VETLAW PROGRAM
Sitting at a folding table in the atrium balcony of the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center, Eddie Ocampo ’18 J.D. counsels a veteran about employment issues relating to a military service-connected disability. Nearby, other volunteer attorneys with the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) Vetlaw program meet with clients about housing, real estate, criminal expungement, debt collection, estate planning and family law matters. An oversized American flag hangs overhead, and veterans visiting for health care appointments enter and exit the building below. The air is filled with conversation and foot traffic and patriotism.
information, referrals and legal advice on most legal topics. Vetlaw clinics are held multiple times each month at locations across the state, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. “As a statewide program with only two attorneys,” said Sara Sommarstrom, Vetlaw’s director, “the success of Vetlaw clinics depends on the generosity of volunteer attorneys, legal professionals and law students to help the legal needs of at-risk Minnesota veterans.” Sommarstrom, who has worked with the veteran population for a decade, observed, “The prevailing wisdom says it is difficult for veterans to ask for help. I think part of the reason for that is the public view of our service members as one of two extremes – superheroes or broken – combined with their military training that often encourages them to take care of matters themselves rather than reach out when they need assistance. The veterans I have met and worked with over the years are as diverse as civilian society, with most living between those extremes.” For University of St. Thomas School of Law alumni who volunteer with the Vetlaw program, clinics are an important way of serving those who served. Their connection to the veteran community is often personal. Our alumni Vetlaw volunteers include veterans, those who wanted to serve but were denied, friends and family of veterans, and those who admire veterans. These accomplished attorneys are living the law school’s mission by serving veterans in need.
SERVING THOSE WHO SERVED
Alumni Volunteer in the Vetlaw Program
By GLORIA SONNEN MYRE ‘07 J.D.
Eddie Ocampo
Since 1990, MACV has provided nonprofit services to Minnesota veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including transitional housing, employment assistance, rental assistance and legal assistance. The Vetlaw program gives at-risk veterans access to justice through legal
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