times:

"Ten leading US lenders may have unlawfully foreclosed on the mortgages of nearly 5,000 active-duty members of the US military in recent years, according to data released by a federal regulator.

JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America this year reached legal settlements in which they agreed to pay damages to nearly 200 service members who claimed that their homes had been improperly seized.

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/85016e02-19df-11e1-9888-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1fIsUXmYe

Data released last week by the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates national banks, shows that 10 lenders – including BofA, but not JPMorgan, which was not part of the study – are reviewing nearly 5,000 foreclosures of homes belonging to service members and their families to see if they complied with the law.

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act of 2003, mortgage servicers have to follow special procedures when foreclosing on homes belonging to active-duty members of the armed forces and their families. For instance, there are restrictions on so-called default judgments, in which homes are seized after the borrower fails to appear in court.

In April, JPMorgan reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with members of the armed services. The bank admitted to 27 wrongful foreclosures in May. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan chief executive, apologised for his bank’s errors, calling it a “painful aberration”...."

Read the Entire Article :
"US lenders review military foreclosures" By Shahien Nasiripour in New York
----
Now, some people may object to the verb "steal". But why? They took someone's property wrongfully. If they were a kid pocketing a candybar, who would hesitate to call it theft?

"... Yes, as through this world I've wandered
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.

And as through your life you travel,
Yes, as through your life you roam,
You won't never see an outlaw
Drive a family from their home."

-- Woodie Guthrie