College of Law students to offer veterans free legal advice, services
Syracuse University law students will provide a “one-stop shop” for veterans seeking legal aid services and resume reviews this Saturday.
The event is called Valor Day, and was created by three College of Law students. The day exists to help veterans adjust into civilian life, said third-year law student and Valor Day co-founder, 1st Lt. Josh Keefe.
“Valor Day is a culmination of the efforts of VISION,” Keefe said. He described VISION as a student-run organization within the College of Law that seeks to provide legal services to local veterans.
Last spring, Keefe created VISION with co-founders Tom Caruso and Nelson Bauersfeld, all veterans themselves.
Caruso said Syracuse’s veteran population was a vital reason why he started both VISION and Valor Day. He added that community feedback has been positive and that he hopes to make Syracuse a hub for veteran services.
“When I first came to Syracuse, one of the first things I noticed was that the law school is directly across from the VA Hospital,” said Caruso, also the executive director of VISION.
His observation inspired the three co-founders to create VISION and create three goals: provide free legal services, act as a policy advocate for their issues and help connect them to other resources.
Caruso said he sees both Valor Day and VISION as stepping stones toward a permanent legal clinic within the College of Law.
Saturday will be the second Valor Day hosted by VISION, following the previous one that was held in March, Keefe said. He added that in March, the organization had more people attend than they anticipated, with more than 80 participating veterans and their families.
Because of this, Keefe said VISION improved the appointment process and gathered more attorneys for this Saturday, which they are “hoping will alleviate the bottlenecking” of veterans waiting to speak with a lawyer.
John Powers, an attorney who is volunteering at the event, said the program is similar to a pro bono clinic, where attorneys volunteer their time to provide free legal services.
Powers, also a veteran, said he can relate to and find common ground with the veterans. This can help them with their legal problems, he said.
“With many veterans, there are trust issues with respect to civilians or anybody they don’t know,” Powers said. “So the fact that I have gone through what they have gone through, and we both have a common military experience, helps to overcome some of those trust issues.”
He said he also runs his own monthly pro bono clinic for veterans through the Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County Inc. Sally Curran, the project’s executive director, said after the Valor Day in March, the attendance at Powers’ clinics have been “incredibly high.”
Both Powers and Curran are hosting an orientation Thursday for the law students that will be participating in Valor Day. Curran said they are providing sensitivity training so the students can familiarize themselves with the culture from which the veterans are coming, as well as a basic overview of the procedure that will be used on Saturday.
Published on September 26, 2013 at 1:23 am
Contact Kate: kacapoda@syr.edu
