EQUAL JUSTICE AMERICA'S VETERANS PROJECT
When Americans think about helping veterans, they naturally think of medical care, housing, employment, and mental health services. Legal assistance rarely comes to mind.
Yet an attorney can be the key to securing those very things—helping veterans obtain the benefits they've earned, gain access to essential medical care, keep a roof over their heads, and overcome other legal obstacles to rebuilding their lives.
Establishing legal assistance as one of the most powerful ways to transform veterans' lives is central to the mission of EJA's new Veterans Project.
Equal Justice America's ultimate vision is an America where every veteran who needs legal assistance can obtain it, regardless of their ability to pay.
Our ambition is to build a nationwide movement of veterans helping veterans—raising the resources needed to put more attorneys to work providing legal assistance to veterans across America.
No Veteran Left Behind.
Meet Pete Pinnel
A Combat Veteran Leading the Effort
Equal Justice America's Veterans Project is led by Pete Pinnel, a former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who served with the 101st Airborne Division and deployed to Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
For Pete, the mission is deeply personal. As a disabled veteran, he spent nearly 20 years fighting on his own to obtain disability back pay through the Department of Veterans Affairs. He knows firsthand the frustration and hardship veterans can experience trying to secure the benefits they've earned.
Pete has maintained close relationships with fellow veterans for more than two decades and had long been searching for a meaningful way to help them. When he learned about EJA's Veterans Project, he knew he'd found his calling.
“When I first read this job description, a huge light went off in my head. This is exactly what I want to do.”
Pete now brings his military experience, personal determination, and lifelong bonds with fellow veterans to an ambitious effort to ensure that more veterans across America receive the legal assistance they need.
The Need Is Staggering
According to the Legal Services Corporation's 2022 Justice Gap study, low-income veteran households received inadequate or no legal help for 84% of their substantial civil legal problems.
That doesn't include veterans who earn too much to qualify for free legal aid but still cannot afford an attorney.
Without legal representation, veterans can spend years fighting unsuccessfully for benefits they've earned, go without essential medical care, or lose their homes.
We've Proven What Legal Aid Can Do for Veterans
Standing shoulder to shoulder with veterans, EJA's Veterans' Rights Fellows help them tackle whatever legal nightmare or headache is standing in their way. They've provided life-changing legal assistance to scores of veterans who otherwise might have nowhere to turn—helping them secure significant benefits they've earned, obtain essential medical care, and protect their homes.
Among their many accomplishments:
Recovered more than $180,000 in retroactive VA benefits for a veteran who had struggled to obtain disability compensation—and secured more than $4,000 in ongoing monthly payments.
Helped a veteran obtain VA benefits after five years of struggle, opening the door to much-needed treatment for PTSD.
Saved a veteran from eviction after she endured years of deplorable housing conditions, including mold, sewage leaks, flooding, and rats.
These aren't simply successful legal cases. They're lives changed.
Taking Our Success Nationwide
Our next challenge is to bring that life-changing legal assistance to far more veterans in far more communities.
Under Pete's leadership, our ambition is to mobilize veterans across America in support of fellow veterans, raising the resources needed to put more attorneys to work providing life-changing legal assistance.
Our goal is to make legal assistance for veterans a national priority—and build a movement powerful enough to make it happen.
Join the Movement
The men and women who served our country should not have to fight alone when legal problems threaten their homes, health, or financial security.
We've seen how legal assistance can change veterans' lives. Now imagine what we could accomplish by putting more attorneys to work helping veterans across America.
Make a contribution. Volunteer. Introduce us to fellow veterans. Help spread the word.
No Veteran Left Behind.