VETERANS &
MILITARY AFFAIRS
Jenner & Block is proud to advocate on behalf of veterans and those working for the military, who can face high legal hurdles when challenging government policies and decisions. Our partnership with the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School has won class action suits on behalf of Army, Navy, and Marine Corps veterans and continues to represent Air Force veterans challenging less-than-honorable discharges due to service-related mental health conditions.
Court Hails “Just Result” for Veterans as an “Example of the Class Action Concept Working at its Best”
In April 2021, the US District Court for the District of Connecticut granted final approval to a class action settlement in which the US Army agreed to reconsider the less-than-honorable discharges of thousands of veterans with service-related mental health conditions.
Jenner & Block, with the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School (VLSC), represented Iraq war veteran Steve Kennedy and Afghanistan war veteran Alicia Carson in a nationwide class action against the Army. Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Carson alleged that after the Army discharged veterans with less-than-honorable status on account of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), military sexual trauma (MST), and other behavioral health conditions developed during their service time, the Army Discharge Review Board failed to account for those symptoms when it denied them upgrades in their discharge status.
The court granted final approval to a settlement reached by the parties in November 2020. In its opinion, the court described the settlement as “an example of the class action concept working at its best” because it “achieves a just result for many veterans, and for the Army they served.”
Under terms of the settlement, the Army will automatically reconsider thousands of discharge status upgrade applications under a lenient standard of review. Additionally, the Army will adopt procedural reforms, such as a universal telephonic hearing program, that will make it easier for veterans to apply for upgrades in their discharge status and participate in related hearings.
During the final fairness hearing on the settlement, Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. had high praise for the team’s pro bono work, saying on the record: “It's a fine thing … to see one of the great firms like Jenner & Block devote considerable resources to the pro bono representation of groups like these army veterans…”
The team included Partners Susan Kohlmann, Jeremy Creelan, and Jacob Tracer, Associate William Goldstein, and former associate Ravi Ramanathan. This is the third veterans’ rights matter on which Jenner & Block has partnered with VLSC. Members of the team have represented plaintiffs in a suit against the Navy and Marine Corps for issuing less-than-honorable discharges to veterans suffering from undiagnosed PTSD, and we are currently representing plaintiffs in a similar suit against the US Air Force.
US Navy Technician Avoids Risk of Debarment
The US Navy proposed that client Nathan McNutt be debarred after his prior employer submitted a mandatory disclosure alleging time mischarging with bare minimum supporting information. The risks of debarment are tremendous, including an inability to work in the government contracts community at all. This can shut even the most well-trained and effective software engineers and technology developers out of their chosen career and deprive the US Government of their ability to innovate.
Mr. McNutt did his best to respond on his own and explain why his former employer's disclosure was factually incorrect, but as is the case with individuals – who bear the brunt of proposed debarment actions – he needed help to convey the facts in a self-contained, effective manner.
Partner David Robbins assisted Mr. McNutt, gathered facts, crafted an effective response, explained why Mr. McNutt's prior employer was incorrect, and arranged for Mr. McNutt to take ethics and compliance training from Debarment Solutions Institute, a third-party training organization. Days after submitting matters in opposition, the Navy terminated the proposed debarment with no further action, granting the relief the firm requested.