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PODCAST: INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD COHEN, PRESIDENT

OF NOVA -- Attorneys in the VA claims system will

speed up the process and make it more efficient.

 

 

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NOVA attorneys at the Spring 2007 Seminar in New Orleans.
 

REPORT FROM THE SPRING 2007 CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF VETERANS' ADVOCATES

 

The National Organization of Veterans' Advocates (NOVA) held their latest conference in New Orleans on May 10-12.

I was asked to be a guest speaker and talk about the VA Watchdog dot Org web site.

I also attended all of the educational sessions where attorneys learned how to work with the VA system on behalf of veterans who have filed claims.

On June 20, 2007 the laws allowing attorneys to work with veterans take a major turn for the better.  Up until then, attorneys are only allowed to represent veterans (for a fee) at the third stage of the claims process...the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims.  On June 20, attorneys can represent veterans after the VA Regional Office has denied an initial claim and a NOD (Notice of Disagreement) has been filed.

This is a major step forward for veterans!

At this moment, there is a move to repeal the law allowing veterans the choice of an attorney.  Many feel, however, the legislation as written will stand.  Here is background on this issue... http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAR07/nf032007-8.htm There are backlinks so you can take a chronological look at the issue of "Attorneys for Veterans."

The following is an interview with Richard Cohen, President of NOVA.  Cohen feels that allowing attorneys into the VA claims system will speed up the process and make it more efficient.  He also notes that attorneys and Service Officers can (and do) work together to best serve the veteran in the claims process.

The file is in the MP3 format...is 8:10 in length...and the size is 3.74mb.

Click here to listen to or download the file.

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Larry Scott  --