The Veteran’s Clinic through the University of Missouri Law School hosted its annual symposium Friday afternoon raising awareness for complex legal issues facing veterans. The topic this year was discrimination in the military.
Brent Filbert is the incoming director of the Veterans Clinic at MU. He said the symposium benefits everyone involved with the Veterans Clinic.
“The symposium takes on important and difficult issues, for veterans and for the military but in the long run, it ends up helping both veterans and law students. So together, it's just a great overall yearly event,” Filbert said.
The law school hosted a variety of public speakers, to share their experiences regarding legal actions surrounding discrimination occurrences.
Carter Templeton is a lawyer with the Veterans Clinic. He said the annual symposium is not only important for lawyers, but the general public as well.
“I think it's super important because it tells stories that people don't know. And it tells stories about people that need help and highlight some of the work that lawyers were able to do for them. And so I think it serves a great purpose, not only just for lawyers to learn more about issues and become better advocates, but just being able to tell compelling stories,” Templeton said.
Templeton said that he is an attorney that works in front of the Veteran Affairs office, and sometimes, they make mistakes.
“As much as I think people at VA are trying to do the right thing, there's a lot of errors that occur at the VA, whenever veterans are applying for benefits,” Templeton said. “sometimes it becomes tough whenever you feel like you're constantly battling errors that seem simple and seem trivial, and you spend so much time trying to correct them, and sometimes it can be, you know, discouraging to have to deal with that.”
However attending the symposium was uplifting for Templeton.
“It's good, I think, to encounter some of the success stories, and to encounter some of the people who have really made positive change in the field,” Templeton said. “Because it does kind of leave you energized in order to get back into our files, and to realize that, you know, there may be light at the end of the tunnel for this veteran that we're representing, and that we may be able to get a good result for them. And so, sometimes you're down in the trenches working and fighting for your client, and you lose sight of the fact that, you know, we might actually be able to get some success for them, and it's life changing for them.”
Since its creation in 2014, the Veterans Clinic has secured just over $12.5 million for its clients.