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LAWYERS GIVE TIME TO HELP VETERANS FIND NEEDED HELP --

"We sort of thought deciding to help vets would be like voting for

puppies. Whether you're for or against the war, nobody's against

trying to help a veteran apply for what's rightfully theirs."

For more about attorneys for veterans, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessea
rch.php?q=attorneys+for+veterans&op=ph

Story here... http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite
?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_ColumnistA
rticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354122343

Story below:

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Lawyers give time to help veterans find needed help

By Scott Sexton
JOURNAL COLUMNIST

First as a former captain in the U.S. Army who dealt with the Department of Veterans Affairs and later after becoming a lawyer, Ellis Boyle has had a chance to tug at governmental red tape from different angles.

Starting in about a week, Boyle will combine those experiences to help other veterans who might be having difficulty navigating an overloaded VA system that can take an average of more than six months to respond to a claim.

Along with a handful of other young lawyers, Boyle will be participating in a program run by the Winston-Salem branch of his firm (Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice) to offer a free advice session to veterans who are entangled in - or are about to dive into - the cumbersome and often-confusing world of applying for VA disability claims.

“We sort of thought (deciding to help vets) would be like voting for puppies,” Boyle said. “Whether you’re for or against the war, nobody’s against trying to help a veteran apply for what’s rightfully theirs.”

Increasing numbers

No doubt about it, the VA is a monster. It is the country’s second-largest department, with an annual budget of more than $80 billion. It has more than 235,000 employees, who are charged with administering a nationwide system of health-care services, benefits programs and national cemeteries.

Within that behemoth, the VA has 153 hospitals and 877 outpatient clinics scattered throughout the country, which see more than 5.5 million patients a year.

In North Carolina alone, the VA spent more than $2.3 billion in 2006 to care for more than 756,000 vets. Also in 2006, more than 138,000 veterans and their survivors received some form of disability benefits or pension payments.

When you factor in those who have been wounded since the war in Iraq started - more than 28,000 - the rolls of veterans needing help from the VA will no doubt swell in coming years.

“We have a fairly significant rate of Iraq veterans who will have some issues with post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Tim McClain, a Womble Carlyle attorney and a former general counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs. “It’s the nature of the tours in Iraq. There is no ‘safe’ zone. IED threats are everywhere.”

When the enormity of those figures is combined with the unavoidable fact that the VA is a federal department and by its very nature a bureaucracy, it’s easy to see how delays (and foul-ups) are inevitable.

“The national average for (the VA) making a decision on a claim is 182 days, and it has been edging up in the past year,” McClain said. “Suffice it to say, it’s a long, lengthy process.”

‘The right thing’

Familiarity with the system and the attendant figures drove Boyle and some of his colleagues to want to help.

Armed with the knowledge gained by a similar free legal clinic in Washington, lawyers in the Winston-Salem office of Womble Carlyle started last year to plan their own project (“When Duty Calls”) to help veterans with their disability benefits claims.

Plus, it didn’t hurt that the firm had recently hired McClain and could tap his VA experience. “We have an ace there,” said Tripp Gleason, one of the local organizers.

Though many lawyers feel an obligation to do a certain amount of free work for clients who otherwise couldn’t afford their services, this particular project is not about meeting a pro-bono quota.

“You just don’t want to see veterans who served the country getting bogged down, particularly when it comes to disability claims,” said Craig Cannon, another organizer.

Boyle, an infantry officer with 1st Armor Division from 1998-2002, agreed.

“I’ve seen how guys struggle with this,” he said. “It’s just the right thing to do.”

■ Scott Sexton can be reached at 727-7481 or at ssexton@wsjournal.com.

■ The daylong clinic in Winston-Salem is scheduled for Jan. 16 at Womble Carlyle’s office at One West Fourth Street. Veterans who think they need help with a disability claim can call (336) 747-6669 or send an e-mail to Veterans@wcsr.com.

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posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org

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