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Supporting Our Troops: Providing Pro Bono Service to National Guard Membersby Moni T. Law Washington state has one of the largest concentrations of military families in the nation. Many WSBA members hold two careers, one in a business suit as a lawyer, and the other in a military uniform in the National Guard or the Army Reserves. Some people estimate that at least 100 WSBA attorneys also serve in the National Guard or Reserves in one capacity or another. One such JAG officer, Captain Alex Straub, 81st Brigade for the National Guard, along with recent chair of the WSBA’s Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP) Section, Adam Torem, helped launch a unique and valuable program. When not deployed to Iraq or on training duty around the country, Adam Torem is an administrative law judge for the State of Washington. A website was designed by volunteer Randall Winn, and military families were informed of the program through the connections of volunteer Anne Marie Leigh. LAMP Section members organized a number of CLEs to train civilian attorneys to provide pro bono services to soldiers and airmen set to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families who were left behind. In exchange for agreeing to serve on the referral panel, attorneys are provided malpractice insurance by the Department of Defense from a special provision in federal law, free CLE credits, and the satisfaction of serving those who serve. In July 2008, the Attorneys Assisting Citizen Soldiers and their Families (AACF) was born out of an urgent need: 3,500 National Guard members of the 81st Brigade were set to deploy to Iraq in August 2008. Many of these men and women were faced with legal problems that arose because of their sudden departure or deployment, or arose during their absence. Captain Straub is one of only two JAG officers for more than 8,500 citizen-soldiers based in Camp Murray/Tacoma area. In an interview with the King County Bar Association, Straub described the AACF program as vital to ensuring access to justice for our service members: The long-term vision for this program is to continue to ensure that National Guard members, either here or overseas, and their families, are not left to struggle with legal problems which arise as a result of their military service. . . . While most of the legal assistance provided so far has been in the form of over the phone legal consultations, we hope to have volunteer attorneys and paralegals participate in legal clinics at National Guard armories, as well as take in-person consultations. LAMP Section members immediately recognized that these soldiers and their families would need legal assistance, especially those with limited financial means. The income of many National Guard members is affected when they have to leave their civilian jobs for full-time duty, and they might not be in the best position to hire an attorney when legal issues arise. Deployments of National Guard members can require them to be away from their families for long periods of time and can inhibit their ability to assist their families with the many everyday issues that can arise. Legal issues, especially, can seriously impact the citizen-soldier’s family, who often have very limited knowledge of the law and are left to handle the situation themselves. Families of National Guard members, unlike families of active-duty soldiers, live all over Washington and are often not conveniently located near a military legal assistance office. When legal issues arise, such as an eviction of a citizen-soldier’s family, custody disputes, or a creditor attempting to repossess the family car, they can place a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety on the family while the citizen-soldier is serving thousands of miles away in a combat zone. Many of the soldiers have legal issues arise as a result of their absence for training and upcoming deployment. Several soldiers had issues with their landlord refusing to allow the citizen-soldier and his or her family out of their residential lease early or charging an exorbitant penalty fee for doing so (contrary to federal law, which provides rights to soldiers). Other soldiers have had entire bank accounts garnished, homes foreclosed upon, or the unlawful denial of reduced interest rates. Had it not been for the volunteers of AACF, most of these soldiers would not have had the time or ability to deal with these issues. According to Captain Straub: “When a soldier came to my office with the problem, I was able to solicit a volunteer attorney to assist the soldier by providing a telephone consultation. In most cases, the volunteer attorney was able to get the court to stay the court hearing for a time when the citizen-soldier would be able to attend, or, in the cases of landlord-tenant issues, explain to the landlord that the citizen-soldier was entitled, under law and without penalty, the right to terminate the lease early because of the deployment. This significantly reduced the stress and anxiety these soldiers were facing and allowed them to focus on their training, which could possibly save their lives when they are deployed in a combat zone.” The program has received widespread support and welcomes additional volunteers. Stated Captain Straub: “This program gives attorneys in the community the ability to show their support to the troops in a meaningful way. Even attorneys who don’t necessarily agree with current U.S. foreign policy have stepped up to the plate to serve our citizen-soldiers and their families.” More than 60 attorneys have signed up, and more than 20 citizen-soldiers have been served in a short three-month period. The program thanks Major Matt Cooper, a JAG officer and WSBA member, who negotiated the necessary channels for the National Guard to coordinate the program. Also to be thanked are the following attorneys who have provided advice or representation to these citizen-soldiers, including one high-profile case involving a mother videotaped leaving a baby at a church doorstep late at night (the father of the baby, the woman’s ex-boyfriend, is being deployed to Iraq and now will be represented in family court with the help of an AACF referral). The following lawyers are among those who have volunteered: Terence Artz Attorneys not in the AACF program are also encouraged to show their support for our troops and their families by providing pro bono or low-cost legal services to those financially needy troops or their family members who come to them for help with legal problems. Additionally, the ABA LAMP committee is starting a program similar to AACF that will serve all military members nationwide. Those interested in joining the AACF Program or wanting more information can contact Alex Straub at 253-512-8262 or alexander.straub@us.army.mil. Potential volunteers can also find more information at http://aacf.wordpress.com and sign up online. WSBA members are also encouraged to join the LAMP Section by going to www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/lamp. Those interested in joining the ABA Military Pro Bono Project, please contact Project Director Jason Vail at vailj@staff.abanet.org or 312-988-5783. Moni T. Law is the WSBA bar leaders program manager and can be reached at monil@wsba.org.
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