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New Campaign Allows You to Honor Your Veterans and Raise Funds for Legal Services
By: John W. Shaw

The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF) has announced a new campaign, Remembering Our Heroes, to recognize veterans, both living and deceased, as well as active duty military personnel, this Veterans Day and benefit the Joe Jamail Endowment for Veteran Legal Services all at the same time.

Established earlier this year, the Joe Jamail Endowment for Veteran Legal Services seeks to ensure that Texas veterans have fair and equitable access to the justice system. The Remembering Our Heroes campaign aims to recognize veterans by allowing contributors to make a donation to the Joe Jamail Endowment in the name of their favorite veteran or active duty service member. As a result of their donation, the Foundation will honor the honored veterans through a series of events leading up to and surrounding Veterans Day.

The activities planned throughout November to honor those veterans include, but are not necessarily limited to: creating an online photo gallery of other veterans honored through this effort that will be displayed and in various venues leading up to Veterans Day, including at the annual luncheon with the Supreme Court of Texas. On Veterans Day, a flag will be flown above the U.S. Capitol and Texas Capitol in honor of all of these veterans. TAJF will send a letter, with your authorization, to the veteran or his/her family letting them know about a donation made in their honor and the flying of the flag in the veteran’s honor. To be included in the events for Veterans Day, we must receive the donation information and photo by October 25.

“This Remembering Our Heroes campaign expands the endowment’s mission to continue the legacy of legal legend Joe Jamail by honoring the legacies of other veterans and service members and providing funding for free legal assistance to those who have fought for our freedom,” Terry Tottenham, chair of the endowment committee of the TAJF board of directors, said.

Texas has the second-highest population of veterans in the nation. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, legal issues account for five of the top 10 unmet needs of homeless veterans. Obtaining access to free legal services can be critical for veterans to get the benefits and support they need for themselves and their families.

Named in honor of Texas attorney Joe Jamail, a legend among the legal community and well-known for his philanthropic efforts, the Joe Jamail Endowment for Veteran Legal Services ensures that Texas veterans have access to the free legal help they need to successfully integrate back into civilian life and secure the rights and benefits for which they risked their lives.

The Texas Access to Justice Foundation currently provides funding to 14 nonprofit organizations throughout the state that provide free legal services to low-income veterans with civil legal matters including the denial of critical medical care, legal issues related to disabilities, family law matters, the denial of benefits and other issues that may arise due to a veteran’s absence from home during military service. Every year, these organizations provide free legal services to more than 8,000 Texas veterans.

The endowment was created by Houston attorney Richard Mithoff, a protégé of Jamail, to honor Jamail’s vision of access to justice for all.

According to Mithoff, “The endowment honors Joe's commitment to access to justice and to our veterans. But he wasn’t alone in that cause. Remembering Our Heroes will honor the continued legacy of all veterans.”

To make a donation to the Joe Jamail Endowment for Veteran Legal Services and the Remembering Our Heroes campaign, visit www.teajf.org.

John W. Shaw is a plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer with Patterson Law Group in Fort Worth. He is also the current chair of the Texas Young Lawyers Association Board of Directors as well as the chairman of the Texas Legal Services Center (TLSC) Board of Directors. TLSC provides assistance and training to poverty law advocates and their clients in the areas of litigation support, education, and communication.