Printer Friendly Page

UPDATE: FINAL REPORT FROM NOVA SPRING

SEMINAR -- Attorneys working in the VA claims

system is the logical next step.

 

Omni Royal Orleans - site of NOVA Spring Seminar

 

Story below:

---------------

I would like to share some final thoughts on the Spring Seminar of the National Organization of Veterans' Advocates (NOVA) which I attended last week in New Orleans.

NOVA holds two seminars a year for their members.  These are intense, two-day educational sessions dealing with every area of the VA claims process.

I was overwhelmed by the complexity of VA law.  No wonder veterans have such a difficult time trying to file claims on their own.

On June 20 of this year, the law that limits attorneys in the VA claims process opens up and will allow them to represent vets after an initial claim has been denied and a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) has been filed.

Before I attended the NOVA seminar I firmly believed that veterans should be able to chose an attorney if they wished.  Now, that opinion is set in stone.

To find out more about attorneys in the process go to this page and work your way through the backlinks...
http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAY07/nf051207-7.htm

There are some important points to make regarding attorneys representing veterans in the claims process.

Veterans do NOT have to use attorneys.  They may still chose to use a Service Officer or file the claim themselves.  This just gives veterans another choice.

All fee agreements are done in advance and (IMPORTANT) fees paid are based on retroactive benefits received only.  Ongoing benefits received after a successful claim decision all go to the veteran.

I bring up these two points because those who oppose giving veterans the choice of an attorney have tried to confuse the issue.

Many of the attorneys I met in New Orleans practice Social Security law, helping the disabled, including veterans, to obtain SSDI benefits.  For many of the attorneys, moving into veterans' law is a logical extension of their practice.

I was most impressed by the commitment and dedication these attorneys have to veterans (and, it should be noted that many of them are veterans).  They see the VA claims process as cumbersome and adversarial by nature, and they want to do something to change that.

In the next couple of weeks I will be adding the "Attorneys for Veterans" page to VA Watchdog dot Org.  This page will list attorneys who are "certified" to represent a veteran in the VA claims process.  I am offering this service at no charge to all qualified attorneys.  I know this page will benefit the veterans who look to this site for accurate information regarding their VA benefits.

---------------

Larry Scott  --