Jeffrey A. Stonerock is a partner in the law firm of Baker Botts L.L.P. in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy (1979), Duke Law School (1984), and received his LL.M from the Judge Advocate General's School of the Army (1989).

Mr. Stonerock began his Army career as a Field Artillery officer before becoming a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps.' Among his assignments before leaving active duty in 1992 were tours with the 82nd Airborne Division and the Second Infantry Division in the Republic of Korea. He retired from the Army Reserve in 2001 as a lieutenant colonel.

At Baker Botts, Mr. Stonerock has for many years chaired the firm's pro bono committee in Washington, D.C., and he heads the Korea practice group.

Landon E. Overby
Director

Landon E. Overby, a disabled veteran of the U.S. Navy, was promoted to Senior Appellate Counsel of the Disabled American Veterans’ (DAV) Judicial Appeals Office in August 2005.  DAV’s Judicial Appeals Office represents veterans and their dependents before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  Mr. Overby began his career with DAV in October 1995 as a National Service Officer in the Chicago, Illinois National Service Office.  He was promoted in October 1999 to DAV’s National Appeals Office in Washington, DC, as a National Appeals Officer.  In April 2000, he was promoted to Assistant Supervisor of the National Appeals Office.  Mr. Overby worked in that capacity until March 2002, at which time he began his training for admission to practice before the Court as a non-attorney practitioner.  He was admitted to practice before the Court in July 2002.  Mr. Overby was promoted to Appellate Counsel in August 2002 and remained in that capacity until he assumed his current position in August 2005.

William S. Mailander, Esq.
Director

William Mailander, Esq., served as deputy general counsel for the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) since 2001. In this capacity he provided legal advice to the officers, directors, and staff of PVA and assisted the general counsel in managing the legal affairs of the corporation.

He began his career with PVA in 1992, when he was hired to represent claimants before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in cases assigned to PVA under the Direct Representation Component of the Pro Bono Consortium Program. Following graduation from high school, Mr. Mailander enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served from 1976 to 1979. He received three meritorious promotions through the rank of corporal and was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal.

He received a BA from New York University in 1984 and a JD from Temple University School of Law in 1988. He also received an MBA from Johns Hopkins University in 2001. Following graduation from law school and before coming to PVA, Mr. Mailander held positions as an attorney-adviser with the Board of Veterans' Appeals, the Coast Guard Chief Counsel's Office, and the Department of Veterans Affairs General Counsel's Office.

Mr. Mailander is a member of the Federal Bar Association and is the editor of the FBA Veterans Law Section newsletter. He is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

He resides in Arlington, VA, with his wife, Rosalind. He was selected to serve as general counsel for the Paralyzed Veterans of America in March 2005.

Ronald B. Abrams, Esq.
Director

Ronald B. Abrams, Esq., director, Outreach and Education Components, was joint executive director and director of training for the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP). He began his career in 1975 in the Philadelphia regional office of the Veterans Administration, serving first as an adjudicator and then as a member of the rating board. Mr. Abrams transferred to the VA Central Office in 1977 as legal consultant to the Compensation and Pension (C&P) Service, where he was recognized as an expert in due process issues.

In that capacity Mr. Abrams helped to draft the VA Adjudication Procedures Manual, M21-1. He wrote and interpreted regulations and directives to be followed by VA staff and others, and both drafted and commented on legislation on VA's behalf. Mr. Abrams also worked in and was in charge of the C&P quality review section. As part of his work for the VA Central Office, he conducted national training sessions in adjudication and due process for VA staff.

Since joining the NVLSP, Mr. Abrams has conducted more than 100 training sessions for veterans service organizations, many state and county departments of veterans affairs, state bar associations, the Legal Services Corporation, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, congressional caseworkers, and other veterans advocates. He has spoken on veterans law to meetings of the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Mr. Abrams is the editor of The Veterans Advocate, a quarterly publication on veterans law and advocacy, author of Basic Training Course in Veterans Benefits, and a coauthor of the 2004 edition of The Veterans Benefit Manual: An Advocate's Guide to Representing Veterans and Their Dependents.

Peter S. Gaytan
Director

Mr. Peter S. Gaytan began serving as director of The American Legion Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Division in September 2004 and assumed Executive Board responsibilities at that time. Prior to serving as director, he served as principal deputy director of the Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Division and deputy director of the Legislative Division.

Mr. Gaytan attended Wesley College in Dover, DE, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science. He is also a graduate of the Defense Information School, Fort Meade, MD, and earned an associate of science in public affairs from the Community College of the Air Force.

In 1991 he entered the U.S. Air Force. After completing initial training at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, and Keesler AFB, Mississippi, he served as military protocol liaison with the 436th Airlift Wing at Dover AFB, Delaware. While serving with the 436th Airlift Wing, he worked with military, diplomatic, and congressional leaders. He coordinated all protocol requirements for NATO visits, repatriation ceremonies for the U.S. Army rangers killed in Somalia, and the memorial ceremony for Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and the passengers of the T-43A that crashed in Bosnia. While on active duty, he also served as Honor Guard Training Flight NCOIC, where he provided final honors for more than 200 military funerals. In addition, he served six years with the 512th Airlift Wing, U.S. Air Force Reserve as a public affairs specialist.