Veterans who are University of Georgia students online or on-campus can now receive free legal assistance to help them navigate claims for pensions and compensations for service-related disabilities through the new Veterans Legal Clinic.

The clinic with UGA’s School of Law opened May 29, 2018 and focuses on veterans receiving benefits from Veterans Affairs. Although the clinic does not handle cases involving other civil legal needs, like housing or family issues, the clinic will offer educational resources to refer clients to other sources.

The clinic consists of seven law students that spend many hours interviewing veterans and building their case, a postgraduate law fellow who supervises cases and Alexander W. “Alex” Scherr, the director of the clinic.

According to Scherr, Georgia has the ninth largest population of veterans in the U.S. At UGA, the online student veteran population has increased 45 percent since spring 2018. Online student veterans account for 10 percent of all identified UGA student veterans.

Many veterans come home to service-related disabilities and rely on these benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affair. Due to transportation, technology and other challenges of affordability, many veterans have trouble accessing their essential benefits. The clinic’s main goal is to improve how former servicemen and women receive assistance from the country they have served.

Individuals seeking help from the clinic can call 706-542-6439 or send an email to veteranslegalclinic@uga.edu.

For more information, visit UGA Today’s article.