Lunch & Learn Volunteer Training Session #26

Session #26: 
Serving the Community in Observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

WATCH THE RECORDING

January 7, 2025

12 – 1 p.m. 
Virtual Zoom Presentation 
Free – online Zoom 

Presenters:

• Holly L. Christian, Director, Veterans Law Clinic & Assistant Professor, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law  - The Detroit Mercy Veterans Law Clinic serves low-income Michigan veterans and their families by providing free legal representation, attorney training, and community education on VA benefits claims and military discharge upgrade applications.
  
• Peggy Costello, Staff Attorney, National Veterans Legal Services Program - NVLSP, a national non-profit organization focuses on assisting Veterans with obtaining benefits after a denial by the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board), developing and providing training for Veterans' Service Representatives, and producing and annually updating the Veterans Benefits Manual.  Opportunities for pro bono involvement include representing clients (drafting briefs) before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and before the Board after remand from the Court; all pro bono attorneys are provided with mentorship from a NVLSP attorney during the course of their involvement.  
  
• Chesley Roberts, Deputy Director, Legal Assistance Programs, The Veterans Consortium - The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program (Pro Bono Program) was created with a dual mission: to provide assistance to unrepresented veterans or their family members who have filed appeals at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court); and to recruit and train attorneys in the then fledgling field of veterans’ law. The Consortium teaches a three hour class in veterans law for attorneys. Every attorney who receives training and accepts a case from the Consortium receives an analysis of the case prepared by the Consortium’s veterans’ law specialists. Each attorney also receives extensive research materials published by LexisNexis (including the latest version of the Veterans Benefits Manual), as well as the assignment of a mentoring attorney to provide advice and assistance during the course of the appeal.
  

Moderator:

• John Sier, Chair, Detroit Bar Foundation Access to Justice Committee
  

Attend and receive a Certificate of Completion. Approved for State Bar of Michigan Pro Bono Honor Roll hours. Training hours can be put toward the Detroit Bar Pro Bono award with recognition at the annual Archer Award Gala in November. For full details, please visit https://www.detroitlawyer.org/probonoaward/

Brought to you by:

DETROIT BAR PRO BONO/ACCESS TO
JUSTICE COMMITTEE

The information provided in this programming does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available are for general informational purposes only.