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Panel says legal aid and medical-legal partnerships are crucial to veterans' stability
Summary
At an LSC forum, panelists said veterans face VA benefits disputes, discharge-status barriers and everyday civil legal problems; they urged co-located medical-legal partnerships, warm referrals and pro bono training to expand capacity and preserve housing and benefits.
John Levy, chair of the Legal Services Corporation board, opened the forum by warning that grantees must turn away almost half of eligible clients for lack of resources and by previewing a veterans-focused panel. Will Gunn, LSC general counsel and an Air Force veteran who moderated the session, told attendees a planned film was not shown but summarized a case in which Southeast Louisiana Legal Services helped a 70-year-old veteran avoid garnishment of VA and Social Security benefits.
The panelists said veterans' civil legal needs fall into three broad groups: VA benefits (including overpayment and garnishment disputes), discharge upgrade petitions that can restore eligibility for benefits, and common civil matters such as housing, family law and employment. "We call them typically discharge upgrade petitions," said Nick Hassanfuss, a Marine Corps veteran and partner at Holland & Knight, explaining that upgraded discharges can re-open access to GI Bill and VA home-loan benefits.
Panelists described the medical-legal partnership model as a way to reach veterans where they already receive care. "A medical-legal partnership is where legal service advocates and their support team is embedded in the medical facility," said Pi Young Pie, managing attorney at Bay Area Legal Services, describing warm referrals from VA social workers and the expansion from one clinic to seven locations in a five-county area.
Laura Tuggle, executive director of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, said trust-building and removing access barriers are central to outreach: her program rebranded a "homeless unit" as a Veterans and Innovative Projects Unit, co-located at VA facilities and partnered with local housing groups to hold expungement clinics and veterans-specific legal events. She said the organization saw a large increase in veterans seeking help after disasters.
Panelists also discussed the role of the private bar. Hassanfuss said his firm has provided more than 51,500 pro bono hours worth roughly $35.8 million and recommended pairing clinics with training and mentorship so volunteering attorneys can handle unfamiliar practice areas. The panel used client stories (identity-theft cases, eviction and mobile-home repairs) to show how coordinated advocacy can preserve housing and stabilize benefits.
The session closed with a call for expanded funding, better regulatory supports for community justice workers and wider adoption of hybrid service models that combine legal help with medical and social services. Gunn and the panel framed these measures as necessary to reduce unmet legal need and protect veterans' housing and income.
The veterans panel concluded with an invitation to continue partnerships at local clinics and to scale medical-legal models and pro bono training across regions.
