As one of the first such clinics in the country, The John Marshall Legal Support Center & Clinic is dedicated solely to addressing the legal needs of veterans seeking benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Hundreds of thousands of veterans have returned home from the battlefield with serious and life-altering injuries. However, many of these wounded warriors are not receiving the full benefits to which they are entitled. Many veterans, both young and old, are not receiving the full benefits to which they are entitled because they lack the necessary information and understanding to navigate the complexities of the VA claims and appeals process.
Several organizations and published studies have highlighted veterans' lack of access to competent legal representation. This inability to acquire legal help has egregious consequences: Veterans are not receiving the legal aid that often makes the difference in whether or not they will receive their full benefits in an efficient manner.
The VLSC assists veterans by investigating and researching their VA benefit claims. The clinic refers qualified veterans to private legal counsel through our statewide network of Pro Bono attorneys. These attorneys are dedicated individuals who have donated their time to assisting veterans with their claims.
Put simply, the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic is dedicated to serving the men and women who have served our nation.
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VLSC Joins Effort to Help Family of Fallen Soldier
The Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic (VLSC) at The John Marshall Law School, along with Chicago School of Professional Psychology (CSOPP), filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court in support of Albert Snyder in the case of Snyder v. Phelps. The case was initiated in 2006 by Snyder against members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., who picketed at his son’s funeral. Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder was killed in action while serving in Iraq. Despite an initial jury verdict of invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the church, a US Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the initial ruling. Snyder and his supporters want the Supreme Court to overturn the appellate court’s reversal.
The VLSC/CSOPP brief focuses on the psychological differences between grieving families of soldiers who are killed in combat versus “normal” grieving families, and explains the history behind offering the military families military funerals for their lost loved ones, giving the deceased special honor upon their burial. “Objectionable and offensive conduct intentionally directed at
this captive audience at such a significant stage in the grieving process causes injury actionable under the law,” they argue. The law school joins a legion of other supporters for the effort, including the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, as well as attorneys general of 48 states and 42 US senators.
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VLSC Honored by North Suburban Bar Association
The Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic (VLSC) was recognized at the Gary Wild Dinner hosted by the North Suburban Bar Association (NSBA). Accepting the honor at the event were (from third from left) Assistant Professor Joseph Butler and Adjunct Professor Brian Clauss, co-executive directors of VLSC. Congratulating them were (from left) Umberto Davi, a John Marshall graduate and supporter of the VLSC; Carey S. Rosemarin, president of NSBA; and John Locallo, second vice president of the Illinois State Bar Association.
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Giving keynote addresses on the second day of the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic’s (VLSC) Conference on Veterans and the Courts were Dan Grant (fifth from left), director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, and L. Tammy Duckworth (sixth from left), Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Welcoming them to the law school were (from left) Capt. Michael Barnicle of the US Army JAG Corps, a co-founder of VLSC and fellow presenter at the conference; Mary Gordon, VLSC conference coordinator; Elizabeth Geisler, a student in the clinic; Assistant Professor Joseph Butler, co-executive director of VLSC; Kevin Cavanaugh of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs; Julie Yriart, VLSC associate; and Adam Fannin and Connor Bidwill, students in the clinic.
New Veterans Cash Lottery Ticket Revealed
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (fifth from left) welcomed representatives of the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic (VLSC) at The John Marshall Law School to a press conference introducing the newest Veterans Cash lottery ticket from the Illinois Lottery. VLSC representatives included (from left) Elizabeth Geisler and Courtney Slovin, clinical students; Mary Gordon, VLSC office manager/conference coordinator; Julie Yriart, VLSC associate; Assistant Professor Joseph Butler, co-executive director of VLSC; Sven Sommer, a member of the VLSC’s pro bono network of attorneys; Sean Ryan, a clinical student; Blake Jackson, a member of the VLSC’s pro bono network of attorneys; and clinical student Kurt Dittmer.
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Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) accepted a commemorative coin representing John Marshall’s Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic from Dean John E. Corkery (left) and second-year student Jessica Thornhill (right), a lieutenant in the US Naval Reserves.
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Veterans Court Program Bill Signed into Law
Adjunct Professor Brian Clauss (left) and Visiting Professor Joseph Butler (second from left), co-executive directors of the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic at John Marshall look on as Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signs into law the Military Veterans Court Act. The act gives the chief judge of a judicial circuit the discretion to establish a military and veterans court program for veterans and active duty service members with substance abuse problem facing a criminal proceeding.
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On March 13, 2009, two representatives of the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic were in Washington to support the nomination of L. Tammy Duckworth to serve as assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs before the U.S. Senate's Veterans Affairs Committee.
Joseph Butler and Brian Clauss,as well as the VLSC's efforts, were recognized by Duckworth when she introduced them as close friends with whom she worked as former director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs in establishing the VLSC.
To view the video, visit
Duckworth begins her introductions at the 94:00 mark.
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VLSC Opens New Facilities!
The Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic took residence in its new facilities at the John Marshall Law School on Friday, November 7, 2008. At the ribbon cutting ceremony, VLSC Director Joseph Butler (far left) and Executive Director Brian Clauss (back left) welcomed: (from left) Judge Charles P. Kocoras of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division; Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald; Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth; and John Marshall Law School Dean John E. Corkery.
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