Written by Fall 2022 M-VETS Student Advisor Liz Faris.
Transgender rights have become a divisive political issue, as some lawmakers attempt to restrict access to bathrooms and medical care. Trump swung the spotlight onto transgender servicemembers in 2017 with a series of tweets. Read more
Written By Summer 2022 M-VETS Student Advisor Greg Pelletier.
Approximately 3.6 million people in the United States currently have a security clearance.[1] Many of these individuals with security clearances are active-duty service members in the military. Other clearance holders include civilians with national security related jobs or defense contractors. Read more
Written by Summer 2022 M-VETS Student Advisor Olivia Sznaza.
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (“Camp Lejeune Justice Act”) was introduced to Congress in January, 2022 as a component of a broader piece of legislation called the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 (“PACT Act”). Read more
(Pictured: M-VETS Student Advisors, Doug Boyle, Olivia Sznaza)
A 2016 claim for Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) benefits was finally granted at the 40% payment rate after nearly six years of litigation with the DVA. M-VETS successfully argued at a personal appearance hearing before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) for its client to receive a DVA disability rating of 40% for his lumbar spine condition. Read more
The Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (“M-VETS”) assisted an active duty Air Force servicemember formalize her wife’s parental rights through an adoption. Though the servicemember’s wife was listed on the child’s birth certificate, the servicemember, who was the child’s birth mother, feared that her wife could lose parental rights in certain states should same-sex marriage rights be repealed. Read more
(Pictured L to R: SA Olivia Sznaza, Clerk of the Court, Malcolm Squires, Jr., Director Timothy MacArthur, SA Liz Faris, Deputy Director Leigh Winstead, SA Greg Pelletier, Adjunct Professor Chapman Good).
The Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (“M-VETS”) visited the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (“CAAF”) in Washington, D.C. Read more
(Pictured: M-VETS Student Advisor, Greg Pelletier)
The Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (“M-VETS”) successfully increased a veteran’s Department of Veterans Affairs (“DVA”) overall disability rating from 10% to 80%, resulting in an increase of the veteran’s monthly compensation payments from $152 to $2,035. Read more
The Antonin Scalia Law School Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (“M-VETS”) secured $123,000.00 in Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) disability compensation for a veteran due to his service in Vietnam. M-VETS argued in a brief before the DVA that the veteran was entitled to service-connection and disability payments for a condition presumptively caused by exposure to Agent Orange during the veteran’s service in Vietnam. Read more
Written By Spring 2022 M-VETS Student Advisor Stephanie Whiteley.
The Army National Guard is unique from the other military branches. Unlike the active-duty Army or the Army Reserves, Army National Guard Servicemembers (“SMs”) play a dual role. They support both state and federal missions. Read more
