IN THIS ISSUE

15 Sep 2017

SAVE THE DATE

Silver Anniversary Dinner & Awards Banquet
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Union Station, Washington, DC

For registration and sponsorship information, please email
Maureen Thomas
or call (202) 733-3334.

Thank you to our sponsors for their support as they join us in recognizing 25 years of service to veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors by our Nationwide Volunteer Corps and our 2017 Pro Bono Awardees.

Click here for a complete list of our current  sponsors.

HERO

FREEDOM

PATRIOT

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

National POW/MIA Recognition  Day
15 Sep 2017

Air Force Birthday
18 Sep 2017

Silver Anniversary Dinner and Awards Banquet RSVP Due  Date
9 Sep 2017

Silver Anniversary Dinner and Awards Banquet - 4 Oct 2017

Navy Birthday
13 Oct 2017

National Pro Bono  Week
22 - 28 Oct 2017

National Day of the Deployed
26 Oct 2017

TVC’s Annual “Legal Muster” of Pop-Up Clinics for Veterans - 27 Oct 2017

QUARTERLY VIP: Volunteers Inspiring Pro Bono

Christopher J.  Tyson
Duane Morris LLP
Click here to view his  biography.

ANNUAL REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE

Click here to view.

The Veterans Consortium is the leading national 501(C)(3) charity providing pro bono legal services in federal venues for veterans in  need.

We participate in donations through the CFC  program. Please assist us in expanding our outreach to veterans by including us in your annual charitable giving  planning.
CFC#: 95004

For more information on donating, please click here.

CONNECT WITH US

Visit our website at www.vetsprobono.org

The Veterans Consortium Announces Equal Justice Works Fellow Sponsored by AT&T and Akin Gump

Washington, D.C. — — The Veterans Consortium (TVC) is pleased to announce that Danica Gonzalves, Esq. has received a two-year Equal Justice Works Fellowship (2017-2019), sponsored by AT&T and law firm Akin Gump, to build out The Veterans Consortium Discharge Upgrade Program with the assistance of pro bono attorneys from the sponsoring organizations.

Through her Equal Justice Works Fellowship, Ms. Gonzalves strives to provide representation to underserved veterans in discharge upgrade applications. She will offer nationwide specialized trainings for attorneys, conduct outreach to build awareness of TVC’s Discharge Upgrade Program and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) among the veteran community, while connecting pro bono attorneys with veterans in need.

To read more, please click here.

DC STAND DOWN: TVC team members Support USVETS and DC Mayor’s Office

TVC Attorneys Conduct Outreach to Homeless Veterans:
Danica Gonzalves, Esq. (TVC); Samantha Stiltner, Esq. (TVC); and Ely Ross, Director, DC Mayor's Office of Veterans Affairs

The Veterans Consortium’s Samantha Stiltner, Esq. and Danica Gonzalves, Esq. attended the U.S. Vets Washington, DC Stand Down on Wednesday, September 13th, 2017. As part of TVC’s outreach mission task, they provided limited legal information about disability issues and appeals, were available to discuss discharge upgrades, and distributed referral resources for civil matters.

Due to Weather: Rescheduled Wednesday, September 13, 2017 CAVC Attorney Training and Reception
New Date: TBD

Due to the predicted impact of Hurricane Irma on Atlanta, Georgia, in consultation with our stakeholders, The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program canceled our CAVC Attorney Training on Wednesday, September 13th. The training will be rescheduled on a date and time to be determined.  Please be on the lookout for emails regarding the rescheduled training. Thank you for your commitment to serve veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors.

We send our thoughts and prayers to TVC’s national volunteer corps and the veterans they serve impacted by the catastrophic weather associated with Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma.

We stand ready to assist with your pro bono veterans cases, please let us know how we can help.

For more information, please email Leigh Hillebrand, Coordinator, Volunteer Training and Placement.

Newly Appointed VA General Counsel Tours the Vets Pro Bono Legal Clinic

Staff Attorney and Program Manager of The Veterans Pro Bono Legal Clinic Samantha Stiltner greets The Honorable James M. Byrne as he arrives to tour the Legal Clinic and discuss TVC’s role in facilitating legal services to veterans.

Elsie Moore, Program Manager of the DCVAMC Transition and Care Management Center, discusses the impact of The Veterans Pro Bono Legal Clinic with The Honorable James M. Byrne VA General Counsel, Meghan Flanz VA Deputy General Counsel, and Staff Attorney and Program Manager of the Legal Clinic, Samantha Stiltner.

On Friday, September 8, 2017, the new General Counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Honorable James M. Byrne, met with The Veterans Consortium staff, volunteer attorneys from Duane Morris, DCVAMC staff, and volunteer students to tour The Veterans Pro Bono Legal Clinic at the Washington DC VA Medical Center. The visit comes after the General Counsel learned of the partnership between the DCVAMC and The Veterans Consortium and the creation of a weekly legal clinic within the Transition and Care Management Center in the hospital. During the tour, Samantha Stiltner, Staff Attorney and Program Manager, discussed the need for legal services for veterans and the team’s appreciation of the new General Counsel’s interest in facilitating those services. Since opening in May, 2017 The Veterans Pro Bono Legal Clinic has seen over 250 veterans, offering limited legal information, resources, and facilitated referrals.

Pro Bono Week Legal Muster

The Veterans Consortium is excited to announce upcoming events during National Pro Bono Week!

In honor of National Pro Bono Week, TVC will be facilitating and coordinating our second annual Legal Muster.  The Legal Muster will be held on October 27, 2017. The Legal Muster consists of three simultaneous pop-up legal clinics around our nation's capital (NE, NW, SE). During the legal clinics, volunteer attorney and student teams will meet with veterans, conduct “triage” of their stated needs, offer limited legal information, and provide referral resources. Following the Legal Muster, TVC will look to place or facilitate referrals for veterans. The Legal Muster will be held on October 27, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

For more information about the upcoming Legal Muster, or to participate as a volunteer, please email Samantha Stiltner, Staff Attorney & Program Manager.

Tickets Still Available for Silver Anniversary Celebration

Mark your calendars and plan to join TVC Pro Bono Awardees, luminaries, VIPs - including the veterans we serve, members of our national volunteer corps, community supporters, members of Congress, and mission partners - at TVC's Silver Anniversary Dinner and Awards Banquet on Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at Union Station in Washington D.C. Can't attend? Consider sponsoring a veteran, their spouse or a family member. Table Sponsorships are still available. Email Maureen Thomas or call (202)733-3334.

Thanks to our newest sponsors:

PATRIOT

GUARDIAN

HONOR GUARD

VETERANS DEFENDER

Faces of TVC: Leonce Wilson

Leonce Willson
Veterans Law Specialist

When The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program was founded in October 1992, four organizations—The American Legion, DAV, PVA, and NVLSP— each committed to assign one employee to TVC to screen cases. Leonce Wilson, an Army veteran, was the first person to arrive from The American Legion, and he was given the title Veterans Law Specialist (VLS),. As the Navy would say, he is a a TVC “plankowner".

Leonce was called back to The American Legion as Supervisor at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals Unit for a couple of years. He then took a position as PVA’s assigned employee at The Veterans Consortium (TVC). Fortunately, Leonce decided to become a full-time TVC staff member, and he has been a TVC Veterans Law Specialist with us ever since.

In the Pro Bono Program’s early years, Leonce assisted in the training of new volunteer attorneys. He has since screened or supported more than one thousand appellate cases.

Leonce believes some of the best things about working at TVC in support of the Pro Bono Program are the people (his colleagues) and the satisfaction of helping other veterans and their dependents.

We are grateful for his years of dedicated service to veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors, and honor his accomplishments on the occasion of our Silver Anniversary.