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Jim Strickland is a nationally known advocate for veterans and a member of the Stateside Legal Advisory Board. This column appears with his permission. Jim's opinions are his own.

NOTE: Letters in my Q&A columns are reprinted just as they come to me. Spelling and grammar are left as is and only small corrections are made to improve readability, ensure anonymity or delete expletives that may offend some readers. This is not legal advice. You should always seek the advice of an attorney who is qualified in Veterans' law before you make any decisions about your own benefits.

Jim,

Hope this missive finds you enjoying the summer and all your fishing expeditions! I have a question. I recently received a communication from the National Veterans Legal Service Program regarding my Agent Orange decision from December 2010. I'm not familiar with this group. Are they legit? http://www.nvlsp.org/

Reply:

They're very legit. It's a good group to respond to. They're made huge differences in VA law over the years by filing some big lawsuits and winning. My first formal advocacy training came from their "Basic Training" courses and by communicating with them.

They're court-ordered to be a part of the review process that VA is conducting on Nehmer claims. They're keeping VA on the straight and narrow. Your file probably popped up because of that. That's good news. You should respond to them and stay in touch.

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