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I began practicing Veterans Law in 2007. Shortly after the law changed to allow veterans to hire attorneys to appeal VA ratings decisions, I became one of the first attorneys to become accredited by the VA to represent veterans.
When I started advocating for veterans, there were no blogs covering Veterans Law. I created the wildly popular Veterans Law Blog®, teaching the law and procedure of VA claims and appeals to veterans, VSOs, agents, and attorneys alike. That blog, now a subscription-based educational resource separate and distinct from this law firm, now reaches more than a quarter-million veterans every month.
Today, owing to the prominence and value of the Veterans Law Blog®, a law firm seeking to represent veterans can not be taken seriously if it lacks a blog on veterans law and advocacy.
Today, so many of our Black veterans, veterans of color, women veterans, and veterans who identify as LGBTQI, are abandoned and neglected as the definition of what a veteran is, and how veterans act, shrinks smaller and smaller.
The Attig | Curran | Steel blog is going to"take point" and expand what it means to be a veteran.
Veterans Law Updates.
This category will cover changes and updates in the law that flow from the decisions of the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. and VA rule-making.
Building Sustainable Law Practices.
The lawyer representing veterans faces unique challenges. This category will share how we are building a sustainable and profitable law firm that prioritizes the well-being of the attorney and support staff.
The Bridge.
Throughout history, the experiences certain subsets of veterans have been overlooked or hidden behind a curtain of racism and a veil of misogyny we have heretofore pretended does not exist.
In this category of posts we expose the reality minority veterans face, elevate their voices and educate and validate each other in the hope of beginning to remedy the systematic oppression of Black veterans, veterans of color, women veterans and veterans identifying as LGBTQI.
Learn how to follow and receive updated content from the Taking Point blog.
16-2259: Chavez v. Shulkin
What is the Deep Issue in the Case? A veteran has a burden to present and support a claim for benefits with facts, and not pure speculation or remote possibility. Fagan v. Shinseki, 573 F.3d 1282 (Fed. Cir. 2009) . A VA C&P Exam report must rest…
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VA RAMP (Appeals Reform) Creates 3 New "Appeal" Options. (Part 2 of 5)
This post is Part II of a 5-part series on the VA RAMP (Appeals Reform) system. Here are the topics for each of the 5 parts of the series – as they are published, links will appear to direct you to each part: Part I (Click here to Read Part I):…
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Case Review: 16-4086, Emerson v. Shulkin (PTSD Rating)
What is the Deep Issue in the Case? When establishing a PTSD rating, the Board of Veterans Appeals is required to “engage in a holistic analysis” of a veteran’s mental health symptoms to determine the proper disability percnetage. B…
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PRECEDENTIAL CAVC CASE ALERT: King v. Shulkin (16-2959)(Extra Schedular Rating)
What is the Deep Issue in the Case? Extra-schedular consideration should be considered “where the schedular evaluations are found to be inadequate.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.321(b)(1) (emphasis added). The herring loss rating criteria are largely b…
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Case Review: 16-2407, Samantha Unell (Proving Nehmer Effective Date)
What is the Deep Issue in the Case? The effective date of a veteran’s claim for a “covered herbicide disease” depends on whether (1) VA denied the claim for the covered herbicide disease between September 25, 1985, and May 3, 1989,…
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CAVC ORDER ALERT (December 21, 2017)
This morning (12-21-2017), the CAVC issued Miscellaneous Order 15-17. The full text of this procedural order of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is below. General Summary of the CAVC Miscellaneous Order. The CAVC’s practice has been to…
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An Introduction to VA RAMP (VA Appeals Reform)
This is the first in a series of posts about the VA RAMP Appeals Reform Program, which will be implemented beginning in 2018. THIS IS CRITICAL TO NOTE: Technically, VA RAMP refers to the VA pilot program to implement the Veterans Appeals Improvement…
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Case Review: 16-3390, Roberts v. Shulkin (BVA Failed its Duty to Assist)
What is the Deep Issue in the Case? Evidence in the record before the VA may raise notice of pertinent medical records and trigger the duty to assist the appellant to locate and obtain the records. Ivey v. Derwinski, 2 Vet.App. 320 (1992). Before he…
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Case Review: 16-1624, Crawley v. Shulkin (Inadequate BVA Reasoning)
What is the Deep Issue in the Case? Because a medical exam opinion addresses issues of material fact, the BVA must provide a statement of the reasons or bases for its determination that is “adequate to enable a claimant to understand the precise ba…
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Case Review: 16-3961, DeCent v. Shulkin (Scope of a Claim)
What is the Deep Issue in the Case? The scope of a claim is determined by a sympathetic assessment of the veteran’s description of the claim, the veteran’s symptoms and information submitted to or received by the VA in support of the claim. Clemo…
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