Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic

10/04/2023

A client of mine took a w**d gummy to help him sleep while he was battling with PTSD, a veterans’ lawyer writes. He received a general discharge and is no longer eligible to access the one thing he valued most: a free education.

05/29/2023

Memorial Day is a day to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country

03/31/2023

So proud of our students and attorneys who worked on this brief! We hope the Supreme Court grants certiorari on this petition to ensure that veterans around the country can benefit from class action litigation at the Veterans Court.

The UIC Law Veterans Legal Clinic (VLC), co-counseled with the University of Missouri and the University of Florida's Veteran’s Clinics, filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the United States against the Dept. of Veterans Affairs on behalf of the National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium.

UIC Law Assistant Professor Yelena Duterte, VLC attorney Jenny Vanacker, and VLC students Haley Bracken, Ashley Tuburan, and Joseph Szabo contributed to the brief: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-815/260212/20230329152427356_Skaar%20SCOTUS%20NLSVCC.pdf

01/23/2023

In the first opinion of the term, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government in Arellano v. McDonough. The Supreme Court found that the statutes related to effective dates cannot be equitably tolled and thus do not allow veterans to obtain additional retroactive benefits.

See our Director, Professor Yelena Duterte's opinion analysis of the case here:

In its first opinion of the 2022-23 term, the Supreme Court unanimously held on Monday that a one-year timeframe for military veterans to apply for retroactive disability benefits is a firm deadline that cannot be extended under a doctrine known as “equitable tolling.” The court found equitable ...

01/09/2023

Last week, our team and community partners were at the UIC Neighborhood Center in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.

10/11/2022

Our clinic director recently wrote for SCOTUSblog on the Supreme Court case, Arellano v. McDonough. You can find her preview of the case here:

If a veteran of the United States Armed Forces sustains an injury during military service, they may be entitled to disability benefits. If they apply for benefits within a year of separating from the military, benefits may begin retroactively to the day after service. Yet, if a veteran fails to appl

08/31/2022

Brigadier General Ronald Sullivan, the current Chief Judge of the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals (IMA) joined us at UIC Law this afternoon to discuss opportunities in the U.S. Army JAG Corps. He provided our students with a glimpse into the JAG Corps and different opportunities for our students.

07/22/2022

Great news for veterans in Chicago!

The Chicago City Council voted to pass and codify the City Clerk's No-Fee Veterans City Sticker pilot into a permanent program that now also includes Small Trucks!

Beginning today, Veterans who have a VETERAN designation on their Illinois Driver's License or Illinois State ID are eligible to receive a free Vehicle City Sticker for a vehicle designated as either a Passenger (P), Large Passenger (LP), Motorbike (MB) OR Small Truck (ST). Veterans with Prisoner of War (PW), Purple-Heart Recipient (PR), I-Served (IS) and Disabled Veteran (DV) license plates will continue to be eligible for this program.

06/24/2022

Recently, the Director of the Veterans Legal Clinic had a conversation with colleagues across the country to discuss discharge upgrades. Check out the video here!

https://bobwoodrufffoundation.org/lunch-learn-discharge-upgrade/

06/15/2022

The 2022 Veterans Legal Assistance Conference & Training is this upcoming Friday! If you're interested in serving veterans, register here for the in-person/virtual conference.

Our Director, Yelena Duterte is discussing issues of sexism, racism, and the VA benefits system with colleagues from around the country.

https://probonomd.org/veteransconference/

05/30/2022

Today, we remember our servicemembers, who made the ultimate sacrifice. To honor our fallen, support the families who have lost loved ones and veterans who served along side them.

02/18/2022

This week, the federal court approved the historic settlement in the below class-action case, allowing for reforms to commence at the Naval Discharge Review Board. You can find more info about the settlement at https://www.mankersettlement.com/.

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