The Antonin Scalia Law School Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (“M-VETS”) secured Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) disability compensation for a former Army Special Forces Non-Commissioned officer (NCO) Engineer. M-VETS argued in a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) filed with the DVA the former Special Forces NCO was entitled to service connection and disability payments for injuries caused by military service. Read more
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
(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
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
(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
(Pictured: Chris Babic, Jessica O’Connell, Leigh Winstead, Casey Hunt)
The Antonin Scalia Law School Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (“M-VETS”) inaugural “Wills for Veterans” program was hosted by American Legion Post 139 in Arlington, Virginia on 10-11 November 2018. Along with M-VETS staff and Adjunct Faculty, Jessica O’Connell, M-VETS student-advisors Casey Hunt, Quinn Kahsay, Chris Babic, Katie Stegmuller and Brandon Howell represented Scalia Law School and the M-VETS program by assisting in the drafting of wills, powers of attorney, and living wills for veterans and their dependents. Read more
(Pictured: Historic Fairfax County Courthouse)
The Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (M-VETS) closed one of its oldest and most unique cases in December 2017, securing ordinary relief through unorthodox means. M-VETS represented an active-duty Servicemember and his wife in seeking the return of their security deposit in 2010. Read more
The Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Clinic (M-VETS) won a favorable verdict for a client, a Coast Guard and Marine Corps Veteran, in Stafford County Circuit Court last month. The client sought and recovered the return of his security deposit from his former landlord, who withheld the entire deposit, in part, to pay for damages the tenant reported to the landlord during his tenancy. Read more
(Pictured: Leigh Winstead, Bonnie Kelly, Anna Dryden)
The Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (M-VETS) successfully assisted two military families in filing and finalizing step-parent adoptions this fall. The first family of an active duty Marine sought the clinic’s assistance in finalizing the adoption of the Marine’s four-year-old stepdaughter. Read more
The Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (“M-VETS”) recently finalized a divorce for an active duty servicemember in the United States Air Force after two years of drafting a property settlement agreement and navigating the divorce through the Fairfax County Circuit Court. Read more
