July 12-14/San Diego: Taking the Court to Stand Down

The American Bar Association Commission on Homelessness and Poverty and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans are hosting a free training that will take place during the actual San Diego Stand Down event. On the first day, participants will observe the different stages of the Homeless Court process which include: the clerk’s station, the prosecutor’s station, the defender’s station, and the Stand Down community. Participants will meet representatives of each stage of Homeless Court, learn about their role, and the process of each stage. On the second day, participants will observe the Homeless Court in session. On the third day of the event, participants will engage in a Homeless Court Program training session aimed at providing a review of the weekend and answering questions from observers.
This session will also include discussion of development of Homeless Court at Stand Down and what resources are needed to replicate the program in participants’ communities.
Preregistration required - register now to ensure seating! 
Title:

Taking the Court to Stand Down
When/Where:
July 12-14, 2013
San Diego Stand Down
San Diego, CA
By:

• American Bar Association
• National Coalition for Homeless Veterans

Credit: The event announcement does not mentioned CLE credit. However the content of the event appears to meet the requirements for CLE in some jurisdictions for attorneys who may file for credit.
More Information and Registration Directions are in this PDF

September 20/San Francisco: Civil Service, Military Retirements and Veterans’ Benefits

The Family Law Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco presents a meeting on Civil service, military retirements and veterans’ benefits. Bring all of your questions about this complicated and very specific area of the law to ask our experts.
This is a meeting. No MCLE will be provided.
Title:
Civil Service, Military Retirements and Veterans’ Benefits
When/Where:
September 20, 2012
Noon to 1:30 p.m.
BASF Conference Center
301 Battery Street
3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Speakers:

• Kathryn Kirkland, Law Offices of Kathryn Kirkland
• Julianne Howard

More: 

http://www.sfbar.org/calendar/eventdetail.aspx?id=X120123/X120123

California Veterans & Military Law Help: New Search For Local Resources

California Law Help can help veterans and military personnel search for legal resources near where you live. Simply go to its subtopics page, and enter your zip code, city or county. LawHelpCalifornia will return a list of resources in the area you specify, on useful topic such as

• Reservists and National Guard
• Veterans' Benefits
• Veterans' Education and Tuition Benefits
• Veterans' Employment and Financial Rights
• Veterans' Health
• Veteran and Military Families
• Veteran and Servicemember Rights in Housing and Home Loans
• Veterans' Tax Issues
• Senior Veterans
• Women Veterans

The URL is awkwardly long but you can get to it here.
Well Done!

Aug 2/San Francisco, CA - Stepping up Justice for Veterans as They Stand Down

This 90-minute free CLE will examine emerging best practices such as Veteran Treatment Courts designed to help reduce criminal recidivism among current and future veterans while assisting them in obtaining supervised therapeutic treatment. The VA recently signaled its enthusiastic support of this remarkable court model by designating 153 Veterans Justice Outreach workers at V.A. hospitals to coordinate with local courts to help divert veterans with PTSD, TBI, or other clinical needs from jails or prison. 

 

Recognizing this effort's enormous potential, the ABA developed policy promoting Veterans Treatment Courts based upon emerging best practices, and this CLE will provide the tools that lawyers and judges will need in order to implement this model effectively in their jurisdictions. We will examine the full range of offenses that these courts are addressing and discuss the courts' experiences with balancing public safety with helping veterans receive therapy and support in community based settings. Panelists will also highlight model pro bono programs aimed at assisting veterans to obtain benefits as well as child support modifications, including an exciting national pilot project recently launched by the ABA, the VA and the Office of Child Support Enforcement aimed at addressing arrears which often serve as barriers to employment and housing.

 

Title:

Stepping up Justice for Veterans as They Stand Down

Monday August 02 , 2010

• By: American Bar Association
• Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
• Time Zone: Pacific Time (US & Canada)
• Location:
• Presidential CLE Centre
  Moscone Center West

  Room 3006, 3rd Floor

  San Francisco, CA
  Contact:
• Amy E. Horton-Newell
  

  ABA

  hortona@staff.abanet.org
  

  202.662.1693
• Source: CALegalAdvocates

Panelists:
Judge Stephen Manley, Veterans Treatment Court, San Jose, CA

Sean Clark, US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Coordinator, Veterans Justice Outreach, Washington, DC

Brian Clubb, National Association of Drug Court Professionals, Alexandria, VA

Antonia Fasanelli, Homeless Persons Representation Project, Baltimore, MD

Paul Freese, Public Counsel, Los Angeles, CA

ara Sommarstrom, Minnesota Justice Foundation, Minneapolis, MN

• CLE Credit Comments: Free 90 minutes of CLE

MORE:

http://www.probono.net/calendar/event.320085-Stepping_up_Justice_for_Veterans_as_They_Stand_Down

California Law Help New "Veterans and Military" Page

California Law Help has created a new web page devoted to resources for veterans and military personnel. See it here

Current topics on that page include:

• Appeals
• Citizenship through Military Service
• Disabled Veterans
• Insurance for Veterans and Family Members
• Military Service Records and Discharge Issues
• Reservists and National Guard
• Senior Veterans
• Veteran and Military Families
• Veteran and Servicemember Rights in Housing and Home Loans
• Veterans' Benefits
• Veterans' Education and Tuition Benefits
• Veterans' Employment and Financial Rights
• Veterans' Health
• Veterans' Tax Issues
• Women Veterans  

The URL is awkwardly long but you can get there here.
Well Done!

California Legal Assistance to Military Personnel

The legal community in California provides Legal Assistance to Military Personnel in a variety of ways.

For the Warrior Community

Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's nice online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". Here is a list for the state of California.

The State Bar of California's Office of Legal Service, Access and Fairness Programs, Program Development Unit will refer military personnel to State Bar certified lawyer referral services and legal service providers.

The availability of pro bono assistance is not assured, but depends on the policy and attorney resources of individual entities. Contact Frank Monti, Office of Legal Services, Access & Fairness Programs, Program Development Unit
180 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-1639
415/538-2141 Frank.Monti@calbar.ca.gov

Los Angeles County Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service
261 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2503
213/243-1525
lris@lacbar.org
One on One Assistance to ReservistsA list of volunteers is being compiled; call LRIS # for possible referrals
Lawyer Reservist Assistance Programs
They're working on creating such a panel; call LRIS number above.

Learn more: http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/helpreservists/lamphrdirectory.html#california

Chapman University School of Law has launched an innovative AMVETS Clinic, a pro-bono legal clinic for military service personnel, in partnership with AMVETS.org. Learn more here; the contact information is on the intake form.

Private Practice Attorneys

Typically, a lawyer in private practice will listen to your situation for 15 or 20 minutes, then give you an idea about how to proceed, in general terms, without charging you. If the matter is something the lawyer can help you with, but must charge for, sometimes you can work out a military-family discount (it does no harm to ask?) The Findlaw website has a city-by-city list of lawyers interested in representing active-duty military personnel, military reservists, and veterans here. The California State Bar suggests several other ways to find a lawyer and is working on a "Find A Lawyer" program, according to reports.

General-Purpose Resources

Servicemembers, veterans and their families are of course eligible to use the same resources as anyone else. A good place to start looking is LawHelpCalifornia.org which has a lot of self-help resources, plus a referral and resource search page. that lets you put in your zip code or city name, and locates the nearest resource.

For Lawyers

Please contact the programs mentioned above.

If you have more information on the above, or on other efforts to provide legal help to our warrior community, please leave a comment below. The purpose is service!

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See also

• ABA Military Pro Bono Project
• State-by-state list of LAMP programs