America’s military veterans served. How can we serve our veterans? For Houston lawyers, this question is now more easily answered with the expansion of a pro bono legal program designed to assist the legal needs of low-income veterans in Houston. This article will briefly discuss the creation of the veterans’ legal assistance program in 2006, the evolution of that program under the administration of Houston Bar Association president, Travis Sales, and the types of legal issues experienced to date.

 

The Need for Legal Assistance for Veterans

Regardless of one’s views of the political landscape and the necessity of a given action, battle, or even war, few can doubt the valor that the men and women of America’s armed services have shown through the history of this country. Whether in active combat, a supporting role, or service during times of relative peace, bravery seems a common thread, and one on which this country routinely relies.1

The Houston area has a tradition of military service, and thus a large population of veterans. The road home has not been smooth for all of these veterans, however. Financial issues, medical and psychological conditions, and even homelessness are problems faced by some. Further, these veterans face a variety of legal concerns -- some the same as any other citizen, and some unique to having served.

Houston lawyers have long volunteered their time and experience to help those who otherwise would have no access to the legal system. The HBA’s Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program reports that nearly 19,000 hours of legal time were volunteered by Houston lawyers last year alone, and that nearly 11,000 hours have been volunteered in 2008 though July.

Until recently, however, no program appeared geared specifically to the legal needs of veterans. In 2006 HVLP filled that void with the creation of a new veterans’ legal services clinic in cooperation with attorneys from the law firm of Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, LLP. The program has included monthly legal clinics for veterans, follow-up referral of matters identified in those clinics to volunteer lawyers, and annual legal services clinics provided at community-wide veterans’ homelessness assistance events.

In the two years since its creation, the veterans’ legal services clinic has seen remarkable success. More than 400 veterans have consulted volunteer lawyers at these clinics, and, of those, nearly 250 have received follow-up legal assistance provided by volunteer lawyers who have accepted these referrals from the HVLP.

This success, and the growing need for legal services, led to the recent expansion of the program by the Houston Bar Association and the HVLP, so that more sites are utilized and more veterans are helped. To staff these clinics, and to handle matters that may flow from them, more volunteer lawyers are needed.

 

Veterans in Houston

The Houston area is home to one of the largest veterans’ populations in the country. Census data shows that 219,966 Harris County residents claimed veteran status in the year 2000, which was then approximately nine percent of the population.2 Since then, the United States Department of Veteran Affairs estimates the number of Harris County veterans at 190,000, but this still vastly outnumbers the veteran population of any other county in Texas. Furthermore, the seven counties that surround Harris County (Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller) account for another 118,000 veterans.3 

The number of veterans seeking medical care in Harris County has risen steadily. In 2007, the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center conducted over 50,000 more outpatient visits than it did in 2006, and over 250,000 more than it did in 2000.4 Additionally, recent media reports estimate that of the over 12,000 homeless living in Harris County, approximately 35 percent of them are veterans.5

Clearly, these veterans have a variety of legal needs, and many of them are unable to afford quality and experienced lawyers to help. Some of the needs may relate to legal issues most citizens face – family law issues, probate questions, real estate transactions, and other issues. Others are unique to veterans – veterans’ disability issues, government medical treatment issues, etc. All can be handled by qualified lawyers in Houston who can prepare for unfamiliar areas through training coordinated by the HVLP.

 

The Creation of the Veterans Legal Initiative

In 1981, the Houston Bar Association created the HVLP to help low-income individuals and families resolve their legal issues. The HBA’s HVLP became incorporated in 1987, and since then has been actively involved in matching qualifying clients with thousands of local attorneys.

In 2006, HVLP decided to devote a program to assisting veterans in need. The first clinic was held on March 21, 2006 at Midtown Terrace, a veterans’ housing center. Five private practice lawyers attended, as did numerous HVLP attorneys and staff. These lawyers were prepared by training on a number of topic areas, including family law (divorce, custody, child support, etc.), consumer law, landlord tenant, guardianship, and probate. During this first session, 14 were assisted through pre-set appointments, and eight other veterans were assisted through walk-in appointments. Thirteen of these matters were later referred to volunteer lawyers for handling.

After that first event, the veterans legal services clinic was held once a month, on the last Friday of the month, at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. This site has been a good fit for the program. It is easily accessible by veterans, it has had a consistent flow of people needing help, and it offers a reasonable degree of privacy for the veterans’ meetings with lawyers (private examination rooms are used for the client meetings).

 

A New Focus

Even before taking office as president of the Houston Bar Association in May 2008, Travis Sales, a partner at Baker Botts LLP, knew he wanted to focus on veterans’ issues and the expansion of legal services offered through HVLP. The City of Houston and Harris County had instituted initiatives to address the needs of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and to move these vets to the forefront for care in areas such as medical care, housing, disability and mental health. However, outside the legal clinics offered through HVLP, there was little else in the way of local legal services geared toward veterans.

Cognizant of the city’s efforts to assist these men and women, Sales scheduled meetings with Mayor Bill White and County Judge Ed Emmett to discuss the HBA’s initiative, for which they have expressed strong support. He also met with officials from the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Cener, the Regional Council of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Mayor’s Director of Veteran Initiatives, to gather information and facts to assist in developing a program to meet the legal needs of veterans. In addition, he met with representatives from two permanent housing locations for vets in Harris County, to assess needs and obtain input on effective programming.

Beginning in June 2008, the HBA’s new Veterans’ Legal Initiative significantly increased legal services available to veterans. The monthly legal clinic expanded to a weekly legal clinic, held each Friday from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. Additional clinics are held monthly at Midtown Terrace and quarterly at DeGeorge at Union Station, another residence for veterans in the downtown area. In September, a trial clinic was held at The Domicilliary, a new, small residence facility. That clinic will continue on a quarterly basis if the need is there. The legal clinics are implemented through the HBA’s Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, and HVLP hired a staff member to work exclusively on the veterans’ initiative.

Sales also initiated meetings with the commanders of local VFW and American Legion posts, and quarterly legal clinics are planned for some of those facilities. In addition, legal clinics will be set up at stand-downs, military musters and other gatherings of veterans. Legal assistance is currently planned for a stand-down in October and a muster in November.

 In order to ensure enough volunteers to handle the expanded services, the HBA began an extensive recruiting effort, and more than 150 attorneys have volunteered for the program. On September 23, the law firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius underwrote a specialized training program for volunteers, presented by Ron Abrams of the National Veterans Legal Services Program in Washington, D.C.

 The HBA staff also is working with VA officials to develop a pocket-sized card that provides helpful resource numbers for veterans and will add resources to the HBA Web site.

 

Legal Issues

The bulk of the legal issues among veterans are family law and probate matters, usually simple divorces and estate planning needs (wills and also traditional estate planning documents). However, approximately one-fourth of the veterans seeking assistance need guidance in veterans’ disability or other benefits. Often these issues involve the question of whether disability benefits should be reduced, or simple matters of confusion created by periodic form notice letters. In this sense, the lawyer’s ability to explain both the “forest” and the “trees” seems to provide a much-needed understanding of the system as a whole, rather than incomplete and often conflicting information received by the veterans in their own direct dealings. Of course, there are matters that are either inappropriate for referral, or are simply outside of the volunteer lawyer’s knowledge. In those cases, the on-site HVLP attorneys and staff step in to patiently deal with the issues.

The meetings usually begin with a sincere “thank you” from the lawyer to the veteran for the time he or she served. From there, the relationship begins. The volunteer lawyer can be both an advisor for questions that can be solved at the initial clinic, or someone to narrow the issues for any lawyer who might ultimately take the matter on referral. The lawyer handling the matter at the clinic may, if interested, seek the referral from HVLP.

Any lawyer who has participated in a clinic of this sort knows the wide array of matters and experiences that may result. Some of the veterans are seeking advice on straightforward legal issues which are easily handled without much trouble. Others may be emotional, frustrated, or simply confused. Uncertainty is the common thread coming in, and, hopefully, some degree of peace of mind is the end result. 

Like any pro bono event, the lawyer’s experience may be mixed. Positive experiences, however, are the most common:

• The elderly couple (WWII veteran) who nervously discussed their need for wills due to their age. They left the office with more than just the executed paperwork. They also left (hand in hand) with relieved smiles and peace of mind.
  
• The Vietnam-era veteran who broke down in his session as he discussed his landlord/tenant issues, and the simple question of his rights to remove his property before a looming eviction. What seems a straightforward question had caused him to stay up all night, nervous about the meeting - - he said he had never talked to a lawyer in his life.
  
• The veteran who faced foreclosure from years of overdue homeowners’ association dues. A few calls to the association’s lawyer, a written agreement to repay over time, and all was well. The follow-up thank you card she sent made it all worthwhile.

For more information on the Veterans’ Legal Initiative, contact Tom Herpin at 713-228-0735. For a volunteer form, visit the HBA web site, www.hba.org.

Mark Waite is a partner with the law firm of Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P.

 

Endnotes

1. “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”  Elmer Davis, former reporter, author and Director of War Information during World War II.   2. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census 2000.   3. Department of Veterans Affairs, VetPop2007County:  County-Level Veteran Population by VISN, 2000-2030, at http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/docs/vp2007county_living_visn_web.xls   4. Department of Veteran Affairs, The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center Health Care Statistics, at http://www.houston.va.gov/aboutmedvamc_statistics.asp   5. Bryant, Salatheia. “Helping Vets Get Off the Street: Downtown Event Offers Multitude of Services to Homeless Veterans” The Houston Chronicle. 09 November 2006. at http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2006_4226164