The John Marshall Law School in Chicago held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this week to celebrate the new home of its legal clinic exclusively for veterans.
Located in the Windy City's downtown area, the John Marshall Law School Veterans Legal Support Center provides legal assistance to veterans trying to navigate their military benefits, CBS Chicago reports. The center launched in 2006 and expanded in 2010 after receiving a grant from the Department of Justice.
Brian Clauss, executive director of the center, told the news source that a majority of the counsel's current cases are Veterans Affairs benefits appeals, stemming from the VA's on-going backlog of disability claims.
In a spacious new headquarters measuring over 5,000 square-feet, the center also helps Chicago-area veterans with other services, ranging from criminal cases to family matters, Clauss said. Students and practicing attorneys work side-by-side, educating veterans about important military issues and providing additional resources. However, the attorneys do not represent veterans in criminal matters, according to a statement on the center's website.
Several students working at the center, such as Michael Hoffman, are veterans who know firsthand the difficulties former servicemembers face when trying to sort out their military benefits.
"I went through the veterans' benefit system myself. It was very difficult, very long," Hoffman told the news outlet.