(Pictured: Casey Hunt, Michael Vlcek)

In October of 2018, the Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic represented a veteran and his wife at trial in General District Court to recover their $2,000 security deposit held by their former landlords. In a nearly five-hour long trial, M-VETS student advisors Casey Hunt and Michael Vlcek conducted an opening statement, direct and cross examinations, and a closing argument culminating in judgment for the full amount sought by the clinic’s clients.

“Michael and Casey did an excellent job through full trial preparations and ultimately securing a favorable judgment for our clients,” Leigh Winstead, M-VETS Assistant Director said. “Like many of our civil matters, this is a case where the attorneys’ fees required to litigate would have outweighed the potential recovery; M-VETS’s representation allowed this veteran and his family to pursue their legal remedies with the assistance of counsel and recover what was rightfully theirs,” Winstead said.

“To say that M-VETS is an amazing resource to the Veteran Community is a massive understatement,” said the veteran client. “Without this service we would have had no choice but to abandon our legal case. Their professionalism, dedication and work ethic are in line with the highest ethos we were all instilled with in the US military,” said the veteran.

M-VETS mission is to provide free legal representation to active-duty members of the armed forces, veterans, and their families while offering law students the opportunity to receive supervised, practical legal experience by advocating for those who serve or have served in our United States armed forces. M-VETS provides representation in a variety of matters including Virginia civil litigation matters, uncontested divorces, consumer protection matters, wills and powers of attorney, as well as assisting with matters before the VA and various administrative boards, including discharge upgrades, record corrections, military pay and entitlement matters, and VA disability benefit appeals.