2021
TVC PRO BONO MISSION PARTNER AWARDS Thursday, November 4, 2021
CELEBRATING PRO BONO SERVICES TO VETERANS
SINCE 1992
W
e believe that our veterans ~our nation's defenders~ deserve the care, benefits, and compensation they were promised and the best legal services, free of charge, to meet their challenges. #theyfoughtforus
Table of Contents 05 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE 07 TVC EXECUTIVE BOARD 09 EVENING PROGRAM
11 THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
12 U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS 13 PRO BONO PROGRAM FOR VETERANS 19 KEYNOTE SPEAKER: NORMAN HILE, ESQ. 21 WRITER: MAJOR ANNE BARLIEB
23 2021 TVC CHAIRMAN'S AWARD 25 2021 TVC PRO BONO LAW FIRM MISSION
PARTNER
27 2021 TVC PRO BONO LAW
FIRM/CORPORATE MISSION PARTNER
32 VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES WITH TVC 34 GIVE TODAY
2021
TVC PRO BONO MISSION PARTNER AWARDS
Executive director:
welcome
Welcome to TVC's 2021 Pro Bono Mission Partner Awards. We gather tonight to honor our awardees who have gone “above and beyond the call of duty” to provide quality pro bono legal services to veterans and their loved ones. Let us take this opportunity to collectively renew our promise to honor our nation’s veterans and to provide them with equal access to justice. This year, with the support of our TVC National Volunteers Corps and Mission Partners, we had a record number of placed cases be fore the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and we trained more than 400 new attorneys and paralegals from law firms and corporate legal departments. We continue to find other ways to support veterans through our Equal Justice Works fellowships and our two pro bono legal advice and referral clinics. Our EJW fellows have spent the past year educating Veteran Service Officers and attorneys on culturally competent advocacy for women veterans and veterans seeking naturalization through military service. TVC continues to support law schools across the country in building veterans law programs or legal clinics and engaging young law students, who we hope will become lifelong advocates for our nation’s defenders. With your partnership and support, we will continue to advance our shared mission by meeting veterans’ current and emerging challenges, increasing our outreach, and continuing to develop new ways to further support our Volunteer Corps as they deliver quality life-changing pro bono legal services. Our sponsors were extremely generous this year and we are grateful for each one of you. This generosity will translate to innovative and quality legal services for our nation’s defenders and their families. I want to especially thank our Champion Sponsors, Baker Botts L.L.P. and Quarles & Brady LLP, for their generous support and unwavering commitment to our program. We are very grateful for your partnership and patriotism. On behalf of our staff and Executive Board, our veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors, I sincerely thank you and offer a military “Bravo Zulu” for a job well done. This is a team effort, and you are all critical to our success.
Steve Jordon, Captain (ret.) U.S. Navy Executive Director
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William S. Foster, Jr., Esq., Chairman (Northrup Grumman)
Aniela Szymanski, Esq., Vice Chairman (Warrant Officers Association of the U.S. Coast Guard)
Lee Gardner, Esq., Director (Google, Inc.)
Mary Ann Gilleece, Esq., Chairwoman Emeritus (The Private Bar)
Mario A. Marquez, Esq., Director (The American Legion)
Lanita Morgan, Esq., Director (Schmoyer Reinhard LLP)
John Muckelbauer, Esq., Director (Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.)
Leonard J. Selfon, Esq., CAE, Secretary & Director (Paralyzed Veterans of America)
Richard V. Spataro, Esq., Director (National Veterans Legal Services Program)
Roy E. Spicer, Director (Disabled American Veterans) 7
E V E N I N G
P R O G R A M
WELCOME Stephen Jordon, Executive Director
MOMENT OF SILENCE OPENING REMARKS Champion Sponsor, Quarles & Brady LLP Margaret Utterback, Esq. & Thomas J. McDonell, Esq.
2021 TVC CHAIRMAN'S AWARD Amy B. Kretkowski, Esq. Veterans Law Office of Amy B. Kretkowski, PLC
KEYNOTE SPEECH Norman Hile, Esq. Author, Keeping Each Other Alive U.S. Army Veteran
2021 TVC LAW FIRM PRO BONO MISSION PARTNER AWARD McCarter & English LLP Michelle Movahed, Esq. Charles D. Ray, Esq.
2021 TVC LAW FIRM/CORPORATE PRO BONO MISSION PARTNER AWARD Alston & Bird LLP and Koch Industries, Inc. Mary Benton, Esq., Alston & Bird LLP Cheryl Naja, Esq., Alston & Bird LLP Ray Geoffroy, Esq., Koch Industries, Inc.
INTRODUCTION of MAJOR ANNE BARLIEB Champion Sponsor Baker Botts, L.L.P. David Tobin, Esq.
CLOSING REMARKS
T H A N K
Y O U
Remembering Their
Sacrifice
We thank the dedicated members of our TVC National Volunteer Corps who have selflessly given their time and talent in the spirt of pro bono service to our nation's veterans.
Thank You To Our 2021 Sponsors CHAMPION Baker Botts LLP Quarles & Brady LLP HERO McCarter & English, LLP FREEDOM Lockheed Martin Corporation PATRIOT Cameron Firm, PC Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
GUARDIAN The American Legion Bergmann & Moore, LLC Blank Rome LLP Buckley LLP Disabled American Veterans Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP National Association of County Veterans Service Officers National Veterans Legal Services Program Paralyzed Veterans of America Veterans of Foreign Wars White & Case LLP HONOR GUARD Alston & Bird LLP Attig Curran Steel PLLC Fish & Richardson PC Greene & Marusak, LLC Just Law K&L Gates LLP Koch Industries, Inc. Law Office of Michael J. Sepanik Veterans Law Office of Amy B. Kretkowski PLC Veterans’ Rights Law Group, PLLC Wilson Sonsini Foundation VETERAN’S DEFENDER Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP Chisholm, Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD Evans & Dixon, LLC Foster Garvey PC Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP Gustavo Mayen, Esq. Lee Gardner, Esq. Miles & Stockbridge PC ODU Law Firm, LLC Reine R. Law Practice, PLLC Sean Kendall, P.C. Seyfarth Shaw LLP Stacey-Rae Simcox, Esq. & Mark Matthews, Esq. William S. Foster, Jr., Esq. Valerie Daye, Esq. 11
*as of print deadline
U.S COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is a federal court of record established by Congress through the Veterans' Judicial Review Act (VJRA), which was signed into law on November 18, 1988 (now codified in chapter 72 of title 38, United States Code). Prior to the VJRA, veterans who were denied claims for VA benefits, or who disagreed with findings of the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board), had no right to pursue any review of Board decisions. The Court provides this independent judicial review and is not part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Court has exclusive jurisdiction to review final Board decisions based on the record before the agency and arguments of the parties, which are presented in a written brief, with oral argument generally held only in cases presenting new legal issues. The Court's principal office is in Washington, D.C., but the Court is authorized to sit anywhere in the United States and does so a limited number of times each year, typically at law schools across the nation as part of an educational outreach program. The Court is authorized seven permanent, active Judges, and two additional Judges as part of a temporary expansion provision. Judges generally are appointed for 15-year terms, and each Judge has the option upon retirement to agree to be available for further service as a recall-eligible Senior Judge. During any period of recall service, a Senior Judge has all of the judicial authority and powers of a Judge in active service.
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PRO BONO PROGRAM FOR VETERANS At the request of the Court’s founding Chief Judge, Frank Q. Nebeker, the Federal Pro Bono Program for Veterans was created by the U.S. Congress in Public Law No. 102-229 and marked its 25-year milestone in 2017. The law provides for the “… furnishing of legal and other assistance, without charge, to veterans and other persons who are unable to afford the cost of legal representation in connection with decisions to which section 7252(a) of title 38, United States Code, may apply, or with other proceedings in the Court, through a program that furnishes case screening and referral, training and education for attorney and related personnel, and encouragement and facilitation of pro bono representation by members of the bar and law school clinical and other appropriate programs, such as veterans service organizations, and through defraying expenses incurred in providing representation to such persons. Provided, that such grants or contracts shall be made by the Legal Services Corporation pursuant to a reimbursable payment from the United States Court of Veterans Appeals….” [now the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims].
Legal Services Corporation LSC is the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans in the nation. Established in 1974, LSC operates as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that promotes equal access to justice and provides grants for highquality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans. LSC distributes more than 93% of its funding to 133 independent nonprofit legal aid programs with more than 800 offices. LSC promotes equal access to justice by awarding grants to legal services providers through a competitive grants process; conducting compliance reviews and program visits to oversee program quality and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements as well as restrictions that accompany LSC funding, and by providing training and technical assistance to programs. LSC encourages programs to leverage limited resources by partnering and collaborating with other funders of civil legal aid, including state and local governments, Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA), access to justice commissions, the private bar, philanthropic foundations, and the business community. LSC is headed by a bipartisan board of directors whose 11 members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 13
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Chesley Roberts, Esq. Equal Justice Works Fellow 2020-2022
for supporting TVC’s Women Veterans Legal Assistance Program (WVLAP) which provides culturally competent access to legal services for women veterans.
Nicqelle Godfrey, Esq. Equal Justice Works Fellow 2020-2022
for supporting TVC's Veterans Naturalization Assistance Program (VNAP), which assists veterans with citizenship through military service.
2021
TVC PRO BONO MISSION PARTNER AWARDS
Keynote Speaker:
Norm Hile
Norm Hile, Esq. served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1971 and is a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient. To mark the 50th anniversary of his return from Vietnam, he recently published a powerful personal memoir, called Keeping Each Other Alive, about his combat tour as an artillery forward and aerial observer. In the words of CBS news correspondent Erin Moriarty, “It’s a soul-searching examination of the dilemmas faced by good people trying to hold on to their souls while staying alive.” Norm was drafted in to the U.S. Army out of law school at the height of the Vietnam War. He was trained to be an artillery officer, and then, in August 1970, he was sent to serve a one-year combat tour in South Vietnam’s I Corps, where the war was hottest. Keeping Each Other Alive is Hile’s memoir of that combat tour. Quoting from letters he wrote home from the field, using photos he personally took of combat operations, and recounting his memories of that unforgettable year in war, Hile describes what it was like to be an artillery forward observer in the field with an infantry company, and then an aerial observer in light planes and helicopters flying over enemy territory. Mr. Hile received his B.A. from Yale University in 1967 and his Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University in 1973. He served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1971, including the combat tour in Vietnam recounted in his book. For 35 years, Mr. Hile was a partner in the law firm of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, specializing in complex litigation. For most of his legal career, Mr. Hile has represented condemned prisoners on death row on a pro bono basis, including a 17-year effort to exonerate Kevin Cooper from a wrongful conviction and death sentence. He was awarded the Sacramento County Bar Association’s “Pro Bono Attorney of the Year” in 2019, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals awarded him its John Frank Award as a lawyer who “demonstrated outstanding character and integrity; dedication to the rule of law….and a lifetime of service to the federal courts.”
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2021
TVC PRO BONO MISSION PARTNER AWARDS
storyteller:
anne barlieb
Major Anne Barlieb, USA (Ret.) served as a combat helicopter pilot and is a wounded warrior. Her active-duty service included two deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn, during which she received the Combat Action Badge, Air Medal, and a Valorous Unit Award. During her military service, she suffered from a traumatic brain injury and attempted suicide. Multiple medical issues led to her premature retirement and a traumatic transition to civilian life. In retirement, Anne continues treatment at Walter Reed for multiple service connected and combat-related chronic conditions. She also mentors service members navigating the medical board process, and offers experientially based, confidential, personalized coaching for concerns related to quality of life during major transitions, and challenges from grief and suicide to self-expression. Anne has made it her top priority to live in the present and show compassion for herself and others. She now shares her talents within the veteran community as a storyteller and writer and often contributes in civilian, veteran, and hybrid creative spaces.
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2021
TVC PRO BONO MISSION PARTNER AWARDS
2021 tvc chairman's award: The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program congratulates Amy B. Kretkowski, Esq. on her selection to receive the 2021 TVC Chairman’s Award in recognition of her outstanding record of service provided to our nation’s veterans and their families, caregivers and survivors. Amy has been an invaluable member of our TVC National Volunteer Corps. She began volunteering her time to represent veterans through our program in 2011 and has been a mentor for more than thirty-five TVC cases. Amy has her own Veterans Law practice in Iowa, representing veterans and their survivors in their VA appeals, and she teaches an upper-level course in Veterans Benefits Law at The University of Iowa College of Law. She is a highly respected advocate in the field of veteran’s law and previously served the Court as a law clerk to Judge Mary Schoelen and currently chairs the CAVC Rules Advisory Committee. Amy and her students have successfully represented 24 appellants (some several times) in TVC cases. She is a natural teacher, whose knowledge of veterans law makes her an exceptional mentor, who we count on to provide wise counsel. We are very grateful for her role as a volunteer and mentor who engages young law students that we hope will become lifelong advocates for our nation’s defenders. Her passion for TVC’s work and commitment to pro bono service demonstrates that Amy Kretkowski has “gone above and beyond the call of duty” on behalf of our nation’s veterans. This sustained commitment to pro bono service for veterans, dedication to serving TVC’s Spanish speaking clients, willingness to take on cases that need immediate representation, and achieving favorable outcomes in most of her cases, demonstrates that Amy B. Kretkowski has “gone above and beyond the call of duty” on behalf of our nation’s defenders and is truly a role model for legal professionals to emulate.
THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS! 23
2021
TVC PRO BONO MISSION PARTNER AWARDS
2021 tvc pro bono law firm mission partner: The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program congratulates McCarter & English LLP on their selection as our 2021 TVC Law Firm Pro Bono Mission Partner in recognition of their out -standing record of service to our nation’s veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors. McCarter & English’s commitment to serving those in need dates to the founding of the firm and they constantly seek new ways to put their attorneys’ talents to good use, and for McCarter & English, that means serving others. The firm was honored with the American Bar Association’s 2019 Pro Bono Publico Award for their exceptional commitment to low-income and otherwise marginalized people and communities. This is evidenced in their commitment to their work with TVC and the vulnerable veterans that we serve. TVC has been working with McCarter & English attorneys since 2006 but we began growing our partnership in earnest in 2016 with Pro Bono Partner, Michelle Movahed, who has been the driving force behind strengthening our partnership, with her deep commitment to pro bono service and veterans issues. McCarter attorneys are always eager to take on new cases and have represented TVC clients in thirty-five cases with a near 100% success rate. In February of 2020, we trained 28 new McCarter & English attorneys and 16 immediately took cases. In addition to direct representation, McCarter & English attorneys have taken on the added task of screening cases, crafting arguments, reviewing records and writing screening memos. This additional support has allowed us to manage a record number of placements for our CAVC cases. Since March of 2020 alone, they have produced 76 screening memos for CAVC cases. McCarter has also been one of our most generous donors, supporting us as sponsors and donating EAJA fees to our organization. This generosity allows us to provide vital services to veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. McCarter & English’s passion for TVC’s mission and commitment to pro bono is making a real and meaningful difference in the lives of men and women who chose to serve our country. This sustained commitment to pro bono service for veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors clearly demonstrates that McCarter & English LLP, has “gone above and beyond the call of duty” on behalf of our nation’s veterans.
THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS! 25
2021
TVC PRO BONO MISSION PARTNER AWARDS
2021 tvc pro bono law firm/corporate award: The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program congratulates Alston & Bird LLP and Koch Industries, Inc. on their selection to receive the 2021 TVC Law Firm/Corporate Pro Bono Mission Partner Award in recognition of their outstanding record of service provided to our nation’s veterans and their families, caregivers and survivors. TVC has a long history with Alston, dating back to 2012, when Senator Bob Dole, then a partner at the firm, successfully represented a veteran in our 1,000th case alongside Senator George Mitchell. We are now working on our 7,000th case. That’s a long time, and we consider Alston part of the TVC family. In 2017, we began to build on our partnership under the leadership of Cheryl Naja, Alston's Director of Pro Bono and Community Service. Working closely with Pro Bono Partner, Mary Benton, Alston has recruited over 50 attorneys to attend our trainings -- making her an invaluable resource for our program. Notably, they introduced us to Koch Industries. Both Alston and Koch Industries have a solid record of promoting pro bono initiatives in their respective organizations and a strong commitment to the men and women who have served our nation. They are valuable and committed partners to TVC. Attorneys from both organizations have collaborated to serve veterans who received Other Than Honorable discharges due to conduct related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Military Sexual Trauma, and/or other mental health issues. They have worked together on several pro bono legal clinics and have collaborated on six discharge upgrade cases. This is life changing work, as servicemembers with an OTH discharge have higher rates of mental health conditions, and are at higher risk for suicide, homelessness, and unemployment. Many have disabilities related to their service or were discharged under past discriminatory practices that targeted some because of their sexual orientation or identity. They are some of the most in need of VA’s health care services—yet they are being wrongfully excluded from those services without due process. The commitment and partnership of Alston & Bird and Koch Industries is making a real difference in the lives of these service members. This commitment to pro bono service clearly demonstrates that the team of Alston & Bird LLP and Koch Industries, Inc. has “gone above and beyond the call of duty” on behalf of our nation’s defenders and is a model for other pro bono teams to emulate.
THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS! 27
They fought for us – help us fight for them. TVC FEDERAL VETERANS PRO BONO PROGRAM (Nationwide)
This pro bono program provides representation for veterans and their families appealing the unjust denial of their VA benefits from the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). TVC trains & mentors volunteers to represent them to regain eligibility for benefits. Contact: volunteer@vetsprobono.org
TVC DISCHARGE UPGRADE PROGRAM (Nationwide) This pro bono program serves veterans who have received an Other Than Honorable Discharge due to conduct related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and/or other mental health issues. Contact: upgrades@vetsprobono.org
TVC LEGAL CLINIC PROGRAM (LCP) (DC Metro Area) TVC manages two regular pro bono legal clinics for veterans at the DC VA Medical Center. One clinic is available exclusively to women veterans and staffed by female attorneys; the other clinic is for all veterans. In addition to these regular clinics, TVC also hosts pop-up specialized pro bono legal clinics to meet the increase need for legal assistance across various areas of law such as family law, employment law, and wills/estates law. Contact: clinics@vetsprobono.org
WOMEN VETERANS LEGAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (WVLAP) (Nationwide) In addition to managing the Pro Bono Legal Clinic for Women Veterans (one of only 3 in the nation), WVLAP focuses on outreach and education to women veterans and organizations that support them. WVLAP trains female volunteers to support women veterans with their Military Sexual Trauma (MST) claims through a culturally competent approach, which informs them of their rights and the legal avenues available for their unique legal needs and challenges. Contact: wvlap@vetsprobono.org
VETERANS NATURALIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (VNAP) (Nationwide) VNAP assists veterans applying for naturalization through military service. TVC volunteers are trained to assist veterans with their naturalization applications which involve gathering evidence, writing defenses when needed, and ensuring applications are properly completed. Practicing Immigration attorneys serve as Mentors to volunteers when needed. Contact: vnap@vetsprobono.org
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UPDATED OCT 2021
We train our TVC National Volunteer Corps to represent veterans, their families, caregivers & survivors.
Handled over
62,000legal requests from veterans and their loved ones
83% success rate
lifetime
for federal cases
Recruited, trained and mentored over
5,700attorneys across the U.S.
$132M
donated Valueofattorney services
Operates a national
that provides helpline valuable information to pro se appellants as they navigate the CAVC process
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT OUTREACH & EDUCATION AT (202) 733-3323 OR VOLUNTEER@VETSPROBONO.ORG
Ways we support our volunteers:
Provide high quality training to volunteer attorneys nationwide; Provide each volunteer with a screened case & litigation strategy memo to ensure a successful outcome; Malpractice insurance (if needed); Provide reference materials, sample briefs and pleadings, prior decisions, casebooks, etc.; Provide seasoned mentors to all volunteers; Provide independent medical opinions to succeed on appeals; Fund and assist in establishing law school veterans clinics; Provide Internships & Externships to law students; and Manage pro bono legal advice & referral clinics.
“This is one of the best run programs out there. The training was top notch and the mentors are very knowledgeable and helpful.”
TVC National Volunteer Corps Member
UPDATED AUG 2021
OUR REPORT CARD SINCE 1992 83% Success Rate >65,500 Handled Requests >7,000 Cases Placed 5,750 Attorneys Trained $134M Value of Donated Services
Your gift helps ensure veterans and their loved ones receive the benefits and compensation they earned by our country.
GIVE TODAY
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IN-KIND DONATIONS
Please contact us at outreach@vetsprobono.org to discuss ways that you or your firm can support our work through in-kind donations.
DIRECT MAIL
CFC# DONATION
Checks made payable to The Veterans Consortium can be mailed to: Stephen Jordon 2101 L Street NW, Ste. 840 Washington, DC 20037
We participate in donations through the Combined Federal Campaign program. We appreciate your consideration of us. CFC#: 95004
CFC#: 95004
All donations are taxdeductible to the full extent of the law. If you would like to make a donation in memory of a veteran that has served our country, or a volunteer attorney that has given their time and expertise in service to veterans, please contact outreach@vetsprobono.org.
@vetsprobono #theyfoughtforus www.vetsprobono.org
The Veterans Consortium would like to thank our veterans for their service to our country and the TVC Volunteers who tirelessly support them.
We would also like to express our gratitude to our Sponsors and Mission Partners for their generous support of our mission.
CFC#: 95004 The Veterans Consortium 2101 L Street NW, Suite 840 Washington, DC 20037 888-838-7727
@vetsprobono
#theyfoughtforus
vetsprobono.org