By: Jett Watson & Elaine McCardle I didn’t come to law school with big dreams of helping people. I simply wanted to get a better job than I had. A decade before, I had joined […]
Jett Watson ’26 on finding purpose with the Veterans Legal Clinic Read More »
On June 11th, 2025, the Veterans Justice Pro Bono Partnership held its annual discharge upgrade webinar. The training is a central element of our Partnership, which recruits, trains, and mentors attorneys interested in providing pro
For Immediate Release: February 14, 2025 The Veterans Legal Clinic at LSC is excited to share that we have been awarded a generous grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which is dedicated to ensuring that
Veterans Legal Clinic Awarded Bob Woodruff Foundation Grant Read More »
Explore the collective work completed at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center (LSC) during just a single week in November! Compiled & Written By: Elaine McArdle Consumer Protection Clinic secures victory for client who was victimized
A window into a week at the Legal Services Center Read More »
By Patrick Healy ’26, Originally Published in HLS ‘Clinic Stories’ The Veterans Law and Disability Benefits Clinic counts for three credits on my transcript, but it also satisfies three things that drew me to the
Patrick Healy ’26 on Capturing veterans’ stories in the Estate Planning Project Read More »
The State of Innovation: California and Massachusetts Lead Pro-Veteran Efforts DAV Distinguished Speaker Series Examines Changing Veteran Demographics By: Elaine McArdle Today’s military veterans face distinct needs and challenges that are just beginning to be
Fall 2024 DAV Distinguished Speaker Series Examines Changing Veteran Demographics Read More »
Aliyah McLaurin Joins Estate Planning Project, within the Veterans Legal Clinic as DAV Charitable Service Trust Fellow By: Elaine McArdle We are very pleased to announce that Aliyah McLaurin has joined LSC’s Veterans Legal Clinic
Aliyah McLaurin Joins Veterans Legal Clinic as DAV Charitable Service Trust Fellow Read More »
Dana Montalto, of LSC’s Veterans Legal Clinic, Receives 2024 Dave Myers Award for Work on Behalf of Veterans By Elaine McArdle In recognition of her decade-long effort to persuade the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Dana Montalto Receives National Award for Work on Behalf of Veterans Read More »
Historic Massachusetts Law to Support Veterans Signed into Law – with Help from LSC Students By Elaine McArdle Three students in the Veterans Law and Disability Benefits Clinic—David Paul ’24, Basundhara Mukherjee ‘24, and Nathan
LSC Students Contribute to Passing of Historic Massachusetts Law, HERO Act Read More »
By Harvard Law School Student Basundhara Mukherjee ’24 What leads a non-veteran to spend a year with the Veterans Legal Clinic? When I decided to enroll in the clinic during my 3L fall, I knew
Basundhara Mukherjee ’24 on Finding Community Outside of the Classroom Read More »
Originally Posted in Harvard Law Today: Story by Olivia Klein David Paul ’24 is the recipient of the 2024 David A. Grossman Exemplary Clinical Student Award. Paul is honored for his exceptional achievements in the
David Paul ’24 wins the David A. Grossman Exemplary Clinical Student Award Read More »
For the past several years the Legal Services Center has noticed concerning practices by the companies contracting with medical facilities to provide medical records that appear to be in violation of Massachusetts’ patients’ rights laws.
Douglas Griswold ’25 on Taking Action to Enforce Protections Already in the Law Read More »
By National Veterans Legal Services Program NVLSP and Swords to Plowshares, represented by the Veterans Legal Clinic at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School and Latham & Watkins LLP, are filing on behalf
By Harvard Law School Student Sam Holloway ’24 The Legal Services Center’s Safety Net Project helps clients with the “social safety net,” but it does a lot more than that, too. Among the Veteran’s Legal
LSC Students Reflect on the Value of an Advanced Clinical In November 2023, a little over two months into her advanced clinical semester with the Legal Services Center’s (LSC’s) Consumer Protection Clinic, Annika Reno ’24
By Harvard Law School Student Alex Zhang ‘24 The last time I said goodbye to Ted*, he was upright in his hospital bed, swaddled in his blue hospital gown with a wide smile. As I
Knowledge Comes in Many Forms: Alex Zhang’24 “Learns about Life” from Client in Hospice Read More »
On the front lines for veterans How Harvard Law’s Veterans Law and Disability Benefits Clinic is helping a former Marine and small business owner get the benefits he deserves Nov 08, 2023 By Rachel Reed
By National Veterans Legal Services Program National Veterans Legal Services Program and Swords to Plowshares, represented by the Veterans Legal Clinic at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School and Latham & Watkins LLP,
Veterans Law: Applying for discharge upgrades and appealing negative DOD board decisions Live Video-Broadcast: November 16, 2023 10 AM – 12:10 PM EST | 9 – 11:10 AM CST | 8 – 10:10 AM MST
By Harvard Law School Student Nathan Lowry Many Legal Services Center (LSC) veteran clients served in America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In most cases, these veterans deployed years, and in some cases, decades ago.
BOSTON, Massachusetts — Yesterday, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it is ending enforcement of a marriage duration requirement that discriminates against survivors of LGBTQ+ veterans, including Lawrence Vilord, a client of the Veterans Legal Clinic at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School. This decision will
By Henry Beshar ’22 “But you’re not a veteran,” my puzzled mentor remarked after learning that I enrolled in Harvard Law School’s Veterans Law and Disability Benefits Clinic (VLDBC). “I’m not,” I replied, “but it’s
Fighting for Equal Treatment of Same-Sex Military Spouses Read More »
Lunch and Learn: Discharge Upgrade Thursday, June 23 at 12 pm ET | Register About the Event The Bob Woodruff Foundation and the Legal Services Center’s Veterans Legal Clinic are excited to convene national experts
Published by the Harvard Gazette on May 16, 2022. Tyler Patrick started planning a life of service when he was a boy. The past four years have given shape to that plan. A native of
For LSC Alum, Service Comes First Read More »
From the Boston Bar Association: The Mass and Cass humanitarian crisis, and, more generally, the crisis of homelessness in Greater Boston, has attracted wide media and public attention. This panel discussion, which brings together experts
Burn pits—where trash and other waste are disposed of through burning in large, uncovered pits, often with an accelerant like jet fuel—were once commonly used by the U.S. military, particularly in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other
Panel featuring veterans, advocates, and medical expert examined issue that affects an estimated 200,000+ individuals who deployed to Southwest Asia during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars This year’s Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Distinguished Speakers Series
In October, The Boston Globe highlighted the case of an LSC client, Air Force Technical Sergeant Charles Cornacchio, whose belongings were sold by a Billerica moving and storage company while he was deployed to Qatar. Recently, the Globe
Read additional coverage on NBC News: Gay Navy veteran’s widower fights for benefits in historic appeal By Brett Milano, Harvard Law Today, November 8, 2021 When U.S. Navy veteran Rhett Chalk passed away in June of
By mid-semester, the 14 Harvard Law students enrolled in the Veterans Law & Disability Benefits Clinic at the Legal Services Center in Jamaica Plain (LSC) are hard at work managing their busy dockets. From drafting
Snapshots from a Week in the Veterans Law & Disability Benefits Clinic Read More »
Before a deployment in 2019, Air Force Technical Sergeant Charles Cornacchio paid Billerica-based Father & Son Moving & Storage for moving and six months’ storage of his belongings. Months later, while serving in Qatar, Cornacchio learned
Drawing on careers spent representing clients accessing safety net benefits, LSC Clinical Instructors and Lecturers-on-Law Julie McCormack and Betsy Gwin have created a new seminar at Harvard Law School, the Poverty Law Workshop. Responding to
LSC Creates New Poverty Law Workshop, Training Law Students on Safety Net Programs Read More »
On September 22, Peter Perkowski, Clinical Instructor in LSC’s Veterans Legal Clinic, testified before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The hearing, billed under the umbrella of “Creating a Welcoming
CHICAGO, Aug. 31, 2021 — A new book from the American Bar Association, Military Discharge Upgrade Legal Practice Manual, is a desk reference for veteran’s rights advocates to use throughout the process of developing a
Dana Montalto, attorney and clinical instructor in LSC’s Veterans Legal Clinic, recently penned an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times outlining how the VA has unjustly barred thousands of veterans with other than honorable discharges
How the VA has Illegally Denied Healthcare to Thousands of Veterans Read More »
The Legal Services Center invites you to a virtual panel discussion: Advocating for Survivors at LSC How Three Clinics Empower Clients Who Have Experienced Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence Survivors of sexual assault and
Join us Tuesday, April 13 for Advocating for Survivors Read More »
Joe*, a Vietnam combat veteran, received a less than honorable discharge more than 40 years ago due to conduct connected to his then-undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. Ever since, he fought unsuccessfully to have his discharge
Panelists highlight the disparities and unmet needs of minority veterans, see hope in greater involvement and action While the military has been described by many as the most integrated institution in American life, it is
DAV Distinguished Speaker Series Examines Race, the Military and Veterans Read More »
On November 16, the Legal Services Center hosted the 2020 Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Distinguished Speaker Series. The discussion, entitled “Race, the Military, and Veterans,” featured moderator Will Gunn ’86, former General Counsel for Department
Disabled Americans Veterans Panel Discussion: Race, the Military, and Veterans Read More »
Please join us Monday, October 5 at 12 pm for a virtual Zoom talk hosted by the Harvard Law School Project on Disability. Aging Veterans with Disabilities: A Cross-National Study of Policies and Challenges. with
