Current Volunteers
Thank you for all you do in representing veterans and VA claimants in their appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). We appreciate your volunteer spirit!
You may access a recording of a prior training as a refresher by clicking on the following link (the site is password protected-you received the password in the materials we sent you when you received your case):
For access to sample documents and materials for your case, please refer to the materials you were sent at the time we referred your case to you. If you did not receive them or need them resent to you, please contact our Volunteer Outreach & Education Team at volunteer@vetsprobono.org.
Additional Information about our Training Program
Online Training
Our online training is available at the link above. Please contact Courtney Smith at Courtney.Smith@vetsprobono.org or (202) 628-8164, ext 123 for more information about the training program and requirements.
Once the online training is complete, make sure you have filled out the following forms:
Online Training Attorney Agreement
Online Training Evaluation & Attendance Verification Form
In addition, here is some reference information regarding CLE requirements.
CLE Information-Online Training
In Person Attorney Training
We provide training free of charge to lawyers who agree to represent a veteran/VA claimant before the CAVC. As well as receiving the day-long training, attorneys who participate in the program are provided a mentor (a practicing veterans law lawyer), the Veterans Benefits Manual (VBM), and other veterans law-related publications.
Veterans & Their Families Need Your Help
Since 1933 veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces had been frustrated by laws which barred judicial review of denials of their claims for veterans’ benefits. With the passage of the landmark Veterans’ Judicial Review Act in 1988, veterans who were previously denied benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) gained the right to appeal a denial of benefits to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
The presence of the Court has sparked an enormous demand for legal representation by veterans seeking judicial review. More than 45,000 veterans and family members have filed appeals in the Court since 1989 and most of those appeals involve claims for VA disability benefits. Unfortunately, for many veterans the promise of effective judicial review has proven elusive. In 2008, almost 65 percent of those who filed an appeal at the Court were unrepresented at the time they filed. Unrepresented veterans are obviously at a significant disadvantage in litigation against attorneys from the VA General Counsel’s Office, who represent the VA at the Court.