Free legal assistance for D.C.-area veterans
Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Thursday, May 15, 2008



ARLINGTON, Va. – Iraq veterans who need legal help with the service-connected disability claims can get it free during a clinic held Tuesday in the Washington, D.C. area.

A clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1401 Eye Street, Northwest, and is sponsored by the Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association and local offices of the legal firm of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC.

Supported by the firm, lawyers from Northern Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia who belong to the counsel are mounting the clinic as part of a program they have dubbed "When Duty Calls.”

The goal is to provide military veterans with “pro bono,” or free, legal assistance when they are in the beginning stages of filing their VA claims, according to Russell Thomas, a Womble Carlyle spokesman.

As of Thursday, there were about 20 slots still available for veterans, Thomas said.

For more information or to register, veterans can call (703) 790-7959 or email veterans@wcsr.com.

Ellie