Burn Pits, Bad Paper, #MeTooMilitary: Veterans Law & Advocacy in 2020

April 18, 2020

The Veterans Legal Services Clinic (VLSC) at Yale Law School will host "Burn Pits, Bad Paper, #MeTooMilitary: Veterans Law & Advocacy in 2020," a conference open to the public on Saturday, April 18, 2020. This conference will convene scholars, lawyers, advocates, public officials, and clinic alumni to consider urgent civil rights issues in contemporary veterans’ law and practice, including discrimination against former service members with less-than-fully-honorable discharges, environmental justice and protection, gender equality, and class action practices. The conference is being held upon the tenth anniversary of the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale.

Conference Details

All Sessions are Open to the Public and held in Room 129

Registration and Breaks will be held in Room 120

Program

8:00-9:00 Registration and Breakfast

9:00-10:15 The Struggle Against Bad Paper

Moderator: Dana Montalto, Harvard Law School

Sam Bagenstos, University of Michigan Law School

The Honorable Richard Blumenthal, United States Senator from Connecticut

Conley Monk, National Veterans Council for Legal Redress

10:15-10:30     Break

10:30-12:00     Burn Pits, Gulf War Syndrome, Agent Orange, and Radiation: Addressing Toxic Exposure
  in the Military and Before the VA

Moderator: Jennifer Skene, Natural Resources Defense Council

Liam Brennan, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center

Kim Brooks, K2 Veterans Advocate

Dan Driscoll, Candidate for Congress, N. Carolina District 11

Rick Weidman, Vietnam Veterans of America

12:00-1:30 Lunch Keynote

The Honorable Margaret Bartley, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals

1:45-3:00 #MeTooMilitary: Achieving Gender Equality in the Armed Forces and at VA

Moderator: Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Boston University School of Law

Anuradha Bhagwati, Author and Marine Corps Veteran

Don Christensen, Protect Our Defenders

Sandra Park, American Civil Liberties Union

3:00-3:15 Break

3:15-4:30 The Future of Veterans’ Class Actions

Moderator: Adam Zimmerman, Loyola Law School

Kathryn Cahoy, Covington & Burlington LLP

Katherine Kimpel, KK Advising

Bart Stichman, National Veterans Legal Services Program

To register (or more information) contact: events.law@yale.edu.

Sponsored by the Oscar M. Ruebhausen Fund at Yale Law School

Veterans Clinic Heads to Washington, (Dec. 16, 2019)

Students in the Veterans Legal Services Clinic traveled to Washington, D.C to present oral argument in the case of Monk v. Wilkie last week. From left to right: Olivia Henderson (Mr. Monk's sister), William O. Douglas Clinical Professor of Law Michael Wishnie ’93, Madison Needham ’21, Clinical Lecturer in Law Renee Burbank, Conley Monk Jr., Arjun Mody ’20, Jesse Tripathi ’21, and Jade Ford ’20.

Veterans Clinic Heads to Washington, (Dec. 16, 2019)

VLSC member Lauren Blazing ’21 spoke to House legislative staff about best practices for congressional nominations to military service academies.

Clinic Files Class Action On Behalf of Marine Corps Vets with PTSD (Mar. 2, 2018)

West Resendes '19 outlines a new class-action case at a press conference on Friday, March 2, 2018. Senator Richard Blumenthal '73, plaintiff Tyson Manker, and Conley Monk, a plaintiff in a similar case, were also present.

Conley Monk, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Garry Monk share new information about upgrading less than honorable discharge statuses for veterans

VVA and NVCLR v. DOD – PTSD Upgrade FOIA Suit

From left, Conley Monk, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Garry Monk share new information about upgrading less than honorable discharge statuses for veterans suffering from PTSD, in a press conference at Yale Law School.

Veteran Conley Monk, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Yale graduate Jennifer McTiernan

Updates to Monk v. Mabus

Veteran Conley Monk, left, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Yale graduate Jennifer McTiernan.

In re Trotman

Air Force veteran Gene Trotman with VLSC students Linda Evarts and Caitlin Miner-LeGrand

Connecticut Veterans Legal Center Pretrial Diversionary Programs

Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy takes part in ceremonial bill signing of SB 114 on Veterans Day on Monday, Nov. 12, 2012, at Yale Law School. Also included in the picture are VLSC students Jon Fougner and Eric Parrie, a Connecticut State Representative, Connecticut Veterans Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz, Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, and Connecticut Veterans Legal Center Executive Director and VLSC Clinical Visiting Lecturer Margaret Middleton.