Stateside Legal Advisory Board
David Addlestone
A Vietnam-era judge advocate, public defender, and senior staff attorney with the Lawyers Military Defense Committee in Vietnam, he later directed, or was co-director, of several non-profit organizations specializing in military & veterans law, including the National Veterans Legal Services Program. He has co-authored numerous articles and books on military & veterans law and is the lead writer of the 1st Manual on Military Discharge Upgrading.
Major Peter Black
Currently a full-time JAG officer with the US Army National Guard, stationed at Camp Keyes in Augusta Maine, with 20+ years of private bar experience.
Judy Donegan
Deputy Executive Director for The Veterans’ Consortium, a national nonprofit providing free legal services to unrepresented veterans, their families, and caregivers who have filed appeals at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims (CAVC). Judy is a seasoned veterans’ attorney, having spent more than a decade representing U.S. military veterans before the CAVC, the Federal Circuit, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA), and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). She has been a sustaining member of the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates (NOVA) since 2007.
Roy Driver
A Vietnam era veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, Mr. Driver became the team leader of the first Vet Center in Hartford, CT in 1980; he continued to work within Vet Centers in CT and ME until his retirement in 2013. A local and national leader on the needs of homeless veterans, Mr. Driver now serves on several advisory boards including Embrace a Vet..
Drew Early
A West Point graduate who served in the U.S. Army for 20 years and a cum laude graduate of Georgia State University's College of Law, Mr. Early's legal practice at Shewmaker & Shewmaker in Atlanta GA focuses on elder law and veterans legal issues. He also is an adjunct professor at Emory University’s School of Law and serves as the Director of Emory’s Volunteer Clinic for Veterans.
Paul Freese
U.S. Army Veteran '73 and career public interest attorney who has shaped pro bono initiatives, helped advance the Veteran Treatment Court model nationally, and mobilized legal clinics, services and supports to improve access to justice and address the needs of veterans in crisis or confronting homelessness. He also served on the ABA Veterans Legal Services Commission which is striving to generate a national network to improve veteran access to pro bono legal services and benefits advocacy.
Stephen Lynch
A retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Lynch serves as a legal assistance attorney for U.S. Coast Guard members in the Ninth District, based in Cleveland, Ohio. He also has served as a trainer on military law for military legal assistance attorneys and civil legal aid providers on a national and local basis.
Margaret Middleton
Margaret currently serves as Assistant Clinical Professor with Georgia State University College of Law's Health Law Partnership Clinic. Prior to July 2018, she was a co-founder and Executive Director of Connecticut Veterans Legal Center for nine years, as well as a Clinical Visiting Lecturer in Yale Law School's Veterans Legal Services Clinic. Previously, she was an Emerson Fellow at David Rosen and Associates in New Haven and a law clerk to The Honorable Janet C. Hall of the U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, CT. She is a graduate of Cornell University and the New York University School of Law.
Terry Moore
A Gulf War-era Air Force retiree, Terry connects women veterans, their families and caregivers with federal, state and community services through grassroots and online outreach as well as speaking engagements, multimedia broadcasting, and e-writing. She advocates for just legal and policy reform for military sexual assault survivors and community-based housing for veterans experiencing homelessness.
Jim Strickland
Jim is a Vietnam era Army veteran and nationally recognized expert on VA disability benefits who is also editor and webmaster of the popular VA Watchdog website. Jim writes extensively about VA and Social Security disability benefits and fields a steady stream of email questions from veterans around the world in his "Jim's Mailbag" column.
Marshal Willick
Principal of the Willick Law Group, an A/V rated Family Law firm in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mr. Willick practices in trial and appellate family law and is a recognized national expert on military pension matters and other issues related to divorce of service members.
February 2021