TYLA Officers

   

Rebekah Steely Brooker, President

   

Dustin M. Howell, Chair

   

Sam Houston, Vice President

   

Baili B. Rhodes, Secretary

   

John W. Shaw, Treasurer

   

C. Barrett Thomas, President-elect

   

Priscilla D. Camacho, Chair-elect

   

Kristy Blanchard, Immediate Past President

TYLA Directors

   

Amanda A. Abraham, District 1

   

Sharesa Y. Alexander, Minority At-Large Director

   

Raymond J. Baeza, District 14

    Aaron J. Burke, District 5, Place 1
   

Aaron T. Capps, District 5, Place 2

   

D. Lance Currie, District 5, Place 3

   

Laura W. Docker, District 10, Place 1

    Andrew Dornburg, District 21
    John W. Ellis, District 8, Place 2
    Zeke Fortenberry, District 4
   

Bill Gardner, District 5, Place 4

   

Morgan L. Gaskin, District 6, Place 5

    Nick Guinn, District 18, Place 1
   

Adam C. Harden, District 6, Place 6

   

Amber L. James, District 17

   

Curtis W. Lucas, District 9

    Rudolph K. Metayer, District 8, Palce 1
   

Laura Pratt, District 3

    Sally Pretorius, District 8, Place 2
   

Baili B. Rhodes, District 2

   

Alex B. Roberts, District 6, Place 3

    Eduardo Romero, District 19
    Michelle P. Scheffler, District 6, Place 2
   

John W. Shaw, District 10, Place 2

    Nicole Soussan, District 6, Place 4
    L. Brook Stuntebeck, District 11
   

C. Barrett Thomas, District 15

    Judge Amanda N. Torres, Minority At-Large Director
   

Shannon Steel White, District 12

    Brandy Wingate Voss, District 13
    Veronica S. Wolfe, District 18, Place 2
   

Baylor Wortham, District 7

    Alex Yarbrough, District 16

   

Justice Paul W. Green, Supreme Court Liaison

   

Jenny Smith, Access To Justice Liaison

   

Brandon Crisp, ABA YLD District 25 Representative

   

Travis Patterson, ABA/YLD District 26 Representative

   

Assistant Dean Jill Nikirk, Law School Liaison

   

Belashia Wallace, Law Student Liaison

 

 
TYLA Office

Tracy Brown, Director of Administration
Bree Trevino, Project Coordinator

Michelle Palacios, Office Manager
General Questions: tyla@texasbar.com

Mailing Address

P.O. Box 12487, Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711-2487
(800) 204-2222 ext. 1529
FAX: (512) 427-4117

Street Address

1414 Colorado, 4th Floor
Austin, Texas 78701
(512) 427-1529

 

Views and opinions expressed in eNews are those of their authors and not necessarily those of the Texas Young Lawyers Association or the State Bar of Texas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article of Interest

Texas Lawyers for Texas Vets: VA Claims, Denials, and Appeals
By: Brian Walker

For most of our nation’s history attorneys, have taken very little, if any, part in assisting veterans in obtaining benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). For many years, federal policy even discouraged attorney representation of VA claimants, and in some instances, created criminal penalties for attorneys who took a role in the veterans benefit process. In the most recent decades, however, Congress has opened the door to attorney representation. Attorneys can assist veterans on a pro bono basis at all phases in the claims process, and as of June 20, 2007, Congress legalized accredited attorneys to get involved in the VA benefits adjudication process and charge a fee as long as the veteran claimant has applied for benefits and been denied those benefits at least once. Contrary to popular belief, attorneys can charge a fee and become involved in the VA claim process at the initial level of the VA hierarchy and can take an active role in the adjudication process well in advance of traditional appellate litigation, which occasionally does take place, albeit much longer down the road in the life of a VA claim.

Substantive Issues Likely Faced by Veteran Claimants

VA benefits include disability benefits, certain education assistance benefits, burial benefits, widow benefits, certain types of pension benefits, certain types of life insurance benefits, and a long list of other miscellaneous benefits. However, most of the VA denial of benefit cases and the legal practice surrounding those denials focus on veterans’ disability claims. Similar to the beneficiaries of the Social Security system, veterans who suffer from certain service-connected disabilities can, in some instances, be entitled to disability benefit payments. There are three basic elements that are necessary for a veteran to be entitled to VA disability benefits. First, the veteran must suffer from a current recognizable disability. Second, the veteran must have suffered from an injury or disease that was ‘incurred’, or was ‘aggravated’, during a period of active duty service. Third, there must be a ‘nexus’ connecting the current disability to the event that took place while the veteran was serving in an active duty capacity.

All VA claims begin when a veteran files a claim at their local VA Regional Office (VARO) where the claim is initially processed by an individual employee of the VA. If the veteran is not successful, the claim can be reviewed by another employee of the VARO called a Decision Review Officer (DRO). In general, if the claim is denied at the VARO level, the veteran has the right to appeal his or her claim to the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA), and ultimately if not successful at the BVA, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) in Washington D.C. Unlike traditional legal practice, VA claims can make their way up and down the different levels of the VA hierarchy a multitude of times. It is not uncommon for a VA claim to make its way up to the BVA and be remanded back to the VARO two or three times. It is also possible for a previously denied claim to be applied for and re-opened by the VA many times. There are few limitations to this right, and it happens on a regular basis many years after a previous VA denial.

VA Accreditation of Attorneys

In order for an attorney to represent veterans before the VA, an attorney must be accredited by the VA. To obtain accreditation, the attorney must formally apply with the Office of the General Counsel of the VA, and, after receiving proper credentials, must regularly complete a certain amount of hours in related continuing legal education (CLE) to maintain the VA accreditation.

Helpful Resources for VA Claimants and Legal Representatives:

* TYLA and Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans have published Resources for Veterans Seeking Help and Resources for Lawyers Assisting Veterans. Please click here to download a copy.  Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans is a State Bar of Texas program developed to assist pro bono legal clinics throughout the state for military veterans. You can find links to a number of resources on the State Bar of Texas’ website: www.texasbar.com/veterans

*Check with your local bar association to find a local accredited VA attorney

*You will soon be able to find continuing legal education (CLE) courses in VA disability law at Texas Bar CLE or their website at www.texasbarcle.com.

*The American Bar Association Initiative on Veterans Affairs at www.abanet.org/vetaffairs/home.shtml is a great resource with many helpful publications, articles, and links for veteran claimants or their representatives.

*The National Veterans Legal Services Program at www.nvlsp.org has been assisting veterans and VA lawyers for decades. You can purchase legal treatises, VA regulations, and CLE materials at their website.