National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships
Medical Legal Partnerships
During Veterans Month, VA celebrated a commitment to legal services for Veterans
Before he worked with a pro bono attorney – one who does not charge clients for legal services – to address his medical and legal needs, Veteran Patrick Taylor was in a tough spot. He faced food insecurity as he prepared to undergo extensive surgery.
But everything changed for the better when he was connected with an attorney, Antoinette, through a Medical Legal Partnership (MLP) at Mr. Taylor’s Veterans Affairs (VA) facility. He’s just one of the Veterans who has benefitted from an MLP.
MLPs are formal partnerships between attorneys and VA medical facilities. Through these partnerships, lawyers can train VA health care teams to screen Veterans for unmet legal needs. Then, the medical teams refer Veterans to on-site legal clinics, where attorneys provide pro bono services on a variety of legal issues. Services available to Veterans through MLPs include counseling on Veterans benefits and Social Security, family law, guardianship, landlord-tenant disputes, and elder law.
These available services on-site at the VA have been particularly helpful to Veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Since VA’s MLP Taskforce formed in early 2016, the number of MLPs at VA facilities has grown from five to 27.
VA’s Medical Legal Partnerships were the focus of an event at VA’s Central Office in Washington, D.C., on November 5, 2018. The day was a celebration of VA’s expanding array of MLPs and a recognition ceremony of the attorneys who have served at the Washington DC VA Medical Center’s legal clinic.
The VA Office of General Counsel (OGC) and the VHA Office of Community Engagement (OCE) co-sponsored the event, during which representatives from VA, the Navy, and the Departments of Labor, Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security, among other agencies, signed a joint statement in support of improving Veterans’ access to free legal services.
The statement read, in part: “Recognizing the contributions that personnel of our agencies can make to address Veteran homelessness, we come together to note our joint commitment to encourage and further the provision of volunteer legal services to Veterans.”
Veterans, many of them experiencing homelessness, ranked affordable legal assistance high on their list of unmet needs in a 2016 VA survey. On November 13, 2017, VA — along with the American Bar Association, the Veterans Consortium, and the National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium — signed another agreement aimed at improving Veterans’ access to free legal services.
Lara K. Eilhardt of OGC, who leads the VA MLP Taskforce, explained after the ceremony how legal issues directly affect Veterans’ health. For example, a Veteran experiencing stress because of a child custody dispute cannot fully focus on recovering from a health issue.
“Many do not realize that having a driver’s license revoked is a significant legal issue Veterans face that affects their health,” Ms. Eilhardt said. “If their license is revoked, they can’t get to a job, they can’t get to medical appointments.”
At the November 5 ceremony, Richard J. Hipolit, Deputy General Counsel for Veterans Programs, presented certificates of appreciation to 12 government attorneys who have provided pro bono services at the Washington DC VA Medical Center. Eighteen other local attorneys will receive certificates of recognition.
Nombeko Payne of OCE, who helped organize the event, spoke about VA’s goal of making Veterans aware of MLPs.
“Once the awareness is out there, many people are able to go and take those steps forward in getting help,” Ms. Payne said.
For more information on free legal clinics in VA facilities, visit va.gov/ogc/docs/LegalServices.pdf.
