Having legal challenges can get in the way of living the life you want to live. It can interfere with transitioning from the military, getting that next job or housing, as well as benefits and services you are eligible to access. Ignoring legal difficulties tends to make them worse; however, there are free and low-cost resources available to service members and Veterans that can make legal concerns less burdensome.
Variety of legal issues
Stateside Legal provides a range of services across the country including self-help, discharge upgrades or military record changes, health, housing, education, employment debt, family, criminal concerns, and resources that are specific to women and LGBTQ+ community. They serve Veterans, service members, people with military experience and their families.
Local VA legal services and Veterans Justice Outreach
Legal help for Veterans is available at VA and includes Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists and partnerships with legal clinics. Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists identify justice-involved Veterans and contact them through outreach, and they often work with Veterans' treatment courts and free legal clinics. Moreover, they are frequently the point of contact for the 150+ legal clinics that serve Veterans around the country. The clinics that offer legal services by state and VA facility are here.
VA disability benefits and discharge upgrades
VetLex is a dedicated web-based network of coordinated pro bono legal service providers. It connects Veterans to someone who can help with a legal issue. Most legal work focuses on discharge upgrades and VA disability benefits, but VetLex has some services for other legal needs in select locations. To use this resource, you’ll be asked to enter information about your legal situation, then VetLex will connect you to a volunteer attorney in your area.
Legal questions
American Bar Association (ABA) Free Legal Answers for Veterans is a virtual legal advice portal where income-eligible Veterans and survivors can submit questions pertaining to non-criminal legal issues. Attorneys accredited with VA volunteer to answer questions about VA benefits, discharge upgrades, and similar Veterans’ legal issues.
Wide search of legal resources
The National Resource Directory (NRD) offers a broad search for legal resources. This is a database of validated resources that supports recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration for service members, Veterans, family members, and caregivers. Entering “legal services” in the NRD search bar gives you a list of non-governmental organizations that offer free legal services to Veterans and service members. You can customize your search by state, city, and zip code. Contact numbers and emails are readily available and offerings range across a wide variety of legal services.
The sharing of any non-VA information does not constitute an endorsement of products and services on the part of VA. Veterans should verify the information with the organization offering.