(Pictured L-R: M-VETS Director Timothy MacArthur and Student Advisors Andrew West and Sarah Khalife)

The Arlington County Bar Foundation has awarded a $2,000 grant to the Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (M-VETS) at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. The grant is named in memory of Griffin T. “Bus” Garnett, III, a dedicated leader of the Arlington County Bar Foundation and a proud veteran, whose life exemplified a commitment to justice, public service, and the legal community of Arlington.

The funds will help support M-VETS’ operating needs, including providing Adobe software licenses to law students who serve as student advisors in the clinic. This technology is essential for securely managing and reviewing sensitive client documents. Also, the donation will help cover the cost of M-VETS membership fees in the National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium as a founding Valor Member. This grant will ensure that the clinic continues to offer high-quality pro bono legal services to veterans, servicemembers, and their families throughout Northern Virginia.

“We are honored to receive this support from the Arlington County Bar Foundation and especially proud to carry forward the legacy of Bus Garnett,” said Timothy MacArthur, Director of M-VETS. “This grant enables our students to do the critical work of representing those who have served our country, using the tools and training necessary to protect their rights. Meeting his son Chris at the ceremony was a true honor. Chris shared that his dad served as a Judge Advocate in the United States Air Force during his legal career, and hearing that firsthand reinforced how meaningful this grant is to our clinic, students, and the clients we serve. We are humbled to receive this grant named in his memory and will ensure it is used in the spirit of service that defined his life.”

Founded in 2004, M-VETS was the first law school clinic of its kind in the nation and continues to provide the most comprehensive veterans’ legal services of any law school in Virginia. Since its inception, M-VETS has delivered more than $5.5 million in free legal services to over four hundred clients. M-VETS assists veterans, service members, and their dependents with military/veteran/DVA administrative matters, to include disability compensation and educational benefits appeals, discharge upgrades, and Boards for Correction of Military Records matters.