We hosted the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Oral Argument
We joined a national network of nonprofits that aim to support veterans and servicemembers
We coauthored an amicus brief for the Supreme Court of the United States
We were provided significant state funding and hired a new fellow
We participated in service activities, where we assisted homeless veterans
Stetson Law’s Veterans Law Institute has been doing amazing work for veterans this past year. We met some major milestones, expanded our services to clients, boosted our commitment to our students, and experienced change.
Through the hard work of our students and staff we have secured over 15 million dollars in backpay owed to our clients from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Even more exciting, these successes have culminated in a projected 100 million dollars’ worth of future lifetime benefits for our veteran clients and their family members! It is hard to explain how life-changing this type of stability is for a family wondering where their next meal will come from or a veteran on the edge of homelessness and unable to work due to disabilities caused by their service to the nation. Our students see the impact of being a citizen-lawyer every day through their work in the VLI.
Expanding our services has been possible with the addition of our first VLI Fellow, Mary Samarkos, funded by our appropriation from the state of Florida. Through Mary, the VLI has been able to increase our direct representation of clients in desperate need by 25%. With the expiration of our appropriation, we will be seeking funding for these two-year fellowships in the future. These opportunities allow us to both train new graduates in veterans law and help more veterans and their family members. The VLI has also expanded our partnerships locally and nationally through our induction into the Raymond James National Veteran Inclusion (Valor) Network.
Stetson Law’s commitment to its veteran students and their spouses is reflected in our newly announced ranking as a Top-Ten Military and Veteran Friendly graduate school. Additionally, our Assistant Director of the VLI, Johnny Pruiett, has moved into the role of Student Veteran Liaison to help our veteran students navigate their journey at Stetson Law from their application to graduation.
Finally, this year is also one of change for the VLI. As I move into the role of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the law school, Morgan Zimarakos (née MacIsaacBykowski), will become a Practitioner in Residence on our faculty and take over the dayto-day operations of the Veterans Advocacy Clinic as its Interim Director. Professor Zimarakos is excited to be taking over the management of the Clinic and we are blessed to have her lead the Clinic.
As always, we cannot do what we do without the support of our donors, alumni, and students. The achievements of the VLI are yours as well and we appreciate your continued involvement in supporting our mission. ASSOCIATE DEAN STACEY-RAE SIMCOX
Military Friendly® is the standard that measures an organization’s commitment, effort and success in creating sustainable and meaningful benefit for the military community.
The Military Friendly® Schools survey is the longest-running most comprehensive review of college and university investments in serving military and veteran students.
Due to the efforts of the Veterans Law Institute, Stetson University College of Law is now a TOP 10 Military Friendly Graduate School! In addition, we were also recognized as a TOP 10 Military Spouse Friendly School.
We are so proud of Stetson Law for maintaining and expanding our dedication to our servicemembers and their families. We owe a special thank you to our Assistant Director, Johnny Pruiett, for organizing this effort.
With the help of an appropriation from the State of Florida, Mary Samarkos joined our team in December 2024.
After graduating from of Stetson Law, she served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps on active duty for four years. During that time, she was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the 82nd Airborne Division and at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
She is continuing her service in the Florida Army National Guard and is passionate about serving the military community both in and out of uniform.
As a Veterans Law Institute Fellow, Mary represents veterans in their disability benefits appeals.
In May, our Fellow, Mary Samarkos, and Adjunct Professor Mark Matthews spoke to the St. Petersburg Area Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. They spoke to the group about the VA disability system, the mission of the Veterans Law Institute, and highlighted cases that exemplified the work of our Veterans Advocacy Clinic. Following this event, MOAA provided a generous donation to the VLI, for which we are thankful.
Professor Morgan Zimarakos participated in a panel discussion at the American Association of Law Schools Conference on Clinical Legal Education in Baltimore, Maryland, where she discussed the evolving role of AI in federal administrative agencies. Morgan and her colleagues from around the country explored how AI is shaping decision-making and document review at VA and how to appropriately and efficiently practice before these agencies.
In April, Mary Samarkos, spent a day at the USA Warrior Hockey National Championship in Coral Springs, Florida. With the help of Christopher Griffin, Stetson Director of Veteran Services, and Jim Deranek, Stetson Director of Graduate Admissions, she connected with veterans from around the country and employees from the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center to raise awareness about the services that the Veterans Law Institute offers veterans.
On February 10, 2025, Stetson Law hosted an oral argument for the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
Chief Judge Michael Allen (formerly the Director of the Stetson Veterans Law Institute), Judge Margret Bartley, and Judge Grant Jaquith, heard argument in the case of a veteran appealing a decision of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. VLI leadership saw the proceeding as an opportunity to invite students to witness veterans law unfolding in a live setting, which is rare for Florida students because the Court is located in Washington, DC.
court staff and attorneys for a luncheon co-sponsored by the VLI, the Federal Bar Association, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association.
The day’s events were on the heels of a VLI-facilitated weekend course, Veterans Benefits: Law, Practice, and Policy, taught by Zach Stolz and Robert Chisholm of Chisholm, Chisholm, and Kilpatrick, Meg Krahl and Ken Walsh from the VA Office of General Counsel, and Chief Judge Allen.
The National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium, of which the VLI is a founding member, held its annual meeting was held on June 10, 2025.
At this meeting, Professor Morgan Zimarakos was announced as the next President of the Consortium. She will serve in this role on the Board until June 2026.
The Consortium also honored Dean Stacey-Rae Simcox with the Founder’s Vision Award for her significant contributions to the veterans clinic community. This award
After the argument, students, faculty, and guests of Stetson joined the judges, recognizes a member who, for years, demonstrated dedication and significant contributions to the world of veterans law, so it is perfectly fitting that it be awarded to her.
We are proud of our continued involvement with this Consortium.
The VLI submitted its fifth amicus brief with to the Supreme Court of the United States through the NLSVCC. this brief was submitted in support of the petitioner in the case Frantzis v. McDonough.
The petitioner filed a petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Federal Circuit’s June 2024 decision in his case. Through The NLSVCC, Professor Morgan Zimarakos supported his Federal Circuit appeal with an amicus brief and she was happy to do so again here. She is especially proud of the work Alex Polidan, a third-year law student, did on this brief. Through extensive research, he was able to
locate a reference to an extremely similar issue in a transcript from a 1994 hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, which was relevant to the issue and had not yet been discussed by either party to the case.
In Frantzis v. McDonough, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims upheld an amendment to the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). ending the requirement that the judge who conducts a hearing concerning a veteran’s claim before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals Veterans Law be the same judge who issues a decision in the case. The Federal Circuit affirmed this decision.
In its brief, the NLSVCC argued that this change to the law is detrimental to a veteran’s due process rights: “A veteran’s right to a hearing . . . is close to meaningless without a corresponding right to be heard by the judge who will decide the merits of the case.”
We were visited by some veteran students from our undergraduate campus in Deland. These veterans crossed the state to learn from our students, who were happy to demonstrate what they have learned over the course of the semester.
Clinic students gave a presentation about the basics of a disability claim before we broke into small groups and discussed the specifics.
In April, Professor Zimarakos and clinic students Sydnie Rouleau and Kathren Wilkerson spent a day at the Bay Pines VA Stand Down Event. Volunteers provided food, clothing, and health screenings to homeless veterans.
Veterans also received referrals for housing solutions, employment, and mental health counseling. The VLI helped veterans navigate legal referrals and took applications for our services.
For the second year in a row, the Veterans Law Institute hosted an activity at the annual Pro Bono Fair. With the help of over 40 student volunteers, we packed bags of necessities for local veterans experiencing homelessness.
We brought these bags to the Bay Pines VA Hospital, where they were distributed to veterans in need. Thank you to everyone who helped with this project!
Our summer fellows donate 250 hours of their time volunteering with us during the summer months. We appreciate their desire to selflessly give back to veterans through this work!
“I decided to spend my summer at the VLI to gain legal experience while learning about a new area of law. I have most enjoyed helping veterans with their claims so they can ultimately receive the benefits they deserve.”
"The VLI is truly preparing students to become confident attorneys by providing legal experience through hands-on casework, where you manage your own client relationships, draft substantial legal documents, and make strategic decisions, all while receiving expert guidance from seasoned lawyers and professors who treat you as a colleague, not just a student This is not observational learning, it is a full immersion into the mechanics of running cases, from client intake through the most complex appeals, giving you the confidence and competence that only comes from doing the actual work of law "
“This summer, I gained firsthand experience in legal practice, where I was introduced to an area of law I had limited knowledge of I left with a deep appreciation for the field and for the incredible clients I had the privilege of working with ”
“I am very thankful for the opportunity to work at the VLI this summer because of the real impact we are able to have on veterans' lives. Fostering relationships with our clients and getting to watch their claims be resolved after years of fighting the VA was extremely rewarding.”
Peer Advisor
“I chose to spend my summer at the VLI as a continuation of the work I did during the previous spring semester, driven by my passion for those who have served our country. I especially enjoyed providing guidance and peer mentorship to the Summer Fellows, which allowed me to develop both advocacy and leadership skills within the clinic space!”
Johnny Pruiett, our Assistant Director, keeps the work of the VLI running smoothly and we are incredibly grateful for him.
Johnny also serves as the school’s Certifying Official for VA education benefits. Additionally, he just gained a new title and is now the Student Veteran Liaison. His dedication to supporting our student veterans is evident in Stetson Law’s rising Military Friendly Schools ranks since he has joined our team.
Johnny, a veteran himself, came to us with experience working with veterans in higher education and he has proved to be a perfect fit here at the VLI.
Meghan Carter, our Equal Justice Works Fellow, has been diligently advocating for clients in discharge upgrade proceedings. Through her work, she has built strong connections with clients across the country. She has already successfully assisted a veteran in upgrading his discharge and is eager to assist even more former service members.
If you received an Other than Honorable discharge and believe that post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and/or military sexual assault may have contributed to your separation, we encourage you to complete our new client application form, available on our website.
The VLI thanks Deere & Co., Lane & Waterman LLP, and Riley Safer Holmes Cancila LLP for sponsoring her project!
This year, we were fortunate to have some outstanding volunteers join our team.
Dawn Thomas was employed in the engineering field for over 40 years with 11 years of service at Lockheed Martin as a Program Quality Manager on the F-35 Training Systems program. Prior to retirement in 2021, Dawn earned a paralegal certificate from Boston University with the intent to use this certification to give back to the community upon retirement. Post-retirement, she is contributing as a paralegal volunteer here at the VLI.
Sophia Matthews, who just completed her sophomore year of high school, spent the summer with us. Sophia is considering a career in the law and we were happy to show her the ropes. She conducted legal and factual research in some of our most complicated cases and assisted us in keeping our files updated and organized.
Additionally, alumni and friends assisted us with our outreach event with the Deland student veterans. We wish to thank Mark Matthews, Victoria Seabol, Vasilios Zimarakos, Hanah Walker, and Trista Miller for spending the day helping us out!
The dedication, compassion, and commitment of these volunteers have made a meaningful impact on our clients and staff alike. We are deeply grateful for their contributions!
La’Tonya Lynn, a December 2024 graduate, was inducted into the Association of American Law School’s Pro Bono Honor Roll for her extraordinary work in providing legal assistance through the VLI.
La’Tonya, a veteran herself, completed approximately 1,000 hours of pro bono service at the VLI. She directly assisted 27 veterans, drafted numerous briefs in support of their claims, and successfully represented a veteran at a hearing before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.
La’Tonya demonstrated unwavering dedication, compassion, and a remarkable work ethic. While she has now graduated and will be moving on to new endeavors, her work will continue to resonate with those she helped. We are deeply grateful for all she has done.
BACKPAY ACQUIRED FOR OUR CLIENTS:
$15 MILLION
TOTAL NEW PROJECTED LIFETIME DISABILITY COMPENSATION FOR ALL CLIENTS:
$100 MILLION
