Veterans Legal Support Center Directors & Officers
Joseph Butler - Executive Director/Clinical Professor
Professor of Law Joseph Butler's most recent faculty position is Director of the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic (VLSC). Professor Butler supervises law student interns and law student clerks who handle initial inquiries from veterans. He has also been instrumental in establishing and maintaining a network of pro-bono attorneys who handle veterans benefit cases at no charge to clients.
Before being named Director of the VLSC, Professor Butler was Assistant Director at The John Marshall Law School Fair Housing Legal Clinic. In that capacity, he supervised students who have litigated cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Cook County Commission on Human Rights and the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations.
Professor Butler has drafted numerous amicus briefs filed in the United States Supreme Court, and several United States appellate courts. Most recently, he organized a national conference at The John Marshall Law School entitled Fair Housing for Persons with Disabilities: New Challenges Presented by Our Returning Veterans. He has lectured before the International Association of Human Rights Agencies, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's National Fair Housing Policy Training Conferences.
In his tenure at The John Marshall Law School, Professor Butler has taught courses in Veterans Advocacy, Administrative Law, Legal Writing and Fair Housing.
Professor Butler earned his undergraduate degree from Eastern Illinois University and his Juris Doctor Degree from The John Marshall Law School.
Return to Top
Brian Clauss - Executive Director
Brian Clauss is an arbitrator and mediator of labor and employment disputes from Park Ridge, Illinois. As a full-time neutral, he serves on various arbitration and mediation rosters and panels, including the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the American Arbitration Association, the National Mediation Board, National Railroad Adjustment Board and the Major Case Civil Mediation Program for complex civil cases in Cook County.
Mr. Clauss is a licensed attorney and a graduate of Lake Forest College and The John Marshall Law School. He began his legal career as a felony prosecutor in Chicago and later defended Cook County, Illinois, in labor and employment matters before beginning a practice as an arbitrator and mediator in 2004.
Mr. Clauss is the co-editor of the book for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education entitled Military Service and the Law. He co-authored the chapter for the American Bar Association's recent text Preventing and Managing Workplace Violence entitled "Off Duty Conduct." He is a co-author of a chapter for the forthcoming edition of The Labor Law Handbook entitled "Public Sector Employment " and co-authored the chapter update for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education's Labor Law Handbook entitled "Public Employment." He also wrote the chapter "Called to Duty - Military Activation and the Impact on Labor Relations" in Proceedings of the 2008 Meeting of the National Academy of Arbitrators for the Bureau of National Affairs. Mr. Clauss has written numerous continuing legal education materials to accompany his frequent presentations, including the seminars entitled Employing the Military for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and the Veterans Legal Issues Law Ed Program for the John Marshall Law School and the Illinois State Bar Association.
Mr. Clauss is the author of a number of articles, including "When Employees are Called to Duty" for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin (October 31, 2008; coauthored with Joseph Butler) and "National Guard and Reserve Activation and Return - The Current and Coming Issues in Labor Arbitration" for the September 2008 edition of The Chronicle, the magazine of the National Academy of Arbitrators. He also wrote "Called to Duty - Advice for Your Clients" for the January 2007 edition of The Young Lawyer, a monthly publication of the American Bar Association; the feature article for the Fall 2005 edition of the Illinois Public Employment Relations Report entitled "Privatization of Public Education Services: The Application of the Doctrine of Successorship in the No Child Left Behind Era"; and "Employees Called to Duty in the National Guard and Reserve - an Overview of the Applicable Federal and Illinois Law," which appeared in the State Universities Civil Service System Quarterly. He co-wrote "Called to Duty in the National Guard and Reserve - An Overview of Federal and Illinois Laws" for the February 2008 edition of the Illinois Municipal Review, "The Public Safety Employee and Employment Litigation: The Effects of Police and Fire Commission Proceedings on the Federal Case" for the Illinois State Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Committee monthly newsletter; and "Employees Called to Military Duty - an Overview of Military Leave and the Service Member's Rights" for the Illinois State Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Committee monthly newsletter.
Mr. Clauss is a frequent author and lecturer on labor and employment matters and regularly speaks on the local, state, national and international levels. He is a member of the National Faculty Group for LexisNexis. In addition to his other volunteer activities, Mr. Clauss serves as the Executive Director for the Veterans Legal Support Center at the John Marshall Law School. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (Chicago Chapter) and volunteers with several other organizations.
Return to Top
Brian Morris - Staff Attorney
Brian Morris is a legal assistance attorney and an 18-year veteran of the United States Army and United State Army Reserves. Prior to assuming the position of Staff Attorney at the clinic, Mr. Morris spent five years as a litigation attorney in Chicago. He is an alumnus of The John Marshall Law School (1998) and was thereafter commissioned as a Judge Advocate with the United States Army. His wartime service includes assignments with the 4th Infantry Division, III Corps, 28th Infantry Division, Multinational Security Transition-Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force 7 and the Counter Intelligence Field Activity (CIFA).
Mr. Morris has worked in virtually every area of military law including time as a tort claims attorney, legal attorney, and military prosecutor with active duty, reserve and guard units in the U.S. and abroad. For his service, Mr. Morris has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Combat Action Badge, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal. Currently, Mr. Morris is a Major in the United States Army Reserves.
Mr. Morris is a 1994 graduate of Livingston University and earned a Masters in Education from the University of West Alabama in 1995. In 2009, he received his MBA from the University of Illinois.
Return to Top
Julie Yriart - Staff Attorney
Julie Yriart joined the staff of The John Marshall Law School Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic in November 2008. Ms. Yriart became associated with the VLSC as a clinical intern when it opened its doors in September 2007. Ms. Yriart is a 2005 graduate of DePaul University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Public Policy. Ms. Yriart graduated from John Marshall in the Spring of 2008. While a student at John Marshall, in addition to her work with the VLSC, she served two years as a clinical intern with The John Marshall Law School Fair Housing Legal Clinic and spent a summer as an equal opportunity specialist with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ms. Yriart is licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and is also accredited by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
At the VLSC, Ms. Yriart oversees the work of the clinical law students, assists with the academic research that supports the VLSC staff, students and Pro Bono Network, presents continuing legal education seminars and initiates new projects for the VLSC to address.
Liz Geisler - Office Manager
Liz Geisler joined the staff at the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic (VLSC) as a clerk in June of 2009.
As a second year law student, she is currently serving as Office Manager. Ms. Geisler graduated from Missouri State University
in 2006 where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing. She was a member of the Missouri State Women’s Division I Swimming & Diving Team.
Ms. Geisler is expected to graduate from The John Marshall Law School in May 2011.
At
the VLSC, Ms. Geisler oversees the work of the clerical students,
assists with academic research that supports the VLSC staff, and
organizes continuing
legal education seminars.
Return to Top
Mary Gordon - Conference Coordinator
Mary Gordon joined the staff at the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic (VLSC) as Office Manager. As Office Manager, Gordon supervised the law student clerks and organized VLSC events. In the fall of 2008, Gordon continued on as Conference Coordinator and coordinated the “Legal and Medical Issues Facing Our Nation’s Veterans” Conference in 2008, and subsequently coordinated the 2009 conference entitled Checkpoints & Roadblocks: The Intersection of Veterans & the Law, focusing on veterans and the courts.
Gordon is a 2005 graduate from Purdue University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Management. Gordon graduated from The John Marshall Law School with her Juris Doctor in May 2008, and with her LLM in International Business and Trade in January 2009. Gordon is a licensed attorney authorized to practice in Illinois.
Sean Ryan - Lead Clinical Student
Return to Top
|
