News Article

North Carolina Bar Association Article on "When Duty Calls"

Nearly everyone would agree that military veterans injured in the line of service should receive appropriate disability benefits. However, completing the federal disability application process can be a challenging proposition for a disabled veteran. Nationally, hundreds of thousands of veterans may need legal help in getting the benefits they deserve.

But a group of North Carolina veterans is closer to receiving the aid they deserve, thanks to an ongoing pro bono project by Womble Carlyle and the Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association ("YLD").

On May 22nd, Womble Carlyle hosted a five hour training session for attorneys interested in assisting veterans with the filing of disability claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA"). Approximately 50 attorneys, summer associates and paralegals from throughout North Carolina participated in the training session.

The next day, the firm hosted a daylong clinic for disabled veterans at its Raleigh office. Approximately 75 Womble Carlyle attorneys, paralegals, summer associates, and staff members gave their time to assist with the clinic effort. Teams of attorneys, summer associates, and paralegals conducted initial interviews of approximately 100 veterans and provided on-site legal assistance to approximately 50 veterans. In addition, approximately 25 veterans are in line to participate in the firm’s next North Carolina clinic to be held later this year.

The clinic is part of a statewide pro bono effort to assist disabled veterans called "When Duty Calls." Womble Carlyle attorneys Craig Cannon, who also serves as a Division Director for the YLD, Tripp Greason, and Tyler Mulligan organized the clinic.

In order to receive disability benefits, a veteran must submit various documents, including medical records, to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The completeness and accuracy of the information contained in a veteran’s initial disability claim are crucial to its success. However, a statute enacted shortly after the Civil War and still in effect caps the amount veterans can pay an attorney to assist them in this stage of the process at $10 and effectively prohibits them from hiring an attorney.

"It seemed like a logical thing for Womble Carlyle and the YLD to get involved in, since resolving disputes is what attorneys are trained to do," Cannon said.

He said the "When Duty Calls" campaign has three goals:

• To provide pro bono assistance to as many veterans as possible through an ongoing series of clinics; 
• To work with veterans and the VA to find ways to streamline and expedite the service connected disability application process; and 
• To motivate attorneys to provide pro bono assistance to veterans.

Cannon said Womble Carlyle and the YLD received strong support from the VA in this project. Womble Carlyle attorney Tim McClain, the former General Counsel for the VA, led the training session. Others who participated in the training session included Jack McCoy, the current VA Undersecretary for Policy and Program Management, Ron Burke, the director of the VA’s Winston-Salem regional office, and Michael Taub, an attorney with the Philadelphia Homeless Advocacy Project who is recognized nationally for his work with disabled veterans. Taub also supervised the in-person clinic.

"The VA has been very cooperative with us," Cannon said.

He said the firm plans to host additional veterans clinics in the future, starting with a July 11 clinic in Washington, D.C.

"We believe that we can successfully replicate When Duty Calls throughout North Carolina and in the states where Womble Carlyle has offices," Cannon said.