September 2019 Monthly Brief

26 Sept 2019 Greetings!

In This Issue:

Managing Director's Message 2019 TVC Pro Bono Mission Partner Reception George Washington University Law Students Visit TVC TVC Volunteer Inspiring Pro Bono - Michael Just Notable News

Managing Director's Message I am pleased to announce two of the 2019 awardees that will be honored at our TVC Pro Bono Mission Partner Reception on Wednesday, 6 November.

The 2019 TVC Law Firm Pro Bono Mission Partner Award will be presented to White & Case LLP and The 2019 Chairman’s Award will be presented to Javier Centonzio of Centonzio Law, PLLC. Join us as we celebrate these awardees and all our volunteers, Mission Partners and supporters making a tangible difference in the lives of veterans. We’re looking forward to spending this evening of celebration with all of you. Please RSVP no later than October 21.

I’d also like to thank our growing list of sponsors (see below) and ask that if you have not yet done so, consider a sponsorship to help us further our mission.

Thank you, Jim

Purchase Tickets and Sponsorships Here!

2019 PRO BONO MISSION PARTNER RECEPTION SPONSORS CHAMPION

"Venue Sponsor"

HERO

GUARDIAN

HONOR GUARD

VETERAN'S DEFENDER

TVC Volunteer Inspiring Pro Bono (VIP)

Michael S. Just, Esq.

JustLaw TVC National Volunteer CorpsSM

Michael Just learned to juggle a full plate as a full-time law school student and working a full-time job.

“It forced me to become very efficient in time management,” says Just. “I would go to the library for a few hours before my first class, in between classes and after class before work. Any spare minute I had, I had to put it toward school work.”

Just, 38, now has his own practice, Just Law, in Providence, Rhode Island. He is also member of our TVC National Volunteer Corps. He has taken on several pro bono cases - just last week he was in Washington, D.C. for an oral argument in one of his many cases before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC).

For his incredible contribution to our program in tirelessly serving veterans in need, Just has been selected as our Volunteer Inspiring Pro Bono for September 2019.

“He’s a real, genuine, upbeat guy,” says Judy Donegan, Director of Litigation and Case Management for TVC. “He’s even-keeled serving veterans and the law.”

and

passionate

about

Just, a graduate of Brown University and Roger Williams University School of Law, also has a deep passion for this line of work. Growing up on Long Island, Just was ver y close to his grandfather, a disabled veteran who served in the Korean War on a Navy destroyer.

“That’s all we talked about,” Just recalls. “Every day he’d have a different story about Navy life at sea, on shore, on leave.”

Just also spent a great deal of time with his grandfather at Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals.

“I know he had complaints about the VA when I was a little kid, but I didn’t pay too much attention to them.”

But on his way to the VA hospital in 2008, where his grandfather had been diagnosed with lung cancer, Just got the phone call informing him he had passed the bar exam.

“It was the last day he was coherent,” says Just. “The last conversation I had with him, I got to tell him I passed the bar and the last thing he said to me was, ‘Fight the VA.’” Not long after that, Just got a job in the veterans law field.

“It is something I was meant to do, to fulfill his wish and help veterans fight against the VA to receive what they are entitled to,” Just says. “I approach all my clients in the same way, as if I were assisting my own grandfather.”

TVC Hosts Informational Session for ​George Washington University Law Students

TVC hosted a group of George Washington University law students interested in public interest law to provide them with a brief overview of veteran’s law and the opportunities to serve our nations heroes. TVC attorneys Courtney Smith, Danica Gonzalves, and Samantha Farish each presented an overview of TVC's programs and possibilities for fellowships and internships with TVC.

The students also heard from Linda Blauhut, Deputy General Counsel, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) on practicing appellate law and possible careers, while Renee Reasoner, an appellate attorney at National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), spoke to the group on law clerkships, student practitioners, fellowships and law school advocacy. The hour-long presentation was hosted by our mission partner, Greenberg Traurig on 12 August and was well received by over 30 participants.

It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to engage with the GW faculty and students. We are hopeful that we planted the seed for future veterans law practitioners!

NOTABLE NEWS TVC Discharge Upgrade Clinic at the ​Lebanon VA Medical Center

TVC partnered with the Homeless Persons Representation Project (HPRP) on a Discharge Upgrade clinic in Baltimore, M.D. on 18 September.

HPRP requested a collaboration with TVC's Discharge Upgrade program, which led to having this clinic. Attorneys from Covington & Burling and Northrop Grumman, also participated in this successful event.

Want to apply for the 2020 David Isbell Summer Internship?

Send a cover letter, resume, unofficial law school transcript, and writing sample to Courtney Smith, Director of Volunteer Outreach & Education, at: Courtney.Smith@vetsprobono.org Click Here To Apply

Hurricane Dorian: TVC Staff is Standing by to Assist We want to remind the veterans we serve, members of our TVC National Volunteer Corps℠ and our mission partners impacted by Hurricane Dorian that we are standing by to assist with any issues affecting your Pro Bono Program participation caused by the weather situation.

Please contact us if you need help with any of your TVC placed cases.

Interested in Sponsoring a Regional Training?

Partner with us and sponsor a U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Appellate Advocacy training.

Available Pro Bono CAVC Cases ​for our current ​TVC National Volunteer CorpsSM Click below to view our list of Available Pro Bono Cases in need of representation by a volunteer attorney.

For more information contact: Volunteer Outreach & Education at volunteer@vetsprobono.org

*Note: you must be a current volunteer who has taken our training and has been approved as a member on our website in order to log in and view the available cases.

CLICK HERE

For assistance, email volunteer@vetsprobono.org

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