The Veterans Legal Clinic—Profs. Daniel Nagin, Dana Montalto, and Margaret Kuzma—seeks Research Assistants (RAs) to conduct legal research, editing, and other work in helping to prepare a second edition of our Military Discharge Upgrade Legal Practice Manual, published by the American Bar Association and available on LexisNexis. We welcome applications from students who might want to work only for the spring semester, or only over for the summer, or during both spring semester and summer. The time commitment—whether for this semester or over the summer—can be flexible.
The Military Discharge Upgrade Legal Practice Manual is a detailed and practical guide for representing veterans before Department of Defense boards for discharge review and correction of military records and in federal court. The Manual fills a critical need in the field. A 2020 report found that hundreds of thousands of veterans have been, or are at risk of being, unjustly denied benefits because they have received less-than-honorable discharges. Many of these veterans have experienced trauma (including combat trauma and Military Sexual Trauma), mental health conditions or medical conditions (such as Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury), or discrimination (based on race, sex, or LGBTQ status) while in the military. The Manual covers fact investigation, legal research, and case strategy in advocating for discharge upgrades before military review boards and in federal court. This area of law is undergoing rapid changes, and the new edition of the Manual will incorporate new developments in class action litigation, systemic reforms, and procedural rights, among other topics.
Prior interest in any of one or more of administrative law, military law, anti-discrimination law, remedies, poverty law, and/or delivery of legal services is helpful but not required. To apply, please send an e-mail expressing your interest and attaching your resume to LSCfacultyassistant@law.harvard.edu.