Hi Everyone!
My name is Lindsay and I am the MLS Secretary. I spent my summer working in downtown Washington, D.C., as an intern clerk for Judge Lawrence B. Hagel on the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The court is an Article I specialized jurisdiction court, and has exclusive jurisdiction over any appeals from the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (a small office within the Department of Veterans Affairs).
I was tasked with one major assignment: write a law review article pertaining to any area of veterans benefits law. The 20-25 page open-ended assignment soon blew up to a 40+ page article analysing and arguing that veterans should receive all benefits for which they are eligible. Current statutory limitations designed to bar “double dipping” prevent many veterans from receiving all possible education, disability, and retirement benefits. One example is the ban on concurrent receipt of both military retirement pay and disability compensation.
The rest of my time was spent completing smaller research tasks for the clerks of the court related to disability veterans benefits and writing non-dispositive orders.
It was amazing to talk with the judges on the court, as almost all of them have served in the military prior to appointment to the court. I was also fortunate to meet and talk with Judge William Moorman, who was TJAG of the Air Force! In addition, many of the clerks and interns had military experience, some who have served in OEF/OIF.
I didn’t have much free time, but any free time I did have was spent in Maryland or doing touristy-like trips around DC and to Charlottesville, VA, where the Army JAG School is located.
Overall, it was an amazing summer that exponentially increased my desire to serve our military servicemembers and veterans.
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