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Serving Those Who Served:  TYLA Publishes Two Pamphlets to Help Veterans with Legal Issues

By: Geoff Gannaway

It is rare to find a cause so universally supported that just about everyone will agree with its inherent worth. TYLA and the State Bar of Texas have adopted just such a cause for the 2010-2011 bar year, driven by one simple truth: “Veterans deserve our gratitude.” This maxim forms the cornerstone for projects currently underway on the part of a joint effort of TYLA and Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans (TLTV), which have pooled their talents and resources to serve those who have sacrificed so much for others. In particular, TYLA recently completed two pamphlets to assist in getting in the hands of veterans much-needed resources and legal assistance: Resources for Lawyers Assisting Veterans (the “Lawyers’ Pamphlet”) and Resources for Veterans Seeking Help (the “Veterans’ Pamphlet”).

Veterans face the same issues that all Texans face: going to school, finding a job, obtaining a loan, and getting health care. Veterans also deal with issues unique to those who have served our country in uniform. Fixed incomes often prevent veterans from obtaining the services of lawyers to provide help with such issues. In particular, veterans frequently need legal assistance to navigate the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits system.

In response to State Bar President Terry Tottenham’s request that TYLA support his TLTV program, TYLA compiled, wrote, edited, and published the two pamphlets as a first step toward giving veterans the basic information they will need to protect their rights, and toward empowering attorneys to handle common legal issues encountered by their veteran clients. TYLA President Jennifer Evans Morris said that “the committee worked incredibly hard to accomplish this goal in such a short time period so that the pamphlets would be available in July. I am really thankful to work with such committed individuals.”

About TLTV

TLTV is a State Bar of Texas program officially launched on July 23, 2010 at the State Bar’s annual Bar Leaders Conference in Houston. It was developed to assist in creating and supporting pro bono legal clinics throughout the state for military veterans. Mr. Tottenham spearheaded TLTV as a major initiative during the 2010-2011 Bar year. He modeled the program upon the Legal Initiative for Veterans a program sponsored by the Houston Bar Association, which has been serving veterans in the Houston area for several years.

TLTV is organizing clinics by working through local bar associations and veterans service providers. Clinics have already been established in Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. TLTV’s website provides information and resources regarding these clinics at www.texasbar.com/veterans. Civil practice areas covered in veterans legal clinics include (but are not necessarily limited to) bankruptcy, child support, consumer/contracts, divorce, probate, landlord/tenant, wills/estate planning, employment, housing, and tax. In addition, lawyers who are accredited with the VA can assist veterans with VA benefits claims and appeals.

TYLA’s pamphlets support TLTV efforts

The two pamphlets published by TYLA will play an important role in providing assistance to veterans as part of the TLTV initiative, and were made available at the Bar Leaders Conference.

The Lawyers’ Pamphlet (available at www.texasbar.com/tylaattorneysassistingveteranspamphlet) contains sections summarizing the law (including bankruptcy, consumer protection, family, probate, and property law) relevant to common legal issues facing veterans, and describes in detail the practice and procedures associated with VA benefits, claims, denials, and appeals. In addition, the Lawyers’ Pamphlet provides a primer on mental health issues (such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, and depression), which research shows are becoming more prevalent among veterans. Finally, the pamphlet provides a compilation of resources that may assist lawyers in the course of addressing issues that arise in the course of representing veterans.

The intended audience for the Veterans’ Pamphlet (available at www.texasbar.com/tylaveteransresourcespamphlet) are the veterans themselves, and serves as a companion to the Lawyers’ Pamphlet. It contains summary information regarding the reasons that a veteran may want to consult an attorney, and provides information and resources relating to VA benefits, disabilities, education benefits, employment, financial assistance, home and land loans, health care, and mental health issues.

After reviewing the two pamphlets, Mr. Tottenham praised them as “high quality” publications, and said that TYLA’s “prodigious effort will be key to our Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans initiative. Once again, TYLA has demonstrated why it is the best in the country.”

The Next Step: Veterans Need You

As lawyers, we are in a unique position to assist our nation’s veterans who have served our country in the past, as well as those who are now returning home from war, who face a number of legal challenges in the wake of their service to our country. Through the efforts of TYLA and TLTV, the stage is set for Texas lawyers to provide invaluable legal assistance to many Texas veterans. The pamphlets have been published, the clinics have been established, and the veterans are waiting. With all the tools in place, attorneys are well-equipped to represent veterans in need of help. Please consider accepting pro bono representation of a veteran. In the words of Mr. Tottenham … at this stage, “all we need are people willing to do it.”