Coffee w/Chris: Is there enough air in your law firm's tires? (11-19-2018)
Today’s video starts off with an overview of a recent precedential decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in the case of Moody v. Wilkie, Cause No. 16-1707. Click here to read the CAVC’s panel decision in Moody v. Wilki…
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November 26th, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
FCOA Precedent Alert: Cook v. Wilkie (Can a veteran have more than one BVA hearing?)
What is the Deep Issue in the Case? 38 U.S.C. §7107(b) (2012) requires “[t]he Board shall decide any appeal only after affording the appellant an opportunity for a hearing.” On remand from the Veterans Court, the veteran asked for a new BVA hear…
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November 15th, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
Categories: Veterans Law Updates
Tags: 38 USC 7107(b), Barbara Thomas, Chevron deference, Circuit Judge Alan D. Lourie, Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, Circuit Judge Raymond C. Clevenger, Covington and Burling LLP, Francis M. Jackson, John Niles, Judge Coral W. Pietsch, Judge Margaret Bartley, K.L. Wallin, Ken Carpenter, Manchester NH VARO, Milo H. Hawley, Nathan P. Kirschner, Penelope E. Gronbeck, pro veteran, Procopio, Senior Judge Lawrence B. Hagel, Skidmore deference
Coffee w/Chris (11-14-2018): The problem of attorney suicide.
In today’s episode, I’m going to give you a quick introduction to the case of Cook v. Wilkie, a November 2018 precedential decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. This case is big: it involves when and how the BVA…
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November 14th, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
Coffee w/ Chris: The Supreme Court takes on Agent Orange (11-5-2018).
Coffee w/ Chris: (Monday, November 5, 2018) The Supreme Court takes on Agent Orange. It is not often that the Supreme Court takes up a veterans disability claim. This past Friday, SCOTUS granted cert in a case called Gray v. Wilkie. The question in t…
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November 6th, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
Categories: Veterans Law Updates
Procopio, Procopio, Wherefore Art The Pro Veterans Canon?
UPDATE – January 29, 2019: Procopio Wins! Presumption of Agent Orange Exposure extended to Blue Water Navy Veterans. Click here to read the Federal Circuit’s opinion – and stay tuned, as there is a lot to unpack in this decision, an…
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November 1st, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
Monday Morning Coffee w/ Chris: The ONE financial metric that lawyers should know cold.
Coffee w/ Chris: (Monday, October 29, 2018) What Financial Metrics are important to evaluate your law firm’s progress? If you get behind the wheel of any car, there are certain metrics you will find on the dashboard. Are there similar metrics t…
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October 29th, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
Monday Morning Coffee with Chris: Do THIS when you get back from a Legal Conference.
What to do when you get back from a Legal Conference? I just returned home from a multi-day legal conference: this time the Fall Conference for the National Organization for Veterans Advocates (NOVA) in Washington, D.C. Here’s what I’ll t…
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October 22nd, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
Tags: 2018 CAVC Oral Arguments, Anxious Lawyer, Barton F. Stichman, Caitlin S. Milo, Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), Headspace, Hire Slow Fire Fast, Judge Amanda L. Meredith, Judge Margaret Bartley, Judge Mary J. Schoelen, Julia A. Turner, NDSS, Next Lawyer Up, NOVA, NVLSP, Speigner v Wilkie #16-2811
CAVC Docket Update: Appeals Submitted for CAVC Panel Decision and Oral Argument (June 2018)
In June 2018, it appears that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) has set 1 case for Panel Decisions and 4 cases for Oral Argument and Panel Decision. I do my best to seek out and find all cases submitted to a CAVC Panel or set for Oral A…
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July 19th, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
Categories: Veterans Law Updates
Tags: 38 C.F.R. §3.114(a), 38 C.F.R. §3.344, 38 U.S.C. §5904, Abhinav Goel, attorney fees, Christian A. McTarnaghan, Christopher W. Brown, Clear and Unmistakeable Error (CUE), Debra L. Bernal, effective date, extra-schedular rating, Jenna E. Zellmer, John F. Cameron, Judge Joseph L. Toth, Judge Margaret Bartley, Judge Michael Allen, Judge William S. Greenberg, Kenneth H. Dojaquez, liberalizing law, Margaret E. Sorrenti, Michael G. Imber, ptsd, Snyder v. Nicholson 489 F.3d. 1213 (Fed. Cir. 2007), stabilized rating, Thun v. Peake 22 Vet. App. 111 (2008)
Episode 010: "No, I won't give you my Debit Card PIN Number" (FCOA Precedent: Acree, #17-1749, Legal standard to withdraw an appeal orally at BVA)
What is the Deep Issue in the Case? VA regulations provide that a veteran’s “appeal may be withdrawn as to any or all issues involved in the appeal.” 38 C.F.R. § 20.204(a). a statement made by a veteran at a board hearing qualifies as an effec…
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July 12th, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
Categories: Veterans Law Updates
Tags: 38 C.F.R. §20.204, Alexander O. Canizares, Circuit Judge Haldane Robert Mayer, Circuit Judge Kathleen O'Malley, Circuit Judge Richard G. Taranto, DeLisio v. Shinseki 25 Vet. App. 45 (2011), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Fla. Power & Light Co. v. Lorion 470 U.S. 729 (1985), Joshua L. Wolinsky, Judge Alan G. Lance Sr., Louisville KY VARO, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, Milo H. Hawley, Natalie A. Bennett, withdraw an appeal
"To the Best of my Knowledge" - The case against attorney use of VA Form 21-4138.
In a recent court appeal, the VA was relying on the unsigned and unsworn statement of a random government bureaucrat. This bureaucrat was “testifying” to the lack of existence of any evidence that my client was exposed to the herbicide ag…
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June 15th, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
