16th Annual Veterans Legal Assistance Conference & Training (by Jessica Lynn Wherry, University of Baltimore School of Law)

On April 4, 2025, University of Baltimore School of Law hosted the 16th Annual Veterans Legal Assistance Conference & Training in partnership with conference organizers Veterans & Military Law Section of the Federal Bar Association, Maryland Legal Aid, Maryland State Bar Association, Maryland Pro Bono Resource Center, and the Bob Parsons Veterans Advocacy Clinic, University of Baltimore School of Law. The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) sponsored the conference.  

The conference began with remarks by University of Baltimore School of Law Dean LaVonda Reed. Dean Reed warmly welcomed the attendees and shared her own experience growing up in the military and acknowledged the important work of veterans advocates.  

The morning schedule included three sessions. For attendees interested in learning the basics of veterans disability compensation benefits, there was a three-hour CLE-earning program. This session provided an overview of veterans benefits law and covered disability compensation, veterans pension, and practice tips for working with VA. In exchange for the free training, lawyers in attendance agreed to accept one pro bono case from a nonprofit legal services provider within the next year. Experts James S. Richardson, Andrew Gross, and Annie Speedie shared their expertise in the session. 

Running concurrently with the veterans benefits session, attendees learned about mentoring veterans in Veterans Treatment Court and how to apply for Veteran Readiness & Education benefits. In the Mentor Training 101: Veterans Mentoring Veterans in Veterans Treatment Court session, Professor Hugh McClean moderated a discussion led by Justin McNabb, the Mentor Coordinator and Data Specialist for the Central Maryland Regional Veterans Treatment Court. Four clinic students, Connor Armstrong, Grace Clarke, Jessica Philpot, and Annie Segall, shared their experiences working with veteran clients in the court. In the VR&E session, Josiah Guthland, Director of Veteran and Military Student Services at the University of Baltimore, discussed the nuts and bolts of VR&E benefits, as well as shared some tips for navigating VR&E alongside other VA benefits such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill. 

Paula Neira, JD, MSN, RN, CEN, FAAN gave a powerful and timely keynote address. Ms. Neira shared some of her experiences as a Naval Officer and her harrowing decision to leave the Navy in 1991. Ms. Neira discussed the history of LGBTQ+ servicemembers in the military and described her involvement in repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. She noted that the policy’s full name was “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass.” Her remarks were well received and thought provoking particularly in light of President Trump’s Executive Order to ban transgender people from military service. Ms. Neira questioned many of the assertions included in that order with a healthy dose of humor in an otherwise devastating reality.   

The afternoon continued with engaging and productive conversations about the DoD Discharge Review Appeal Board (DARB) and Total Disability Ratings Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU). Christie Dragan and Phyllis Joyner presented an overview of the DARB, referring to the DARB as “A ‘New’ Avenue for Veterans.” DARB was established by statute “to provide a final level of review of discharge upgrades.” Eligibility for taking a case to the DARB requires a discharge or dismissal on or after December 20, 2019, exhaustion of all administrative remedies (denied in full or partial at the DRB and BCM/NR), and application submitted within 365 days of BCM/NR decision. 

The DARB is not investigative and will not consider new evidence. The DARB will consider paper only and will not hold in-person hearing. The presenters stated that the DARB will do “de novo review” and apply the “presumption of regularity unless there is clear and convincing evidence to rebut.” DARB decisions are merely recommendations to the relevant branch, leaving the final decision whether to change the BCM/NR’s decision up to the military department. In the open discussion following the presentation, attendees asked a number of questions including, why would a former service member want to go to the DARB. The presenters responded that the DARB “is another administrative opportunity.” In responding to a question asking for clarification of how de novo review and the presumption of regularity can be reconciled, the presenters responded that the presumption means the DARB will not question every single thing in detail but they will review applications with fresh eyes. In assuming that officials did their job correctly, the DARB will check to see whether the BCM/NR made any mistakes. The presenters were unclear in responding to a question about whether the DARB would make factual findings. The DARB reported that it has received 44 petitions for review, but the majority of the petitions could not be reviewed for procedural reasons. DARB reported that it has a staff of 19. 

In the final session of the day, NVLSP Senior Staff Attorney Alexis Ivory kept the attendees engaged in learning about TDIU. Ms. Ivory shared her expertise as a former attorney at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and co-author of The Veterans Benefits Manual. The presentation covered the basics of a TDIU rating, substantially gainful employment, protected employment, sedentary employment, and developing TDIU claims. Ms. Ivory engaged the attendees with hypos to check their understanding throughout the 94-slide presentation.  

Planning for next year’s VLAC will begin this fall.