295.4D sec. 001 - Veterans Law Practicum (Fall 2021)
Instructor: Olivia B Cole (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only)
Instructor: Rose Carmen Goldberg (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 1
Grading Designation: Credit Only
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Course End: November 23, 2021
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 3
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 4
As of: 01/25 05:06 PM
The U.S. military is at the center of some of the most important social justice issues of our time: sexual assault, racism, and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. Students in the Veterans Law Practicum will fight these injustices by representing affected veterans.
Practicum casework focuses on correcting the discharge status of veterans unlawfully kicked out of the military, to restore veterans’ access to the healthcare and compensation they earned through their service. The Practicum also focuses on securing disability benefits for sexual trauma survivors, women veterans, LGBTQ veterans, and veterans of color. The Practicum prioritizes representation of vulnerable veterans, including those suffering from homelessness, criminal-justice involvement, and acute mental health conditions.
Students will learn essential social justice lawyering skills. Over the course of the semester, students can expect to conduct client and witness interviews, perform legal research, and draft briefs. Students will also gain experience developing medical evidence, working with medical experts, and in administrative law. Dependent upon scheduling, students may also engage in oral advocacy and prepare clients and medical experts for in-person or remote administrative hearings. Students will be assigned to cases in teams of two or more.
Policy projects involving research and/or media advocacy are also possible; interested students should discuss options with the instructors. Students may also propose their own projects, which will be evaluated by the instructors.
Regular meetings of the teams assigned to each case with the instructors will be scheduled throughout the semester.
*All students enrolled in this course must also enroll in the co-requisite course Veterans Law Practicum Seminar.
Taking the practicum will be by application. Please complete the application at this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfycGgM1CnJ6_DMaFYmLDex6JURtgw743UI_cgZlBfBk1F8Zg/viewform?usp=sf_link. Applications are due April 23, 2021. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis after this deadline. If you have any questions about the application process please email Olivia Cole: olivia.cole@berkeley.edu.
Instructor Bios:
Rose Carmen Goldberg founded a Medical-Legal Partnership for veterans who were unlawfully kicked out of the military consequent to sexual assault, PTSD, and racism. She started the partnership, the first of its kind in the country, as a Skadden Fellow. Currently, Rose works at the Office of the California Attorney General. She practices impact litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations, with a focus on service members and veterans. She is also leading a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of public servants. Rose has written about veterans issues and sexual assault in prominent outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Slate, and The Hill. Her advocacy has been recognized with numerous awards, including the California Women Lawyers’ Fay Stender Award for humanity and commitment to the underrepresented, and the California Young Lawyers Association’s Jack Berman Award of Achievement for distinguished service to the public. Rose is a graduate of Yale Law School.
Olivia Cole is the Deputy Legal Director at Swords to Plowshares, a community-based non-profit organization that provides wrap-around services to homeless and low-income veterans, including free legal assistance in VA benefits claims and military discharge upgrade applications. As Deputy Legal Director, Olivia represents veterans and helps manage legal services and attorneys. Olivia began her career at Swords to Plowshares as a Skadden Fellow. Her fellowship focused on outreach and legal services tailored to the unique needs of women veterans, with a specialization in trauma-informed representation of military sexual trauma survivors. She has trained thousands of attorneys across the country on veterans law and legal services for women veterans. Prior to her career in veterans law, Olivia advocated for clients in Social Security disability claims and practiced impact litigation related to affordable and fair housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law.
Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped.
Prerequisites:
Law 295.4C (Veterans Law Practicum Seminar) is a prerequisite or corequisite.
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Requirements Satisfaction:
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Exam Notes: (None) Class requires a series of papers, assignments, or presentations throughout the semester
Course Category: Social Justice and Public Interest
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Practicums
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