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UPCOMING EVENTS

Greetings,

In honor of Veterans Day, we’re featuring third-year law student and veteran Jeremy Thompson, as well as updates on the work of our Veterans' Advocacy Law Clinic. Thank you, Jeremy, and all other veterans in our community, for your service.

This week, we also share some of the many photo highlights of our recent Homecoming festivities.

Until the footnotes,

Marc

Third-year student Jeremy Thompson served in the Army from 2003 to 2009 before working for several years in the intelligence community. He has been serving veterans for much of his professional life, including as a Veterans Liaison for Senators Jeff Flake and Kyrsten Sinema. He has continued his work on behalf of veterans during law school, participating in the Veterans Clinic for multiple semesters.

Jeremy shared with us about his background, law school and beyond:

What brought you to law school and to the University of Arizona in the first place?

Fort Huachuca in Southern Arizona is what brought me to Arizona to begin with. Then I met my spouse. She was in a PhD program at UA at the time, so I did my undergrad at UA. Now she teaches at UA, so I only had one law school application to complete!

What did you learn from your career in the military?

Before the military, I had really only focused on making sure my personal situation was improving. I ran a smallish business and didn’t really concern myself with much other than that. Enlisting during a time of war opened my eyes to the fact that there were so many more meaningful things to do with one’s efforts than to just generate profit. The military really instilled a sense of public service in me. Working towards goals larger than oneself is ingrained in the fabric of our armed forces and it is something that sticks with you when you transition back to civilian life.

Jeremy with Judge Thaddeus Semon (’98, veteran) in Veterans Treatment Court

What does being a veteran mean to you?

Being a veteran means being a member of one of the largest and most exclusive brotherhoods (and sisterhoods) in the country. Veterans look after each other and try to pull each other up. We always seek each other out in civilian contexts because we know we can count on each other. When I started to think about law school, my first thought was: what veterans do I know who work in the legal field that I can talk to? The first one I emailed invited me to lunch and set me on the path I’m on right now.

What activities in law school are most meaningful to you? 

I enjoy jumping into the work, so I find the most meaningful work is experiential. I’ve been in the Veterans Clinic and am currently in the Prosecution Clinic.

What are your plans for after law school? What’s your dream job?

I’m currently with the [Pima County Attorney’s Office] as a 39C [limited practice certification] in the clinic and as a law clerk. I want to stay in public service in my community and this seems the best way to do it. I come from the military intelligence community and am interested in international trade, so I might be found in one of those fields as well if an interesting opportunity were to arise. 

Is there anything that surprises people about you?

I didn’t really concern myself with education until fairly recently. I didn’t finish high school and only had a GED and some community college when I joined the Army at 26. It was only after I was done with the military and had earned the GI Bill that a college education became something that was possible for me. Coming from the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder instills a pretty healthy fear of debt. Finally, at 37, I started my undergraduate degree—I’ll be 46 when I earn my JD.

AROUND THE COLLEGE

Anthony Mirkhai, Sompeas Sokh, Jonathan Becker

The Veterans’ Advocacy Law Clinic, led by Clinic Professor and Director Kristine Huskey, provides pro bono legal services to those who have served in the United States military. The Clinic helps veterans by removing legal barriers that hinder the transition from military service to civilian life. The Vet Clinic assists veterans in veterans treatment courts, on disability benefits compensation cases, on discharge upgrade and correction of military record cases, and through a robust intake and referral program. 

It has been a record year for the Veterans’ Advocacy Law Clinic, securing major wins in three large, long-term cases and helping numbers of veterans graduate from two Veterans Treatment Courts!

Favorable results in long-running cases

In one case, we represented Candice Muir (pictured right), a veteran who was subject to MST (military sexual trauma) by fellow soldiers while deployed in Afghanistan. When she returned stateside, she suffered from severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and anxiety and was discharged from the Arizona Army National Guard with an Under Other Than Honorable discharge, which precluded her from receiving much-needed benefits and services from the VA.

In 2017, Vet Clinic students filed a brief and numerous exhibits with a Department of Defense (DOD) Board to upgrade her discharge status. Under statute, her application should have been decided “expeditiously.” However, the Board took over four years to issue its decision. Due to the extraordinary delay as well as several procedural and substantive errors, we partnered with DLA Piper (Laura Sixkiller (’02) and Kate Benveniste) and Part-time Professor of Practice Renee Burbank to file a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, seeking review of the Board’s decision.

After negotiating with opposing counsel – the Assistant U.S. Attorney – our client finally received an Honorable discharge six years after we began our representation. Multiple law students worked on her case: Dayna Michael (’17, veteran), Lorena Hutton (’17), Jessica Pekala (’17), Alex Bledsoe (’22), Emmanuel Bonilla (’21, veteran), Garrett Hable (’22) and Jessica Smedley (’22, veteran). 

In another case, we represented a Navy Veteran who had PTSD and a Traumatic Brain Injury due to a car accident suffered during active duty and head injuries received while aboard the USS Carl Vinson. He turned to alcohol and marijuana to address his depression, anxiety and insomnia and was eventually discharged with a character of service that precluded him from receiving any VA benefits or healthcare.

After law students submitted a brief with a client declaration, two expert opinions and other evidence, we received a DOD Board decision upgrading our client’s discharge status to General, Under Honorable. This change allowed him to apply for disability compensation and receive treatment for his PTSD and TBI at the VA. Law students who worked on the case over five semesters were: Brie Braun (’20), Athena Stephanopolous (’21), Mario Rios (’21, veteran), Matthew Nolte (’21), Hannah Peterson (’22) and Alex Bledsoe (’22).

Veterans Treatment Court

In our Veterans Treatment Court program, led by Clinic Fellow Lori Lewis (pictured above with Prof. Huskey), Clinic students represent veterans and active-duty military who have been charged with misdemeanors and have been diverted to a treatment program. Since January 1, 2022, our students participated in 50 half-day court sessions, representing approximately 120 clients. 

One recent client who graduated from treatment court expressed his thanks in a letter:

“Ms. Lewis and her [University of Arizona] Law Team were awesome! They called and made sure I was ok and asked if I needed anything. Every email and text to them always came back quickly and with all the answers I needed. Thank you for representing me. I appreciate all of you.”

Law students who have worked in Veterans Treatment Court over the last year include Alex Bledsoe (’22, pictured above), Garrett Hable (’22, pictured right), Melissa Mitchell (’22, Navy, pictured right), Eryn Ruechel (pictured above), Jessica Smedley, Jonathan Becker, Fletcher Dircks, Anthony Mirkhai, Briana Rodriguez and Sompeas Sokh.

More than 100 intake calls

The Vet Clinic also provides phone intakes and referrals. In the last year, we fielded 130 inquiries from veterans who sought legal assistance. Law student Michael Enderle (’22, veteran) and University of Arizona undergraduate interns Tyler Lathrop, Isaiah Shrier and Sedona Diazzi helped veterans with their requests, doing research and finding them appropriate attorneys and non-profit organizations for matters such as family law, employment, landlord/tenant, consumer issues and other civil issues.

We are lucky to have the assistance of volunteer attorneys helping to supervise our students: Michelle Bowen (’15, veteran), Dayna Michael (’17, veteran) and Anna Caruso.

We are truly grateful to have the support of the entire College of Law community, which helps us to help those who have served. 

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The University of Arizona has long been committed to supporting and educating veterans. We have tried to live up to the model of service set by the veterans who come here, and the commitment of our university and Tucson community to be a great home and partner for those who serve now, and have served.  

The great work of the Veterans’ Advocacy Law Clinic is just one important and sustained illustration of that commitment. To the veterans in our community, we cannot say it too much: thank you.

Warmly,