Schuyler County Expands Legal Services for Local Veterans with Free Legal Services Event

Schuyler County officials and Cornell Law School’s Veterans Law Practicum have announced a free civil legal services advice clinic event for local veterans and service members to be held this spring.

According to Schuyler County Veterans Services Director Crystal Kawski, the event will be held Wednesday, March 19, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Schuyler County Human Services Building, Montour Falls, New York.

The event is intended to offer legal advice to veterans and service members on a variety of issues, including veterans benefits, discharge upgrades, eviction prevention, family law, estate planning, as well as benefits claims with the VA or Social Security Administration, Kawski explained. The clinic is not able to provide advice on any criminal matters, she noted. Law students and a supervising attorney will provide the legal assistance, she said.

The clinic, Kawski said, has been developed with the assistance of Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman and Cornell adjunct professor James Hardwick, the Law School’s first full-time veterans law staff attorney.

Said Kawski: “The impact of having an attorney present onsite is incredible, especially when veterans apply for benefits or an upgrade in their military discharge. Studies show veterans are much more successful in claims for VA benefits when they have an attorney helping them.”

According to Getman, the county strongly encourages veterans to sign up in advance so they can secure a spot, though walk-in appointments will also be available. Information that will be helpful to receive during registration includes a short description of the issue, location and date of any pending hearings or deadlines, and names of any opposing parties.

Said Getman: “As the son and nephew of Navy veterans, I am proud to be able to assist our local veterans service agency in providing needed civil legal services. As a Cornell Alum (CALS ’86), I am happy that my alma mater can and will be giving something back to our local veterans community.”

Hardwick said that the clinic can offer 12 slots during the event. The clinic will be staffed with at least three law students plus a supervising attorney. Most advice will not be given on the date of the clinic but will come in a follow up advice letter after the students do any necessary research into the issue, he explained.

Said Hardwick: “We are happy to review any civil matters or claims veterans might have with state and federal agencies. We are grateful for the opportunity for our students to work with local veterans. The students will witness first-hand our obligation as lawyers to leverage our legal training in the service of others, especially for those who served our country.”

Veterans and service members seeking assistance at the event may contact the county veterans’ services agency at (607) 535-2091 or complete an intake form at the agency’s office, 323 Owego Street, Montour Falls NY 14865. Interested veterans and service members may also email: ckawski@schuylercountyny.gov.

If the event is successful, Schuyler County and the law school hope to host more legal assistance events for veterans and service members in the future, County Administrator Shawn Rosno said.

Said Rosno: “Schuyler County remains committed to our veterans. I want to applaud our veterans director and our county attorney for their initiative in setting up this event and I want to thank Cornell Law School for their assistance to our community.”

The Schuyler County Veterans Service Agency provides assistance to our Schuyler County veterans and members of the armed forces as well as their dependents and survivors through the pursuance of veterans benefits at the County, State and Federal levels and referrals to other agencies for possible assistance. This is done to promote better physical and mental health, improve quality of life and to ensure every veteran or dependent receives the benefits to which they are entitled.

The Schuyler County Attorney is the civil legal advisor to the county legislature and other county agencies, including the local veterans service agency. The county attorney prosecutes and defends civil actions on behalf of the county, in Family Court, Surrogates Court and New York State Supreme Court.

In Cornell Law School’s Veterans Law Practicum, students provide information, legal advice, and representation to veterans seeking legal assistance. Students work on cases, including to secure service-connected disability compensation, discharge upgrades, overpayment issues, and other related claims. In 2023, Cornell was one of three law schools nationwide to receive a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide legal services for veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Legal assistance for veterans and their families available

Did you serve in the Military? Do you need legal help?

Cornell Law School is starting a Veterans Law Practicum and recently received a grant for addressing housing and civil legal services for Veterans and their families.

They are serving the entire Sixth Judicial District, which includes Schuyler, Tompkins, Chemung and Tioga counties. They are hoping to have enough cases for the Practicum and the Staff Attorney to handle to meet their deliverables.

The Cornell Law Veterans Practicum can help with:

• Disability rights
• Housing problems
• Veterans benefits
• Discharge upgrades

and more.

Eligible veterans and their families can scan a QR code to fill out a form for legal help or call (607) 307-5116 to leave a voicemail with their name and number.

New York State extends availability of Veterans Treatment Courts

New York State officials have enacted legislation extending access to Veterans Treatment Courts (VTC) throughout the state.

These courts connect justice-involved veterans to appropriate services in a court setting, surrounded by an interdisciplinary team. These include the judge, court staff, prosecutors, treatment/service providers, defense attorneys, probation, law enforcement, volunteer veteran peer mentors, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Services, all of whom work collaboratively to help veterans.

Studies have indicated that VTCs reduce recidivism and alcohol and drug use and promote positive life changes that allows veterans to re-enter their communities in a positive and meaningful way, often with assistance of VA therapies.

Prior to this legislation, there were only approximately 33 VTCs in 25 counties. Due to the lack of a VTC in over half of the counties of the state, about one-third of New York veterans lacked access to a VTC.

The new law authorizes the transfer of cases from jurisdictions without VTCs to adjacent counties with VTCs and requires the chief administrative judge to establish new VTCs, to the extent practicable.

Schuyler County calls on New York State to increase financial resources to County Veteran Service Agencies

Declaring that “our veterans represent the very best of America, having bravely answered the call to serve …and having earned the dignity that comes with ... defending our great nation’s values,” the Schuyler County Legislature has called on New York State to amend the Executive Law, in the relation to the cost of maintenance and operation of veterans’ service agencies.

The resolution, prepared by the County Veterans’ Service Agency (Joan Scott, Director)

with assistance from the Clerk of the Legislature (Stacy Husted) and the County Attorney (Steven Getman) asks the state legislature to remove the fifty percent cap on total expenditures for maintenance and operation that can be reimbursed by the state. The resolution also supports increasing the maximum reimbursement allowable to each county, noting that the amount of funding currently provided by the State to local veterans’ service agencies is minimal.

The resolution was passed at the legislature’s May 14 meeting and directs that the Clerk of the Legislature forward certified copies of the Resolution to Governor Cuomo, Senator O’Mara, Assemblyman Palmesano, and all other appropriate state officials.

The Schuyler County Veterans Service Agency advocates on behalf of Schuyler County veterans and their families, as individuals and as a group, to ensure they receive benefits granted by law for service in the United States Armed Forces.

Veterans Law Clinic Announced at Hofstra Law

The Robert W. Entenmann Veterans Law Clinic will become a clearinghouse for veterans services, providing legal assistance and connecting them to vital medical, social service and mental health resources. It is being supported by a $500,000 gift through the Entenmann family, and is named in memory of Robert W. Entenmann.

The Veterans Law Clinic assists veterans with legal services related to physical and psychological challenges, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other injuries incurred during military service. The clinic helps veterans obtain health care benefits, including cases to obtain Veterans Administration benefits, appeal denials of disability compensation claims, and request increased compensation.

The clinic will also use web-based software to create a virtual clinic to increase its capacity to provide services to those veterans whose mobility may be limited. In addition, the clinic will develop a number of legal resources for veterans, such as “Know Your Legal Rights” guides, will form relationships with other community stakeholders to collaborate and integrate services, and will organize outreach events to expand the veterans’ support network.

For more information, click here.