ATTORNEY
TRAINING INFORMATION
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
THE VETERANS CONSORTIUM PRO BONO PROGRAM (VCPBP)
1. What is the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program?
In 1991, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which had a large pro se caseload, asked Congress to reallocate part of the Court’s own budget into efforts to secure representation for needy claimants. As a result of subsequent legislation, a consortium of four organizations received a grant to operate a pro bono program. The program recruits attorneys willing to volunteer to represent needy individuals at the Court. The Veterans Consortium currently consists of four veterans service organizations: The American Legion, The Disabled American Veterans, The National Veterans Legal Services Program, and The Paralyzed Veterans of America.
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2. How is the Pro Bono Program Funded?
The Pro Bono Program is funded by a Congressional appropriation and a grant administered by the Legal Services Corporation, plus donated time and money from the four veterans service organizations
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3. How does the Pro Bono Program work?
The program’s staff of experienced veterans law specialists screen the appeal of many individuals who file pro se at the Court. Appeals with meritorious issues are referred to trained volunteer lawyers (if the appellant meets income eligibility guidelines). Volunteer lawyers receive day-long training in veterans law. (In some cases, training may be provided via DVD if an attorney is unable to attend in person and if the Program does not have sufficient in-person trained attorneys.) After accepting a referral, the volunteer lawyer receives a memorandum discussing the facts and legal issues in the appeal. Each participating attorney also receives a free copy of the latest version of the Veterans Benefit Manual (usually 2 bound volumes and a CD-ROM), a comprehensive guide to litigating veterans’ benefits claims. The volunteer is also assigned a mentor who specializes in this area of the laws.
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4. What services do mentors provide?
Program mentors are attorneys who practice veterans’ law and work for one of the four organizations that sponsor the VCPBP. Mentors are available to discuss litigation strategy, provide sample pleadings, review draft pleadings, and conduct a moot court if oral argument is granted. Mentors are invaluable in providing general advice and consultation concerning your case.
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5. What type of case will I get?
The cases run the spectrum, from a World War II veteran who now needs to supplement retirement income or obtain free VA medical care, to a Vietnam veteran struggling with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, to a OEF-OIF veteran who suffered a traumatic brain injury. Some cases involve Gulf War veterans with undiagnosed disorders. There are cases that are not connected to combat as well as some cases that involve horrible complications from combat injuries. Some cases involve latent disorders and some concern survivors seeking derivative benefits.
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6. Why is obtaining a remand valuable?
In cases assigned to volunteer attorneys, the administrative record may be deficient. A volunteer attorney can overcome that problem even though practicing before an appellate court that does not allow submission of additional evidence. Veterans/clients will benefit by obtaining a remand because they may add additional evidence to the record on remand while preserving an early effective date for entitlement to benefits.
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7. What are the unique benefits of volunteering?
First, the program provides opportunities to obtain appellate litigation experience while performing pro bono service. Many cases involve brief writing and some present the opportunity for oral argument. Second, since some cases may present issues of first impression, representation may provide an opportunity to make new law. Third, the program provides significant support and training to ensure that your time is used effectively: cases are prescreened for merit in advance of assignment and volunteer lawyers are quickly oriented to the case with a memorandum describing the facts and legal issues.
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8. Is malpractice insurance provided to participating attorneys?
Yes. Malpractice insurance is provided (secondary payer if the attorney has primary coverage).
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9. Can participating attorneys receive CLE Credits?
CLE credits are available in many states. For each training session, the Program usually seeks CLE credit with at least one state bar. If the lawyer is seeking CLE credit in a state where the program has not been approved, the lawyer must initiate the CLE process individually with the CLE administrator of the state.
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10. How much time does a typical VCPBP Case take?
Private attorneys with no veterans law experience have demonstrated their ability to capably represent appellants before the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Most cases can be completed in 50 to 60 hours.
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11. Does the Program’s training meet VA Accreditation requirements?
VA rules concerning accreditation to represent VA claimants before the VA are 38 C.F.R. § 14.629. VA does not certify CLE courses itself, but it does attempt to monitor the courses that agents and attorneys take to ensure that they cover the required topics.
In order to be accredited by the VA, a lawyer must file an application with the VA’s General Counsel and meet certain requirements that are not discussed here. During the first year after initial VA accreditation, three hours of CLE (approved by any state) must be completed and must cover certains topics in veterans law. Our day-long training is approved for CLE credit by at least one state and covers the required topics in veterans law. (However, because the CLE must be completed in the year after accreditation, a volunteer lawyer must apply for and receive VA accreditation prior to attending our training.) In order to maintain VA accreditation, every two years thereafter an additional three hours of CLE (approved by any state) covering any veterans benefits law and procedures topic(s) is required. Our day-long training appears to meet the requirements to maintain VA accreditation.
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12. Why there is such a large pro se problem at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims?
Our country has provided veterans benefits since the American Revolution. In 1862 Congress imposed a five-dollar limit, later increased to ten dollars, on what an attorney could charge a veteran to represent the veteran on a claim for veterans benefits. This fee limitation statue was not intended at the time to bar attorneys from veterans law. Ten dollars was actually a reasonable fee for an attorney following the Civil War because the value of the dollar was much higher back then and because the veterans benefits process was a simple one. With the passage of time and inflation, the ten-dollar fee limit became an economic bar to the practice of law in this area. A system developed in which few attorneys practiced and non-attorneys from the veterans service organizations provided free representation to over 90 percent of the VA claimants.
The 1988 Veterans Judicial Review Act created a new Article I court for veterans claims and amended the attorney fee limitation to a degree. Effective June 2007, attorneys may now charge a reasonable fee after a VA regional office has denied a claim and an initial appeal (Notice of Disagreement) has been filed.
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