Veterans Legal Services

When Davis Malm attorneys are out of the office, they are in the community. Attorney’s Jim Gallagher, Philip Olsen, and Michelle Cassorla recently joined Veterans Legal Services (VLS) at the Greater Boston Stand Down to volunteer their time and efforts providing assistance and legal advice to homeless and at-risk veterans on topics from family law to housing to employment. Over 100 organizations attended this annual event, offering information and assistance on medical care, wellness programs, legal support, employment resources and housing assistance. Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/gNCUban5 #DavisMalmDoingGood #VeteranSupport #Thankyouforyourservice #VeteransLegalServices #ProBonoWork

Today, the BU Law Student Veterans Association was recognized as an official student organization. This has been a long project that Nick and I started working on last year to increase representation of veterans and their families at the law school and address the school’s insufficient Yellow Ribbon Program that currently discourages veterans from coming to BU when compared to similarly positioned law schools with a better YRP. Thanks to the support of our fellow students and the faculty at the law school, we are now better positioned to advocate for the whole BU veteran community. This project likely won’t be finished before I graduate, but our hope is to position the veterans after us to continue to advocate for their community and get veterans the full benefits that they sacrificed so much for and deserve. If you are interested in learning more about the organization and how you can help, please contact bulsva@bu.edu. There are so many people to thank for this, but to name a few: The E-board: Nicholas Wainwright (VP) Margaret Bernard (Treasurer) Sofia Steinberger (Secretary) And the BU Law Faculty and Staff: Zach Dubin Geraldine Muir Steve Donweber Hayden Cochran, M.Ed.

*** Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and VLS Pro Bono Director Angie Vargas Martin 🇵🇦 *** Last month, Team VLS celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a Confetti Hispanic & Latin American Jeoparty event where team Taco Cat pulled out the win. We were impressed by both the historical and pop culture knowledge on our team! Definitely recommend these events if you are looking for a fun virtual team building activity. This month, we also got to celebrate VLS Pro Bono Director and DEIB Officer Angie Vargas Martin 🇵🇦 , who was selected by Amplify LatinX as one of the 2024 #ALX100! The ALX100 recognizes exceptional Latino leaders who have demonstrated excellence and have made significant contributions in their respective fields and communities. They celebrate 100 of the brightest Latino changemakers from across the Commonwealth. Angie was honored at an in-person event at the Museum of Science last week. Congrats on this well-deserved recognition, Angie!! 👏

Veterans Legal Services and South Coastal Counties Legal Services, Inc. supporters -- we need your help to get the word out about this free infosession and training opportunity for attorneys on the Massachusetts South Shore who want to consider pro bono work! Will you share this with your networks? We need to reach new folks! VLS, MA veterans, SCCLS, and South Shore residents thank you!!! Anna Richardson Angie Vargas Martin Kate Garvin Rozzi Cindy Palmquist Jamie Gau Eve C. Elliott, Esq. Katherine Coombs Perry Denton Jenna Dwy Leah Yonemoto-Weston Adam Wintzer Susan Anderson Sarah Reberio Bill Asher Elyse Marks Nicole Jackson Leslie Nicholas Hasenfus Alexandra Trobe Aneisha Worrell-Byrd Jeong Park, Esq. Christopher Walton Chanal Neves-McCain Jennifer Glanville Love Joe Kearns Goodwin Daniel Carey, CPA Daniel C. LaPenta Sean Morrissey Stephen DiPrete Jacqueline Fearer Michael Douvadjian, CFP, CLU®, ChFC®, CPWA® Jack Regan William Sinnott Robin Azar Orazem Todd Drager Michael Uretsky Danielle V. Holland Sarah Walsh Amy M. Robinson, Esq.

Hi All, For those who are veterans or working with veterans who interact with the child support system, the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines Task Force is seeking public comments and suggestions concerning the current Child Support Guidelines and the current Child Support Guidelines Worksheet. Written comments may be submitted to the Task Force at: childsupport@jud.state.ma.us until December 13, 2024. You can also testify at one of the three upcoming public forums on: October 10, 2024 — 2–4 p.m. October 29, 2024 — 4–6 p.m. November 4, 2024 — 12–2 p.m. If you would like to speak at a forum, please send an email in advance to childsupport@jud.state.ma.us to register. The email must include your full name, your affiliation (if any), your phone number and email address, and the date you would like to speak. Please also include in the subject line of your email the date you would like to speak. You may register by email up to 15 minutes before each forum begins. More information is available at: https://lnkd.in/eigtv39R

Last month, volunteers joined Team VLS at Greater Boston Stand Down to provide legal advice to dozens of veterans. Stand Down is an annual event coordinated by VLS partner New England Center and Home for Veterans that connects veterans with services and items to meet their essential needs including medical care, dental care, clothing, legal services, veterinary care, and more. The veterans' legal needs were wide-ranging and included evictions, veterans benefits, debt, family law problems, and discharge upgrades. VLS, as always, was honored to deliver legal services to our veterans with the support of the below volunteers. Kudos to VLS Pro Bono Director Angie Vargas Martin for bringing together the incredible team of volunteers! Bill Asher, VLS board chair Sharon Toffler C. Stephen Parker Jim Gallagher of Davis Malm Philip Olsen of Davis Malm Dillon Knight of Davis Malm Michelle Cassorla of Davis Malm Kevin Gaughan of Goulston & Storrs Nicholas Hasenfus of Holland & Knight LLP Donald Lassman of the Law Office of Donald R. Lassman Destini Agüero of the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School Dana Montalto of the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School Theresa Roeder of Rubin and Rudman LLP Ana E. Schwarz of Rubin and Rudman Nicole Collins of Rubin and Rudman Stephanie Chesney of Cozen O'Connor Courtney Richards of Cozen O'Connor John McBrine of Nutter K. Ellen Audrain of Nutter Sarah Cortinez of Nutter Mia Frabotta of McCarter & English, LLP Michelle Wolf of Veterans Disability Benefits THANK YOU to all who make this work possible! Please consider making a donation today. Donations of all sizes help advance VLS's mission...and new donors will have their donations matched by 1/3 by an anonymous donor/Vietnam veteran! https://lnkd.in/eV6Rw6pk

October is here already -- and it's pro bono month! Please share the below event with attorneys interested in volunteer opportunities on the Massachusetts south shore. This free, no-commitment required infosession is on October 30th. Registration required. Angie Vargas Martin Jamie Gau Sarah Roxburgh Anna Richardson Kate Garvin Rozzi South Coastal Counties Legal Services, Inc.

So happy to work with Courtney Richards and get to do events like this together with the support of Cozen O'Connor! As always, the real work is done by Veterans Legal Services and my dear friends Angie Vargas Martin and Sarah Roxburgh and their teams who support this community day in and day out.

Veterans Legal Services and South Coastal Counties Legal Services, Inc. have teamed up to recruit volunteer attorneys based on the Massachusetts south shore to help individuals with financial issues. - Are you a Massachusetts licensed attorney? - Are you interested in pro bono work? - Are you based on the Massachusetts south shore? - Do you want to give back to support Massachusetts veterans and your fellow residents? --> This virtual infosession is for you! Join us on October 30, 2024 to learn more! Details below and registration here: https://lnkd.in/gwQhVjbv. This program is made possible in part by American College of Bankruptcy Foundation. Angie Vargas Martin Anna Richardson Sarah Roxburgh Cindy Palmquist Kate Garvin Rozzi Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation

I am acutely aware how lucky I am to work with Theresa, Ana, and Nicole. Not only are they fantastic family law attorneys in their own right, but they are service-oriented and really came through last Friday for our friends at Veterans Legal Services !