Roughly 75% of all initial applications for VA benefits are denied, according to a Veteran’s Affairs website. That has a profound impact in North Carolina where over 720,000 veterans have settled.
When High Point University’s Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law opened this fall, it also launched a pro bono law clinic that will focus on ethically helping veterans receive military benefits after they are denied.
The clinic is underwritten by Rockville, Maryland law firm Bergmann & Moore, LLC, a firm with a national practice exclusively in the area of veteran’s benefits.
Ashley Castillo, a clinical assistant professor and assistant dean for student affairs, will serve as director of the Veterans Law Clinic. As an attorney for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, she litigated more than 1,700 appeals for veterans to receive their disability benefits.
Attorneys Needed
“There’s a great need for attorneys who know how to help veterans obtain the disability benefits they deserve but who are willing to do so ethically and with respect for their clients’ great personal sacrifices for our country,” said Joseph R. Moore, managing partner at Bergmann & Moore, LLC.
Moore worked as an attorney for the VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals in Washington, DC. He represents and oversees cases before a VA Regional Office or the Board. Glenn R. Bergmann was an appellate litigator in Veteran’s Affairs Office of the General Counsel, Appellate Litigation Division, in Washington, DC. He currently supervises the firm’s appellate practice and has successfully represented more than 12,000 veterans and their family members before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
Assisting Veterans
The most common reason VA disability claims are denied is that the applications have incomplete information or lack necessary documentation. Denials have been issued due to the lack of evidence to adequately establish a link between the current disability and an in-service event or injury.
Students working in the clinic will have completed or enrolled in courses in veterans law. The students will assist the veterans with claim denial appeals under the direction of Professor Castillo.
“It’s our hope that after these students graduate from law school, some will want to establish their own practices in helping to get benefits for veterans,” Castillo said.
“The law clinic aligns with HPU’s commitment to being a God, family, and country school and working on behalf of veterans,” said HPU President Dr. Nido Qubein.
