Step Up To Serve Veterans With Pro Bono Legal Assistance

Learn to become an effective advocate for U.S. military veterans with PLI programs on benefits, discharges, and more.

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Photo courtesy of PLI.

United States military veterans are eligible for a variety of medical, housing, and financial benefits, but the system can be complex and difficult to navigate. Of the more than 18 million veterans in the country, many are unaware of the full benefits to which they’re entitled from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) — and often, those most in need of help are not receiving assistance.

This Veterans Day, learn how providing effective pro bono legal representation can be a meaningful, impactful way to give back to those who have served.

“I encourage pro bono work with veteran clients because the opportunity to give back to those who sacrificed and served our country is personally rewarding,” says Deepa Arora, Pro Bono Manager and Staff Attorney with the nonprofit Swords to Plowshares, which serves thousands of homeless, low-income, and at-risk veterans in the Bay Area.

She adds: “Navigating the laws and administrative processes involved in representing veterans can be a very intellectually challenging, and fun, experience. Most importantly, pro bono attorneys will have the opportunity to observe the tangible impact their work can have on the health and well-being of veteran clients.”

Learn How to Help

Ready to get started? Check out Practising Law Institute’s Advocating for Veterans: The Basics on VA Benefits, Discharge Upgrades and Veteran Cultural Competency 2022. In this full-day program, available to stream on-demand, attendees will learn how to navigate the VA claims process and become an effective advocate for veterans in need.

Expert faculty from Swords to Plowshares, Harvard Law School’s Veterans Legal Clinic, the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, and California’s Office of Access & Inclusion provide an introduction to benefits for disabled vets; dive in to the three elements of VA Service-Connection with a discussion of the signature wounds of the more recent conflicts, PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury; and cover non-service-connected VA pensions and claims.

Viewers will also learn how they can help veterans with less-than-fully-honorable discharges (which may be for reasons that are unjust or inaccurate), as well as hear a discussion on military culture, the challenges that veterans face in transitioning from combat back into their communities, and how trauma-informed and client-centered approaches can help in working with this population.

Attorneys interested in advocating for veterans should also get up to speed on the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. Representing the greatest expansion of VA benefits in decades, this law, signed by President Biden in August 2022, significantly expands Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits and services to those exposed to toxins while serving in the military. The PACT Act has implications for Gulf War, Afghanistan, and other post-9/11 veterans as well as those exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and other toxic hazards.

Demand is great for these benefits: Nearly 113,000 new disability claims have been submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs since the PACT Act’s passage, according to the Military Times.

In the PLI One-Hour Briefing The PACT Act: New Benefits for Post-9/11, Gulf War, and Vietnam War Veterans and Their Families, available on-demand, faculty from Swords to Plowshares discuss the law, reviewing the new presumptive conditions and requisite criteria and providing an overview of benefits for vets and their survivors. They also provide advocacy tips and procedural information on applying for VA benefits under the new act, reviewing a case study of a hypothetical pro bono client whose service in Afghanistan qualifies him for these benefits.

Additional PLI resources of interest include:

Racism in the Military: Advocating for Veterans Who Have Endured Race-Based Discrimination and Abuse in Service

A Guide to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for Advocates: How to Effectively Address PTSD in Matters Involving Veterans and Others Affected by Trauma 2022

“Bad Paper” from Pursuing Justice: The Pro Bono Files Podcast

Other Pro Bono Veterans Programming From PLI


Practising Law Institute is a nonprofit learning organization dedicated to keeping attorneys and other professionals at the forefront of knowledge and expertise. PLI is chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York and was founded in 1933 by Harold P. Seligson. The organization provides the highest quality, accredited, continuing legal and professional education programs in a variety of formats which are delivered by more than 4,000 volunteer faculty including prominent lawyers, judges, investment bankers, accountants, corporate counsel, and U.S. and international government regulators. PLI publishes a comprehensive library of Treatises, Course Handbooks, Answer Books and Journals also available through the PLI PLUS online platform. The essence of PLI’s mission is its commitment to the pro bono community. View PLI’s upcoming programs here.