Never above you.  Never below you.  Always beside you.

In our continuing efforts to assist those who courageously served our nation, the Public Law Center recently formed a new Operation Veterans Re-Entry legal team. The unit is co-led by two of PLC’s Lead Attorneys, Leigh Ferrin and Lili Vo Graham. Leigh brings over six years of public interest experience to the unit and, as head of PLC’s Consumer Law and Bankruptcy Unit, her legal expertise will greatly benefit our veteran clients. You met Lili in last month’s Pro Bono Matters as the lead attorney for the Housing and Homelessness Prevention unit.

PLC also welcomes three new AmeriCorps Legal Fellows to the unit:

Amanda Pertusati is a graduate of University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where she represented disabled veterans before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims as a member of the Veterans Law Appellate Clinic.

Brooke Weitzman is a graduate of UC Irvine School of Law and is returning to PLC after having been a former PLC law clerk.

Tiffany Nocon is a graduate of USC Gould Law School, where she was a student supervisor of the Post-Conviction Justice Project.

All three young attorneys recently traveled to Washington, DC to attend a Leadership Development Training hosted by fellowship sponsor and longtime PLC supporter, Equal Justice Works.

Operation Veteran’s Re-Entry provides Orange County veterans and their families with free legal assistance to facilitate their re-entry into civilian life, including those who are homeless.

Captain Matthew Patrick Manoukian, United States Marine Corps, 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, lived by the motto: “Never above you.  Never below you.  Always beside you.”

The legal issues clients in our Veterans project face include: VA compensation benefits; discharge upgrades; unlawful detainer actions; government benefits; and much more.  As part of the project, PLC partners with several veteran’s groups and works with pro bono attorneys. One such pro bono attorney is Dean Smart, whose solo practice focuses on homeowners associations (HOAs). Since the beginning of the year, Dean has used his 27 years of legal expertise to significantly improve the lives of several PLC clients.

Like our entire Operation Veterans Re-Entry team, Dean is “always beside you” when an Orange County Veteran is in need.