Influencing Policy - Weil, Gotshal & Manges Pro Bono Efforts Improve Veterans' Lives

"If we do not fix this problem now, and merely pass it on to a future generation, we will all be very much ashamed, and deservedly so," Congressman Doug Lamborn on the battle wounded veterans face securing benefits.

Lamborn spoke these words at a 2009 House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee hearing organized in large part due to a three-part exposé by American Legion Magazine. The magazine articles focused on Leroy Comer, a destitute Vietnam veteran who, for more than 20 years, had struggled to receive disability assistance. His pro bono law firm, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, retained Hellerman Baretz Communications to shed light on the case. HBC worked closely with a reporter from American Legion and the resulting pieces featured prominently in the Congressional hearings. Less than a week after the hearings, the House passed H.R. 3082, a monumental bill that marked an increase in VA funding and $48.2 billion in advance appropriations for VA medical services, support, and facilities.