As the United States ends its military mission in Afghanistan, some New Jersey attorneys could see returning service members who require legal help, said some members of the New Jersey State Bar Association Military Law and Veterans’ Affairs Section.
“From my own personal experience as a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and from working in the veterans’ community assisting with legal affairs and veterans’ services, I’d anticipate that there will be increases with applications for Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits and medical care. People transitioning to civilian life start to realize they’ve been affected physically and mentally, and that it takes time for these things to catch up with them,” said David P. Culley, a section member and former naval flight officer who flew reconnaissance in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Culley recommends that lawyers learn what benefits are available to veterans on the state and federal level. Although the number of soldiers returning to New Jersey was not immediately available, there are about 350,000 veterans in the state.
Attorneys are encouraged to volunteer with the section’s Military Legal Assistance Program (MLAP), which provides free legal help in civil cases to New Jersey residents who have served overseas since 9/11. The program, which was established in 2006, was proposed by the section and the McCarter & English law firm, whose members had noticed an increased need for legal representation among service members returning home from deployment. The groups identified four civil areas where there was the most need, often related directly to international deployment. These areas included: debtor-creditor, employment, family, and administrative/military law matters.
Since the program’s inception, over 300 volunteer attorneys have assisted more than 550 service members in need of legal help. For more information on MLAP, or to volunteer, visit njsba.com.
Culley, an attorney in the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said the section tries to educate as many veterans as it can on what their rights are and what they are entitled to under the law.
“It’s always a challenge, but I think more are becoming informed,” he said.
Since transitioning back into civilian life is one of the biggest challenges returning veterans face, some clients might seek the advice of attorneys on family law issues, such as separation, divorce or custody.
About 20 percent of soldiers who have returned from serving in Afghanistan and Iraq suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can manifest as anger, depression, irritability or criminal behavior, said Edward M. Neafsey, chair of the section and a retired superior court judge and criminal law attorney. Neafsey, who is also an Army veteran, teaches criminal procedure and military justice as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University Law School in Newark.
Neafsey is a volunteer mentor in New Jersey’s Veterans Diversion Program, which allows eligible service members who have committed non-violent crimes to divert their cases to a treatment-based program.
“If their criminal conduct is related to mental health issues or PTSD, or anything connected with their service to the country, they are set on a different path than the normal criminal case,” Neafsey said.