When Georgia veterans need assistance with military benefits, the University of Georgia (UGA) Veterans Legal Clinic provides support. The clinic helps veterans secure benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to Alex Scherr, director of the clinic and a long-time faculty member at the UGA School of Law.
“We prove to the VA that they have injuries from their military service that impact their life,” Scherr says. “We have produced life-changing money for clients who are facing significant hardships.”
Since opening in 2018, teams composed of School of Law faculty, students, and staff have assisted veterans throughout Georgia in obtaining more than $16 million through retroactive awards, debt waivers, and future payments. The clinic has served clients from over 100 counties across the state. To support claims for benefits, it offers independent mental health assessments through UGA’s Psychology Clinic and medical evaluations via resources such as the UGA Speech and Hearing Clinic.
The work performed by the clinic can be crucial for veterans dealing with physical or mental challenges and who may have been seeking assistance for years.
One client applied for benefits in 2014 but was denied by the VA and faced bankruptcy before contacting the Veterans Legal Clinic in 2019. The clinic helped arrange an independent mental health evaluation and appealed his case using new evidence.
With this support, the VA approved his claim, granting him monthly income along with a $360,000 retroactive award.
Alex Douglas, paralegal at the clinic, notes both financial and personal impacts: “The work is tangible: We are helping veterans receive monthly compensation for disabilities that they would not have received without the clinic’s help,” Douglas says. “But it’s also intangible because many of these veterans have felt unheard and misunderstood. Many come to us defeated and confused, and our hope is that by the end there is a weight lifted—someone understands and listens to them.”
The legal clinic also offers practical experience to UGA Law students assigned in pairs to each client case.
Staff attorney Ethan Smith observes how participation affects students: “This clinic highlights the best of both worlds for students,” Smith says. “We are doing good work for people in an area that is underserved, and students are getting a chance to work on real cases that have a real-world impact.”
Each semester about twelve students join the program; five participate during summer months. Together they contribute approximately 6,000 hours annually.
“We are helping to create lawyers who are both imaginative and empathetic in understanding clients’ situations while also being rigorous and evenhanded in their legal work,” Scherr says. “It’s a good outcome that prepares skilled and capable lawyers who are willing to do work that helps other people.”