Morris Nichols Secures Pro Bono Victory for Veteran
Wilmington, DE (September 14, 2018) - A pro bono team from Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP has successfully appealed a veteran’s claim for disability benefits, securing a compensation award of more than $250,000 for past-due benefits.
Through an appointment from the Veterans Law Clinic (“VLC”) at Widener University Delaware Law School, Morris Nichols represented pro bono client “Mr. D.” in a six-year challenge with the Veterans Administration. The appeal successfully back-dated Mr. D’s disability claim for unemployability (TDIU) and post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”) to an effective date more than twenty years prior, resulting in the back payment award.
“We thank the VLC team for the opportunity to work on this matter and to help Mr. D. receive his long-owed benefits,” said Morris Nichols attorney Jennifer Ying, who saw the appeal through from the start. “Being able to offer our assistance and experience to those who are in need of help is an important part of our commitment to serving our community.”
“Providing legal assistance to the veteran community is a rewarding part of Morris Nichols’ pro bono practice. It is gratifying for our entire team to work on these matters and achieve this sort of positive outcome,” remarked Morris Nichols partner and pro bono committee chair Derek Abbott. “As a veteran myself, I applaud all efforts to help our veterans who have agreed to risk all for the good of our nation.”
About the Veterans Law Clinic at Widener University Delaware Law School
Founded in 1997 and expanded significantly in 2006, the Veterans Law Clinic in Wilmington, Delaware, is a Delaware Law pro bono clinical program. VLC faculty, students, staff attorneys, and legal fellows honor and protect low-income and disabled veterans and their families who reside in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas. The clinic offers free legal representation to veterans with meritorious VA claims that have been denied by a regional VA office. The VLC also engages in community outreach, providing wills and other estate documents to veterans, sharing best practices with law clinics around the country, and recruiting and training local attorneys who are willing to take on pro bono veterans’ cases.
About Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP
Morris Nichols combines a broad national practice of corporate, intellectual property, business reorganization and restructuring, commercial law and litigation with a general business, tax, estate planning and real estate practice within the State of Delaware. The firm is regularly involved as lead counsel or co-counsel in matters of national and international significance, as well as those affecting its immediate community. Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.