George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Procopio v. Wilkie: Finally a Win for Blue Water Vietnam Veterans?

By Spring 2019 M-VETS Student-Advisor Katie Stegmuller

Between 1961 and 1971, more than 20 million gallons of herbicides including Agent Orange were sprayed over Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.[1] The Agent Orange Act extends a presumption of service connection for disabilities that are positively associated with herbicide exposure to veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam Era. Read more

The Constitutionality of the Veterans’ Affairs Accountability Acts of 2014 and 2017: Reexamining Helman v. Department of Veterans Affairs and its Impact on Legislative Efforts to Hold Veterans’ Affairs Officials Accountable

By Spring 2019 M-VETS Student-Advisor

Problems within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and specifically, the Veterans Health Administration, have received ample amounts of media attention over the last two decades.[1] Following an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General into a scandal involving several senior executives at the Phoenix Veterans’ Affairs (“VA”) Hospital in 2014,[2] Congress passed the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act (“VACAA”). Read more

Stepparent Adoption

In March 2019, the Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic successfully assisted an Army Officer in the adoption of the Officer’s two minor children by his current wife. M-VETS drafted all pleadings, orders, and affidavits necessary to complete the stepparent adoption as well as assisted the family in obtaining the required background check for the stepmother, now a mandatory requirement in Virginia stepparent adoptions. Read more

For-Profits: For Better or For Worse

Image credit:10 Online Bachelor’s Programs With the Most Veterans (last accessed May 7, 2019), https://www.usnews.com/education/online education/articles/2015/05/26/10-online-bachelors-programs-with-the-most-veterans.

By Spring 2019 M-VETS Student-Advisor Casey Hunt

The G.I. Bill was created to give veterans access to higher education and training as a way to help transition back to civilian life after they honorably served their country. Read more

THE NEXT MEDICAL CRISIS: DRONE PILOTS AND PTS

By Spring 2019 M-VETS Student-Advisor

When considering post-traumatic stress (PTS), the first thought that comes to mind is a veteran returning from a theatre of combat. Due to technological advances, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) must be prepared to deal with the increase of drone pilots who suffer from PTS. Read more

M-VETS Secures Almost $13,000.00 in Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for the Surviving Spouse of a Vietnam Veteran

(Pictured Katie Stegmuller and David Kaplan)

In March of 2019, the Antonin Scalia Law School Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (“M-VETS”) secured Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for the surviving spouse of a Vietnam veteran. M-VETS Student Advisors Katie Stegmuller and David Kaplan assisted the surviving spouse in the preparation and submission of this claim. Read more

M-VETS Receives American Bar Association Military Pro Bono Project Outstanding Services Award

The Antonin Scalia Law School Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (“M-VETS”) recently received the American Bar Association (ABA) Military Pro Bono Project Outstanding Services Award for its services in 2018. The ABA Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel (LAMP) issued this award to M-VETS for their extraordinary pro bono services through the ABA Military Pro Bono Project. Read more

M-VETS Prevails in Securing Judgment for Veteran’s Security Deposit

(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. Read more