Ashley Lowe got a good thing going with the Advocates for Warriors (AFW) program at Wayne State University Law School. And that’s why she decided to take the show on the road. As the recent associate director of clinical education at the law school, she began meeting with faculty who run veterans’ programs at other law schools in the state, and began looking at ways to combine forces. The law schools ultimately agreed to team up to replicate the AFW model as a statewide program. The law schools are also working with Michigan 2-1-1, a hotline providing information on a variety of community services to the general population, which agreed to perform client intake and refer clients to the appropriate legal services provider or law school program for services.
Meanwhile, when a case would come to Wayne State, the student assigned to the case would obtain background information before meeting with Lowe to discuss the facts and legal issues and determine the client’s needs. If possible, they would then refer the case to an appropriate legal aid program. If the client was not eligible for legal aid, they would attempt to find a volunteer attorney willing to represent the client.
Since its inception, AFW has provided referrals in a variety of areas including estate planning, bankruptcy, criminal defense, traffic violations, driver’s license restoration, family law, civil litigation, immigration law, and business formation. The program’s dedicated group of lawyers communicated with, advised, and represented their clients. Many of the attorneys represented numerous clients, often with very little lead time from referral to court hearings. Two attorneys, Solomon Radner and Chris Bernard, went above and beyond in their generosity.
Radner has been a volunteer with AFW from the beginning. In 2015, he accepted approximately 20 referrals in criminal law matters in Oakland and Wayne counties. He also answered Lowe’s questions about criminal law and procedure to help her determine whether a referral was appropriate. In one of his cases, AFW received an email from the mother of a veteran who had been arrested at her home. She was distraught because her son, who was suffering from PTSD, had been arrested in the middle of the night and she didn’t know where he was or whether he was receiving his medication. She believed her son might be extradited to another state, and was unclear about what would happen next. Lowe received the email late on a Friday afternoon and called the mother on Friday evening. She then sent an email to Solomon, asking if he had any ideas on how to help. He immediately located the veteran and advised his mother on how to assist him in his criminal case. Later that weekend, Lowe spoke to the mother, noting her demeanor had changed completely. She had a trusted advocate working for her son, and was confident that he would receive fair treatment.
Bernard responded to a request for assistance Lowe sent to the Veterans Bar Association. She was looking for help for a Vietnam-era 1navy veteran whose handicap accessible van was towed from his apartment by the building manager without cause. The veteran sued the apartment complex seeking the return of his vehicle, but needed the assistance of an attorney to complete the case. Lowe spoke with a number of attorneys, but Bernard responded to her request and immediately got to work. The outcome was incredibly important to the client, who wanted to have his van back before the first snowfall of the winter. Bernard not only secured the return of the vehicle, but also negotiated for accommodations for the client at the apartment complex.
Radner and Bernard are just two of the outstanding attorneys whose passion for helping veterans made Wayne State’s AFW program so successful.
Robert Mathis and Lynn Ingram contributed to this story.
Published: July 25, 2016