Advocates & Attorneys
Advocates
- Helping veterans achieve meaningful careers, education, health-care services, friends, and stable homes.
- Provides a network of trained national service officers (NSOs) that help Veterans with compensation claims at no charge. AMVETS annually awards scholarships to deserving high school seniors, J/ROTC students, Veterans, and Service Members pursuing a higher education.
- An organization of blinded veterans helping blinded veterans through service programs, regional groups, resources and advocacy.
Characters Unite: Disabled Vets
- USA Networks’ campaign to fight intolerance and raise awareness of the challenges faced by millions of disabled veterans. Also includes resources for disabled veterans.
- Helps disabled veterans access benefits from the Department of Veteran Affairs, and provides additional assistance with home loans, scholarships and rides to VA hospitals.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
- Provides support to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the areas of health, education, employment and community building, and lobbies for veterans’ rights and care.
- Justice For Vets is a division of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to educating and offering technical assistance to drug court, DWI court, and veterans treatment court professionals.
- Justice For Vets does not and cannot offer legal advice or substance use/mental health services, and cannot guarantee the privacy of the information you provide.
Military Officers Association of America
- Provides information and resources for officers and their families at every stage of their career. Membership in the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) is open to active duty, former, retired, and National Guard and Reserve commissioned and warrant officers of the uniformed services and their surviving spouses.
National Association of Black Veterans (NABVETS)
- Provides personal advocacy on behalf of all veterans seeking claims against the VA. The National Association for Black Veterans, Inc. is a professional member organization offering camaraderie, claims services, volunteer opportunities, member discounts, scholarships, and legacy for preserving the history of black veterans in service.
Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA)
- Helps disabled veterans obtain medical help, access jobs and live active lives, and advocates for veterans’ rights.
- Offers programs to bridge the gap of unmet needs for Veterans and their caregivers. The Independence Fund is dedicated to improving the lives of both Veterans and their families through mobility, caregiver, adaptive sports, advocacy, and family programs.
United Spinal Association VetsFirst Service
- Assists veterans with making benefits claims and advocates for veterans’ rights.
- Provides a variety of programs and services to support the morale, welfare, social and entertainment needs of troops and their families.
- Helps veterans and senior veterans with their applications for benefits available to them, such as VA Aid and Attendance, to enhance their quality of life.
Veteran Advocacy Group of America (VAGA)
- Dedicated to improving training and employment opportunities for our Veterans and their families, helping our Veterans and their families find safe, comfortable housing alternatives, developing programs that fulfill the needs of our returning Veterans and their families.
Veterans for Common Sense (VCS)
- Focuses on improving the VA and programs and services for Veterans and military service members. Veterans for Common Sense provides critical information and education on issues related to veterans, the military, and U.S. foreign affairs.
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
- Assists Veterans with benefits including compensation, pension, health care, vocational rehabilitation and employment, education and training, home loans, life insurance and dependency and indemnity compensation.
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA)
- Provides a community of fellowship for Vietnam Veterans, outreach programs, claims assistance, financial advising, job placement, and advocates on their behalf through legislative initiatives.
- Offers support, health and wellness, training, and other services at no cost to help homeless and at-risk female veterans in southeastern Arizona transition into sustainable employment and permanent housing. Women Warriors addresses the well-being of the female veteran community through education, coordination of support, aid and relief to eradicate financial and housing insecurity.
Wounded Warrior Project (WWP)
- Provides numerous services to wounded military veterans and their family members. The Wounded Warrior Project helps veterans and service members who incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound while serving in the military on or after September 11, 2001.
*Accreditation of a veterans service officer is required for preparation, presentation, or prosecution of a VA benefit claim. See Accredited Claims Representatives section for recommendations of accredited representation.
Veteran Warriors is not responsible for any actions, inactions, or contact with any party listed. Choosing an advocate is a difficult process. Those listed here are done so only as referrals. Veteran Warriors receives no compensation for these referrals.
Attorneys
National Veteran Legal Service Program (NVLSP)
- Veteran benefits
- Discharge upgrades
- Toxic Exposure Benefits
- Applications for Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC)
- Applications to Boards for Correction of Military Records (BCMRs) for veterans who were wrongfully discharged for personality disorder or adjustment disorder
- Applications to Boards for Correction of Military Records (BCMRs) for veterans who wish to obtain disability retirement
- Assistance with VA claims for Mental Health and/or Physical Condition(s) including PTSD due to military sexual trauma (MST)
- Applications to the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) for an increase in the military disability rating to attain a permanent disability retirement
- Representation to service members being processed through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES)
Military-Veterans Advocacy (MVA)
- Provide training and education services for active duty service members, veterans, and attorneys concerning rights and benefits for all service members and their families.
- Litigate in federal courts and advocate for legislation to protect, expand, and enhance benefits for active duty service members, veterans, and their families.
- Act decisively to protect Constitutional rights within the military services.
Veterans Law Group - Veterans Law Group helps disabled veterans to appeal claims denied by the VA
- Civil practice ensures housing and income stability through homelessness prevention with social services agencies and medical-legal partnerships with Vet Centers and community health clinics.
- VA practice focuses on Character of Discharge determinations, disability claims related to mental health, disputing overpayments, and setting up apportionment.
- Department of Defense practice fights for veterans with unjust less-than-honorable discharges by representing them before the Review Boards in applications for upgrades and corrections.
- Financial compensation assistance for veterans who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases.
Attorneys listed are not employed by Veteran Warriors. Veteran Warriors is not responsible for any actions, inactions or contact with any party listed. Choosing an attorney is a difficult process. Those listed here are done so only as referrals. Veteran Warriors receives no compensation for these referrals.
Veterans Treatment Court, Peer Mentors, & Legal Matters
Veterans Treatment Court
The Veterans Treatment Court is a problem solving court focused on addressing the needs of Veterans in the criminal justice system. The Veterans Treatment Court will accept defendants that have served, or are serving in the military, that have no criminal history or similar offenses prior to enlistment, and whose criminal activity can be linked to military service.
Similar to drug treatment and mental health courts, a Veterans Treatment Court utilizes a team-centered approach to address the needs of veterans who find themselves involved in the criminal justice system. This approach involves the cooperation and collaboration of traditional stakeholders found in drug treatment and mental health courts with the addition of representatives from The United States Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans support organizations and peer mentors.
Legal Matters
- American Bar Association Home Front – Features an information center with publications and resources on a variety of legal topics that military families may encounter.
- Stateside Legal – This website is for members of the military, veterans, their families, and advocates to help access benefits, find free legal help, and better understand legal issues.
- VA - Some VA facilities host non-VA legal service providers that can assist Veterans free of charge.
- State Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
- Defending Veterans in Criminal Court
- National Organization for Veterans Advocates
- American Bar Association Military Pro Bono Project
- Jail Diversion and Trauma Recovery Program
Legal Services for Qualifying Veterans
Discharge Upgrade
- National Veteran Legal Service Program- NVLSP's Lawyers Serving Warriors® program offers pro bono (that is, free) legal help with disability issues to veterans from all eras.
- American Bar Association Home Front – Features an information center with publications and resources on a variety of legal topics that military families may encounter.
- Stateside Legal – This website is for members of the military, veterans, their families, and advocates to help access benefits, find free legal help, and better understand legal issues.
- Swords to Plowshares – Swords to Plowshares is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides needs assessment and case management, employment and training, housing, and legal assistance to approximately 3,000 veterans in the San Francisco Bay Area each year and provides general guides and information regarding veteran issues.
- The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program - Each appellant who requests Pro Bono Program assistance receives a thorough review of his or her appeal. An appellant whose case is not accepted by the Program receives substantive legal advice about his or her case and an explanation as to why the Pro Bono Program cannot place the appeal with a volunteer attorney.
VA Caregiver Program Survey
Take our Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers survey and share the survey with others. Your feedback will help us to better advocate for all of veterans and caregivers.