TVC Monthly Brief - December 2018

TVC MONTHLYDecember BRIEF 2018 Our Belief Statement We 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.

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IN THIS EDITION: • TVC Pro Bono Representation Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) Training • Wreaths Across America 2018 • Executive Director’s Corner

TVC Pro Bono Representation Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) Training This month we want to thank two of our Mission Partners in particular—Capital One and Troutman Sanders LLP—for jointly hosting and sponsoring our last training of the year: “Pro Bono Representation Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) Training” on 7 December 2018. We had 45 inperson participants and over 20 online participants for our e-learning course delivery, which was very well received.

We’ve sent out surveys for live streaming, which used this time, with other e-learning delivery methods we have feedback so we canwe compare used, to make our online participants’ experience as engaging and user-friendly as

possible for future trainings.

Thank you to all the participants for taking time out of your busy schedules to make a difference in the lives of veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors. We warmly welcome you to the ranks of our TVC National Volunteer CorpsSM!

Wreaths Across America 2018 It was a rainy and cold morning in Washington, DC, but still thousands of people turned up at Arlington National Cemetery to participate in Wreaths Across America. Many were soaked to the bone but that didn’t dampen the spirit of comradery and patriotism at this very special event that allows us to quietly pay tribute to those who

made the ultimate sacrifice.

This year, TVC sponsored 56 wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery. One wreath was respectfully placed for each of our 50 U.S. States, for five U.S. Territories—American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands—and for the District of Columbia, to symbolize our commitment to serve veterans and their loved ones throughout our great nation. TVC is honored to have helped veterans and their loved ones from all of these locations, as well as many countries worldwide. Thank you to our TVC staff here in the National Capital Region and our TVC National Corps of VolunteersSM across the country, who were with us in spirit as they participated at local cemeteries.

Executive Director’s Corner With the holiday season and year-end celebrations upon us, I want to pause to express our gratitude to the many members of our TVC National Volunteer CorpsSM who have tirelessly worked on behalf of veterans in need, their families, caregivers and survivors by providing the best legal services free of charge to meet their challenges. I also want to thank our many donors, sponsors and mission partners whose support enables us to continue to achieve success for our nation’s defenders.

This is an especially meaningful month for us, because it was 26 years ago in December that The Veterans Consortium placed its first case from the federal Veterans Pro Bono Program for representation before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Our specially trained volunteers from Covington & Burling represented Mr. John Buckholtz, a Vietnam war veteran in a case involving post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related issues. Since that time, over 50,000 legal requests have been handled by The Veterans Consortium from veterans and their loved ones worldwide. More than 4,300 attorneys from law firms and corporate legal departments have taken specialized training in veterans law offered by TVC, and have represented veterans in need, succeeding in over 82 percent of our appellate cases in federal courts. We’ve come a long way since our first case in understanding the invisible wounds that many veterans like Mr. Buckholtz have endured. On that note, our TVC Discharge Upgrade ProgramSM is growing rapidly, handling nearly 1,000 annual requests from men and women with Other Than Honorable discharges due to conduct related to PTSD, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and other behavioral health issues.

In 2018, TVC continued to operate a recurring Veterans Pro Bono Legal Clinic at the Washington DC VA Medical Center (DC VAMC). We operate this Legal Clinic at the DC VAMC weekly to (1) facilitate pro bono opportunities in veterans law for law students and introduce them to the federal Veterans Pro Bono Program, (2) help recruit attorneys for the federal Veterans Pro Bono Program to represent pro se appellants before the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and (3) provide an opportunity for our TVC staff attorneys to do their personal pro bono service, all while serving veterans in need.

Every Friday, dedicated volunteers from local law firms, corporate legal departments, government organizations, and students from DC-area law schools participating in our TVC Legal Scholars ProgramSM meet with about 20 veterans to conduct triage based on their stated needs, offer information and resources, and provide referrals. This Legal Clinic is completely free of charge and is administered in partnership with Neighborhood Legal Services Program-DC and the Transition & Care Management (TCM) office of the DC VAMC; it is also open to all veterans regardless of discharge status. One high note, was the VA General Counsel (now Acting Deputy Secretary) personally performing his pro bono service hours at the legal clinic in 2017 and committing to perform future pro bono shifts there with us in 2018. Our deep appreciation goes out to all these legal clinic volunteers, and especially mission partners Duane Morris, NVLSP, TCM, and VA OGC. From the entire TVC team, we wish you a relaxing and meaningful holiday season, and a very happy new year. We look forward to even greater successes in 2019. On behalf of all the men and women we have the privilege to represent, America’s veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors, thank you for your volunteer service and for your support of our shared mission.