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 …
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 …
Marcus Miller is a 2L student at Harvard Law School. He is a clinical student in the Veterans Law and Disability Clinic, working in the Safety Net Project during the Fall 2020 semester. By Marcus …
Creating a More Just Legal System, One Client at a Time Read More »
September 8, 2020 – The Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School (LSC), on behalf of veterans organizations Swords to Plowshares and the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), called on the Department of Veterans …
Jack Jaehyuk You, ’21, was a clinical student in the Veterans Law & Disability Benefits Clinic during the Spring 2020 semester and he volunteered in the Clinic this summer. Before attending law school, he served …
Remote Learning and Remote Lawyering During a Pandemic Read More »
Three Graduating LSC Students Honored for Their Pro Bono Work With their law school careers drawing to a close during the difficult and indescribable challenge of a global pandemic, three LSC students were honored at …
On July 8, Dana Montalto, attorney and clinical instructor in LSC’s Veterans Legal Clinic, testified before the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs regarding how the Veterans Administration’s regulatory policies …
LSC Testifies Before Congress on Behalf of Vets with “Bad Paper” Read More »
Estate Planning Project at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School will use funds to help vulnerable veterans with wills, healthcare proxies, other legal needs The Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School is …
This year, the Harvard Law School Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs has recognized six students from the Class of 2020 for their outstanding clinical and pro bono work: Daniel Moubayed ’20, International Human …
Chrysonthia Horne ‘20, spent three semesters as a clinical student in the Veterans Legal Clinic at the Legal Services Center. Horne was recently honored with the Clinical and Pro Bono Outstanding Student Award for, among …
Working and Learning as a Clinical Student—Before and During the Time of Corona Read More »
The attorneys and student advocates at the Legal Services Center continue to work tirelessly for our clients as they face unprecedented challenges and financial distress. Below is a brief update on just some of our …
LSC Clinics Work Creatively to Assist Client Communities Affected by COVID-19 Read More »
Monthly Cash Assistance and Emergency Benefits Provided by Local Veterans Services Officers in Every City and Town Across Massachusetts Massachusetts is home to 380,000 of the nation’s 21 million veterans. More than half are aged …
The Legal Services Center’s staff and students hope you are staying safe and healthy. We are all doing the best we can as we take on new challenges in advocating for client communities made ever …
LSC Responds to COVID-19: An Update from Our Clinics Read More »
In this time of great economic uncertainty, financial assistance is available for eligible Massachusetts residents who have served in the military. Chapter 115 provides financial assistance to low-income veterans and their dependents, including survivors, across Massachusetts. …
More than 400,000 veterans currently at risk of being unlawfully turned away from treatment for service-related mental health conditions and other disabilities without due process Thousands of veterans with less-than-honorable “bad paper” discharges have been …
When Shannon McLaughlin was asked in 2010 to be the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit demanding that partners and family members of LGBTQ military service members and veterans receive the same benefits as those …
Lieutenant Colonel Shannon McLaughlin of the Massachusetts Army National Guard will deliver this year’s Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, November 21 at noon at Harvard Law School. McLaughlin, who deployed to Afghanistan …
For Immediate Release November 5, 2019 Contact: Katie Ward 603-689-8170 New Veterans Initiative Launched To Connect Low-Income Veterans With Underutilized Benefits New Online Tool Aims to Help Thousands of Low-Income Massachusetts Veterans Access Financial Assistance …
