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Law school panel addresses veterans' unique legal needs

Capt. John T. Soron, president of UB Law School's Armed Forces and Veterans Law Students Association
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A formidable panel of speakers, a dozen members strong, was the focus for a community service presentation at UB Law School that celebrated the work of America's armed forces and discussed how best to serve those who have served their country.

"The Military Community's Legal Issues: Looking Beyond Veterans Day" was the topic for the presentation, held in O'Brian Hall on the eve of Veterans Day. It was sponsored by the Law School and by the Erie County Bar Association's Veterans Legal Issues Committee.

The event, which opened with recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, recognized that veterans often have issues that require special training, legal and otherwise, to serve them effectively. Panelists came to that understanding from a variety of perspectives, including those of judges, attorneys and veterans advocates.

The panel included:

Hon. Eugene Pigott '73, associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals
Hon. Robert Russell, a Buffalo City Court judge who also serves as judge for Buffalo's Veterans Treatment Court
Patrick Welch, director of the Erie County Office of Veterans Services
Michael Lancer, chair of the Veterans Legal Issues Committee for the Erie County Bar Association
Joseph Morath '05 of Connors & Vilardo, a former U.S. Marine and current member of the Army National Guard
Jennifer Stergion '07, a driving force behind veterans legal assistance and education efforts
Hon. Mark G. Farrell, judge of the Amherst Veterans Treatment Court
Michael Schuster, coordinator of the Amherst Veterans Treatment Court
Christopher Krieger, an Iraq War veteran who serves as president of the local veterans group Western New York Heroes
Capt. John T. Soron, president of UB Law School's Armed Forces and Veterans Law Students Association
Janet McGlone, an attorney and veterans advocate
Jack O'Connor, who serves on the advisory board of Buffalo's VA Hospital and runs a mentoring group associated with the Buffalo Veterans Treatment Court

Among the issues that prompted the event were new legal guidelines that allow private attorneys to advocate for the rights of individual veterans before the Department of Veterans Affairs, which previously had not been allowed. But the conversation ranged widely, including such issues as child custody and other family-law matters for veterans; the need for specialized courts for veterans in trouble with substance or other addictions; the economic power of veterans; the dilemma of seeking treatment for mental health issues at risk of jeopardizing one's military career; and ways that veterans can help each other as mentors.

Some excerpts from the panelists' presentations:

Judge Pigott: "We have families troubled to no end, and there is such a need to make sure they get the benefits to which they are entitled. You meet these people, and it's just you – it's you in a uniform that tells them what to do and when to do it. I want to encourage you in the course of your practice to keep in mind the veterans and what they do and how you can help them."

Judge Russell: "For those who have served this country so honorably and so well, unfortunately some return with invisible wounds. We will do our best to help them to become stable. If there is a need for housing, we will make sure there is safe, habitable housing. We will work on employment skills and training, and work to get a job in place. For those who want to return to school, we will work to get that accomplished."

Judge Farrell: "You don't necessarily have to be in an urban area to recognize the needs of veterans. We have a lot of criminal activity out here in Amherst, and we have a lot of things that require us to take a hard look at the suffering and agony that people go through as a result of addictions. We deal time and time again with the warrior mentality. People who have served our nation feel somehow or another that it's inappropriate for them to have a personal problem that has to be dealt with."

Patrick Welch: "There are about 25 million living veterans in this country, and only 25 percent of them are taking advantage of the benefits they're entitled to. One of the things I want to try to re-create is what happened after World War II, when 8 million veterans returned, went to school and on into industry, and created the greatest economic engine the world has ever seen."