Disabled veterans gain free help with appeals

Disabled American Veterans has accepted a proposal from Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, one of the nation’s leading law firms, to offer free representation at the federal appeals court for veterans’ claims to certain veterans referred by DAV.

“This new arrangement will provide even more resources to disabled veterans seeking to obtain benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs,” said DAV National Adjutant Arthur H. Wilson. “In a number of cases, they will now be able to access the resources of Finnegan and its lawyers in exercising their right to independent judicial review of benefit decisions.”

Under the agreement, Finnegan will offer pro bono representation at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to certain veterans referred by DAV. Finnegan likely will handle 100 to 200 cases each year at the court, all of which will be selected from the thousands that DAV handles at VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals.

“The DAV’s foremost concern continues to be ensuring that disabled veterans have the very best representation possible as they pursue their claims for disability compensation and other earned benefits from the VA,” Wilson said.

“We are very pleased that a prestigious firm such as Finnegan has volunteered to provide pro bono services to our nation’s veterans and their families, services that will complement our vast program of representation by National Appeals officers, National Service officers, Transition Service officers, Department Service officers and Chapter Service officers.”

For information, visit www.dav.org.