Virginia lawyers volunteer to help military veterans

Virginia lawyers volunteer to help military veterans


By: PETER BACQUÉ
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: December 28, 2011

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are paying the steep price of war.

They are experiencing high levels of unemployment, huge health-care costs and the greatest rate of post-traumatic stress disorder among service members nationwide.

But they are getting help from Virginia lawyers, who have stepped up to help veterans get the benefits they have earned and with other legal issues.

"The need for these services among Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans is astonishing, and increased benefits have a significant impact on the veteran and his or her family, and enable them to live a life out of poverty," said Erin L. Barrett, a lawyer with Hunton & Williams law firm in Richmond and the director of the firm's Veterans Pro Bono Program.

Hunton & Williams recently was honored by the National Veterans Legal Services Program with its Pro Bono Partner of the Year Award for its efforts to help America's military veterans.

"Many veterans are unable to work, and if they can, it is in a reduced capacity," Barrett said. "Often, they are unable to navigate the complex system to obtain their rightful benefits."

Other law firms are pitching in as well.
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