Veterans' Rights Externship

Introduction

The Veterans' Rights Externship introduces students to the challenges faced by military veterans in accessing federal benefits. New York is home to more than 800,000 veterans, and recent studies have found that New York veterans have a lower income than the national average, despite numerous financial benefit programs specific to this population. Studies have also found that New York veterans receive disability benefits at a significantly lower rate than veterans in other states, with that disparity even larger for veterans residing in New York City.

NYLAG’s Veterans Practice has focused its efforts on addressing two potential causes of these alarming trends; eligibility issues related to discharge status and lack of representation in the disability claims process. Students will work closely with NYLAG attorneys to effectively and compassionately advocate for veteran clients as they navigate the discharge upgrade and VA disability benefit processes. Emphasis will be placed on the impact mental health conditions, racial and sexual orientation discrimination, and bias have on the military justice system and the pervasive inequities faced by veterans as a result.

Course Description

Fieldwork

NYLAG’s Veterans Practice is a community-based program with a large referral network that provides comprehensive services to veterans and their families, regardless of their discharge status and eligibility to use the VA Healthcare System. NYLAG performs on-site intakes at locations including Borden Avenue Veterans Residence, Samaritan Daytop Village Residential Treatment Program, and Black Veterans for Social Justice. Veterans face all the same legal concerns as any other population, but also experience issues unique to their veteran status and military experiences. NYLAG’s Veterans Practice focuses on those veteran-specific legal issues, while simultaneously utilizing the expertise of NYLAG’s 300+ attorneys, paralegals, and financial counselors to effectively address other civil legal needs.

Student participants will be paired with an attorney in NYLAG’s Veterans Practice who will act as a mentor and teacher for the student as they work directly with veteran clients on different stages of discharge upgrade applications and VA disability benefit appeal cases. Students will consult with clients, review military and medical records, conduct legal, factual, and medical research, and prepare documents for submission to the Department of Defense and/or Department of Veterans Affairs, including personal statements, legal briefs, and other types of client-related evidence. Depending on timing, there may be opportunities for students to advocate in front of military discharge boards or veteran administrative law judges, but the majority of advocacy will be on paper. Students must commit to an average of 10 hours of fieldwork per week.

Seminar

The weekly classroom component will help students recognize and understand the unique issues that can arise with military service. The seminar will discuss the benefits available to military veterans, the challenges veterans face in the different application processes, and how we as legal advocates can make a difference. While the substantive aspects of the class will be focused on the area of Veterans Law, the skills gained by learning effective lawyering techniques and how to apply those techniques to assigned clients, will help students grow as an attorney, regardless of their chosen career path and area of practice after law school.

The fieldwork will have students working with veteran clients as they attempt to upgrade their discharge status with a Discharge Review Board (DRB) or Board of Corrections of Military Records (BCMR) and/or obtain their VA Disability Compensation Benefits with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The seminars will provide an overview of the substantive law that applies in these cases and how to conduct research to find law relevant to assigned clients. Class discussions will include how to investigate and develop facts, craft a strong theory of the case, and support a theory with different forms of evidence. To prepare students for direct representation, significant time will be spent on interviewing and communicating, trauma-informed advocacy, empowering clients, understanding implicit bias, and setting client boundaries. Guest experts will also engage the class in conversations about working with clients dealing with mental health and substance abuse conditions, the impact and process of policy changes on benefits, homelessness, and administrative practice, and the future of Veterans' law.

Learning Outcomes

Primary Goals:

• Acquire understanding of the administrative systems, in particular, the relevant statues and regulations utilized by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to make eligibility determinations.
• Develop competence in problem-solving, cross-cultural competence, factual investigation, interviewing, counseling, negotiation, collaboration, legal writing, and the ability to recognize and address bias and racism in legal systems.
• Increase ability to effectively and compassionately advocate on behalf of low-income individuals experiencing poverty and injustice.

Secondary Goals:

• Broaden knowledge of the systemic discrimination faced by service members and its widespread impact on veteran benefit eligibility and access.
• Gain a working understanding of the ethical and strategic considerations involved in representation of individuals struggling with mental health, substance abuse, and/or homelessness.
• Identify individual strengths and weaknesses as an advocate and take concrete steps towards addressing recognized deficiencies.

In addition, students will develop individualized learning goals in consultation with their supervisor, which will be discussed throughout the semester.

Application Procedure

Students interested in applying for the clinic should submit the standard application, resume, and transcript online through CAMS. Each applicant is urged to explain why they are interested in this Clinic in the application. Interviews are not required, although Professor Foley is happy to talk with interested students about the clinic’s requirements. Please contact Ryan Foley if you have any questions.

Student Contacts

This is a new course, so there are no student contacts.

* 5 credits include 3 clinical credits and 2 academic seminar credits.