Last semester, Catholic Law students Abby Beckman (3L), Erhan Bedestani (3L), and Mark Dela Pena (1L) provided pro bono assistance to veterans before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims through a unique case-screening opportunity offered by The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program (TVC). TVC is a leading 501(c)(3) veterans law nonprofit organization with a dual mission: to provide assistance to unrepresented veterans or their family members before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) and to recruit and train attorneys in veterans’ law, who then become members of TVC’s National Volunteer Corps.

For this project, the Board of Veterans Appeals shared a decision with Catholic Law students which allowed for them to screen cases for placement with a member of TVC’s National Volunteer Corps. Because of the students’ work, three veterans’ appeals have been placed with pro bono volunteer attorneys who aim to secure the benefits these veterans have earned.

TVC’s Volunteer Outreach Coordinator Peter Gregory, also a Catholic Law 1L, collaborated with the Catholic Law’s Associate Director of Pro Bono Program & Public Interest Law, Kiva Zytnick, to bring this opportunity to the Law School.