Honoring Those Who Serve

Our work on behalf of the more than 18 million veterans and active-duty service members in the US takes many forms, including direct representation and advising nonprofits and NGOs involved in veterans’ affairs.

For more than a decade, we have partnered with the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), with over 1,800 Latham lawyers taking on nearly 360 matters across 23 Latham offices. This work includes representing those with service-related injuries and investigating deficiencies in the benefits system established to support US veterans. We also assist veterans with obtaining medical retirements and counsel veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with applications for combat-related special compensation.

We have filed numerous cases alongside NVLSP in US District Court under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), a law that establishes standards for how federal administrative agencies create and implement rules and regulations. The goal of these matters is to obtain judicial review of the Physical Disability Board of Review’s (PDBR’s) rating recommendation for a veteran’s disabilities and/or the military’s acceptance of the PDBR’s recommendation. Cases like these can have a broad impact beyond the specific client, as the decisions help form good law around medical benefits and retirement.

Latham also regularly represents veterans seeking to upgrade their discharge status. A service member who has been discharged from the military may be entitled to meaningful healthcare and compensation benefits from the Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), depending on the circumstances surrounding their discharge. A characterization at discharge of less than honorable can significantly impact a veteran’s eligibility for benefits and their quality of life in retirement.

A team based in Washington, D.C. has been instrumental in advocating on behalf of veterans with less than honorable — or “bad paper” — discharges. For more than eight years, we represented Swords to Plowshares in a petition for rulemaking as well as two lawsuits against the VA regarding its Character of Discharge (COD) regulations, which determine whether a veteran with “bad paper” is eligible for VA benefits. This tireless advocacy led the VA finally to publish improved COD regulations in April 2024, which will make it easier for veterans to access the vital benefits and care they had previously been denied.

“As a veteran of the US Armed Forces as well as a lawyer, I’m proud to use my legal skills to benefit those who served,” said Jake Ryan, partner in Latham’s San Diego office and a global leader of the firm’s US Military & Veterans Network. “The fact that so many veterans are unable to access their benefits without legal assistance is as fraught as it is troubling.”