American Bar Association s10

AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION STANDING COMMITTEE ON LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL

INFORMATIONAL REPORT TO THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES

The Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel (LAMP) works to ensure that active-duty, reserve, and retired members of the Armed Forces, as well as their families, receive timely and professional legal advice and services for their civil legal needs. The Committee collaborates closely with the military on the adoption and implementation of policy in the area of legal assistance, and engages directly with military legal assistance attorneys and the civilian bar through innovative programs and projects to improve access to legal support for servicemembers. The Committee independently advocates public policy positions in support of legal assistance enhancement, and the Committee’s work supports essential access to civil justice for more than nine million military members and their families.

Population Served The client base of active duty, reserve, and retired military personnel and their families has legal needs that are not generally understood by civilian sector practitioners. Frequent relocations, family separations as a result of assignments, federal statutory entitlements, and a host of other factors unique to military life must be considered when providing legal services to this population. Those qualifying for military legal assistance may fall within the low- to moderate-income range, and may therefore be unable to afford representation from the civilian bar.

Issues  Where legal assistance is provided in accordance with 10 U.S.C. Section 1044 only “as resources permit,” the Committee has been the initiator and leading advocate of ABA policy calling for a change in federal law creating a legal assistance entitlement. In the absence of such an entitlement, the Committee has developed initiatives drawing upon civilian volunteer attorneys to provide pro bono counsel and representation to servicemembers going beyond the limited range of legal representation that may be provided by military attorneys.  Military legal assistance attorneys are frequently rotated from other areas of their practice into and out of legal assistance duties, and they are often new to the practice of law. Timely and comprehensive CLE for these attorneys regarding the delivery of civil legal services is a critical need, and delivery of such is an ongoing mission for the Committee.  As many servicemembers are being demobilized and returning from deployments overseas with ongoing deployments in other areas of the world, legal protections for military members at home and abroad remains a paramount priority. The Committee focuses on strengthening federal laws covering servicemembers both during and immediately following their military service, as well as educating the bench and bar about the importance of such protections.

Committee Activities Supporting the Work of Military Legal Assistance Attorneys: The LAMP Committee meets at military installations and other locations, providing CLE to military legal assistance providers and civilian attorneys serving the military population. These twice-a-year CLE sessions focus on military-specific concerns and practice tips relating to the areas of law germane to military legal assistance clients. The Committee holds its business meetings in conjunction with these seminars. In addition to two CLE events, the Committee also typically holds its summer business meeting

1 20 combined with a special roundtable event involving local and state bar associations, civilian legal service providers, and area military attorneys, to collaborate on ways the Committee can support legal assistance delivery to military members at the local level. The Committee also maintains an electronic clearinghouse of CLE materials to allow free access to vital knowledge by military and civilian lawyers and paralegals that assist military legal assistance clients. Finally, the Committee also continues to recognize exemplary legal assistance work through its annual Legal Assistance Distinguished Service Award program.

Engaging the Private Bar and Delivering Pro Bono Resources: The Committee created the ABA Military Pro Bono Project, www.militaryprobono.org, a first-of-its kind pro bono program for referring active-duty servicemembers and eligible spouses or survivors to volunteer pro bono attorneys across the country. The Project, funded entirely by ABA sections and private donors, receives no general revenue. Since it began receiving case referrals from military legal assistance offices in the fall of 2008, the Project has delivered pro bono legal services to over 700 military clients, many of whom are stationed in conflict zones, with a reported value of donated billable hours at over $3.5 million. The Project further recruits civilian attorneys to provide attorney-to-attorney consultation with military attorneys on cases and substantive legal matters through its Operation Standby resource list. Finally, the Project led the development of ABA Home Front, www.ABAHomeFront.org, an online legal resource for military families, which supports recruitment of volunteer pro bono attorneys to the Project and offers self-help legal information, along with a national directory of legal services that incorporates the Committee’s longstanding Operation Enduring LAMP list of bar association programs.

Policy Advocacy and Education: The Committee continues raising its profile on Capitol Hill as a valued resource on legal issues affecting military personnel and their families. For example, the Committee has recently been actively working with ABA Governmental Affairs to provide expert guidance and testimony on child custody and home foreclosure as these issues affect the military. The Committee is also seeking inclusion of Justice For Troops Act in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, which would provide funding for organizations facilitating pro bono representation for servicemembers. Additionally, the Committee works to educate the public, bench, and bar about the legal rights and protections available to servicemembers through educational programming developed with the ABA Center for Professional Development. Finally, the Committee is undertaking a comprehensive update of its 2004 REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF SERVICE MEMBERS. This publication has provided the backbone of the Committee’s programmatic and policy activities over the past decade, and an update reflecting the current conditions will ensure that the Committee’s ongoing work in this area continues to be effective.

Publication Development: The Committee currently publishes A JUDGE’S BENCHBOOK FOR THE SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT, released in July 2011. This BENCHBOOK ensures that judges across the country understand the unique rights available to military members and their families across the range of civil matters that may appear in their courtrooms, as well as providing a source of non-dues revenue to the Committee. Plans are underway to develop a similar Benchbook on the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act for publication in 2014.

Respectfully submitted,

David Ehrhart, Chair August 2013