Veterans Pro Bono Work Earns Shook National Honor

Just one year after launching a firm-wide veterans advocacy team, The Veterans Consortium (TVC) will recognize Shook as its Law Firm Pro Bono Mission Partner at its annual TVC Pro Bono Awards, November 9, 2022. The honor is given to firms who devote their time and resources to the TVC mission, help improve the lives of veterans through pro bono legal assistance, as well as assist with training volunteers.

Led by Pro Bono Director and Partner Scot Fishman and Senior Counsel Norma Bennett, nearly 70 Shook lawyers have joined this effort and, collectively, we have taken on nearly 30 veterans matters.  The vast majority of this work has been through TVC, and our lawyers have focused on appeals regarding disability compensation and military discharge upgrades. 

“We are deeply honored to earn this award, particularly during the week of Veterans Day,” said Shook Chair Madeleine McDonough. “The legal challenges the lawyers handle for veterans are some of the most rewarding they encounter and often the reason they wanted to pursue their passion of advocating for others.”

Fishman adds, “I am thrilled to see that my colleagues at Shook have completely embraced this important part of our pro bono practice.  Our veterans – after fighting to protect us – are struggling with trauma, medical conditions, homelessness, and substance abuse, and they need our help to get the critical benefits they’ve earned.”

TVC Pro Bono Program was created in 1992, with a dual mission: to provide assistance to unrepresented veterans or their family members who have filed appeals at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) and to recruit and train attorneys in the then fledgling field of veterans’ law.