Released 11/17/21 | Tags:
NVLSP Hosts Virtual Thirteenth Annual Benefit “Defending Veterans Rights Since 1981” Celebrating 40th Anniversary And Honoring Five Extraordinary Champions for Veterans and Their Families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 17, 2021
WASHINGTON – The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP)’s “Defending Veterans Rights Since 1981” Virtual Thirteenth Annual Benefit on November 18 will recognize NVLSP’s 40th Anniversary and honor five extraordinary champions who have made outstanding contributions to improving the lives of our veterans and their families.
Judy Woodruff, Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour will emcee the program. Ms. Woodruff is also the proud daughter of a Chief Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army. Given her personal experience as part of a military family, Ms. Woodruff brings priceless insight to NVLSP’s 40th Anniversary celebration and Thirteenth Annual Benefit Event.
“We are very grateful for the generous support of our volunteers and donors which allows NVLSP to continue to advance its mission to help veterans and their families obtain the benefits they are rightfully eligible to receive,” said NVLSP Executive Director Paul Wright.
The event highlights NVLSP’s work over four decades to defend veterans rights and secure benefits for veterans and their families over the years. You can go here to register for the event and to review our Event Program Flipbook, go here.
NVLSP will recognize five distinguished honorees at the event for their dedicated service to veterans, service members and military families.
NVLSP’s 2021 Pro Bono Partner of the Year Award will be presented to Cozen O’Connor. Since joining our pro bono program Lawyers Serving Warriors® (LSW) in 2017, Cozen O’Connor has taken over 140 cases, file reviews, and special projects with NVLSP. In 2020 alone, the firm contributed over 2,300 pro bono hours. Over the last five years, Cozen O’Connor has also become a leading partner with Board of Veterans’ Appeals matters. Vincent McGuinness, President and Managing Partner, and proud Navy Dad, will accept the award for Cozen O’Connor.
NVLSP will present Ronald (Ron) S. Flagg with the 2021 Outstanding Public Service Award for his leadership as a champion of justice to veterans, pro bono, and public interest law. Mr. Flagg has served for over 20 years on NVLSP’s Board of Directors, including 16 years as Chair. He was instrumental in starting NVLSP’s pro bono Lawyers Serving Warriors® program, has recruited other attorneys to volunteer to help veterans, and has personally donated hundreds of pro-bono hours to helping veterans. Mr. Flagg is President of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), the nation’s single largest funder of civil legal for low-income Americans.
NVLSP will honor Microsoft Corporation with its 2021 Corporate Partner of the Year Award for its exemplary leadership among U.S. corporations on behalf of veterans, service members, and military families. Microsoft is one of Lawyers Serving Warriors®’ leading corporate pro bono partners for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC), a tax-free monthly benefit for medically retired veterans awarded if the veteran’s disabilities result from serving in combat, as well as the discharge upgrade file review project. These disability benefits can be transformative for veterans and their families. In addition, Microsoft’s Pro Bono Program, launched in 2003, includes an annual 30-hour pro bono commitment for its U.S. based attorneys. Microsoft also supports veterans through its Microsoft Software and System Academy, where service members who are transitioning out of the military and veterans can learn essential technology and career skills, and its employee resource and networking groups. Hossein Nowbar, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, will be guest speaker and accept the award on behalf of the company.
NVLSP will present the 2021 Lawyers Serving Warriors® (LSW) Excellence Award to Taiga Takahashi, a Senior Associate at Latham & Watkins LLP. The award honors a volunteer attorney who has provided exemplary pro bono services to veterans and service members. Mr. Takahashi, a former Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, is an attorney who personifies excellence in his pro bono work and who makes sure no veteran is left behind. Mr. Takahashi has been successfully handling cases since 2014, including medical retirement and Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) cases. At the same time, Mr. Takahashi has been integral to placing cases with Latham volunteers through the firm’s pro bono program.
NVLSP will honor our Co-Founder and Special Counsel Barton (Bart) F. Stichman with our highest honor, the 2021 Senator Daniel K. Inouye Award. Mr. Stichman led NVLSP, as Co-Founder and Executive Director, from its early days to the preeminent national veterans legal advocacy organization that it is today. During the course of his extraordinary career, Mr. Stichman has been a trailblazing champion for veterans rights. He has fought to break down barriers and create a more equitable and transparent system to better serve veterans, service members, and their families. Mr. Stichman’s legal acumen and tenacity has been life-changing for hundreds of thousands of veterans who have received disability compensation to make up for their loss of earning capacity caused by service-connected disabilities, as well as free VA medical care. Mr. Stichman has achieved an enormous multiplier effect by training thousands of attorneys and non-lawyers. Mr. Stichman has been a visionary, transforming the legal landscape that affords millions of veterans a fighting chance for justice.
Top sponsors for this year’s benefit include:
Diamond: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP and WilmerHale
Platinum: King & Spalding
Gold: AIG; Baker McKenzie; Covington & Burling LLP; Cozen O’Connor; Delta Air Lines; Hunton Andrews Kurth; Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Latham & Watkins LLP; Leonardo DRS; McGuireWoods LLP; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP; Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; Paul Hastings LLP; Pfizer; Raytheon Technologies and The Sidley Austin Foundation
Silver: Dechert LLP: Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP; GE; Microsoft Corporation; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Reed Smith LLP; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; The Steptoe Foundation; Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders; Verizon and Walmart Inc.
Bronze: AECOM; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Bechtel Corporation; Comcast NBCUniversal; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Hogan Lovells; HP Inc.; Intel Corporation; Jones Day; Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP; Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP; Linklaters LLP; The Morrison & Foerster Foundation; Perkins Coie LLP; Amy Schuh; Shearman & Sterling LLP; Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP; White & Case LLP; Williams & Connolly LLP and Winston & Strawn LLP
Copper: Bank of America; Benjamin Block; Chapman and Cutler LLP Crowell & Moring LLP; Eversheds Sutherland; Holland & Hart; K&L Gates LLP; Lockheed Martin Corporation; McDermott Will & Emery LLP; Nixon Peabody LLP; Northrop Grumman; Oracle and VMware
About The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP)
The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) is an independent, nonprofit veterans service organization that has served active duty military personnel and veterans since 1981. NVLSP strives to ensure that our nation honors its commitment to its 22 million veterans and active duty personnel by ensuring they have the benefits they have earned through their service to our country. NVLSP has represented veterans in lawsuits that compelled enforcement of the law where the VA or other military services denied benefits to veterans in violation of the law. NVLSP’s success in these lawsuits has resulted in more than $5.2 billion dollars being awarded in disability, death and medical benefits to hundreds of thousands of veterans and their survivors. NVLSP offers training for attorneys and other advocates; connects veterans and active duty personnel with pro bono legal help when seeking disability benefits; publishes the nation's definitive guide on veteran benefits; and represents and litigates for veterans and their families before the VA, military discharge review agencies and federal courts. For more information go to www.nvlsp.org.
Media contact:
NVLSP: Patty Briotta, office 202-621-5698, patty@nvlsp.org