Simpson Thacher and Yale Law School Fight for U.S. Veterans
10.27.20
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Simpson Thacher and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School (“VLSC”) have been at the forefront of advocacy for veterans. On November 4, 2020, they will appear before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to argue that the VA’s five-year delay in deciding a disabled veteran’s administrative appeal amounts to statutory unreasonable delay and a violation of due process. This follows a watershed opinion secured by the Firm and the VLSC from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in 2018, which unanimously held for the first time that veterans may bring class actions against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Veterans Courts. Simpson Thacher had argued the case together with VLSC for the class petitioners, led by Conley Monk, Jr., a Vietnam veteran from New Haven, Connecticut, who sought to challenge the years-long delays in VA resolution of disability benefits appeals. The Firm and the VLSC subsequently advocated for the Veterans Court’s adoption of rules for class action procedure.
The Simpson Thacher team includes Lynn Neuner, Elisa Alcabes, Anthony Piccirillo, Melissa Parres, Laurel Fresquez and Grant Gannon.