News and Schedule of Events

President’s Report:

Programs Available Online

The Board of Governors voted to provide association programs via the Internet. This feature will allow members outside the DC area to connect and participate in programs. We are offering all Q&A Forums as well as CLE Program via web cast. In order to participate online, you need a computer, a high-speed Internet connection, a telephone connection and/or computer speakers for audio. As we send out notices for the programs, you will be directed as to the availability and cost for the online web cast. Membership participation will dictate this benefits continued availability.


Oral Arguments Online

Oral arguments audio clips are now available on the CAVC website, the next business day following the argument. The schedule for CAVC oral arguments can be found on their website at www.vetapp.gov.

Practitioners are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and valuable resource. Listening to oral arguments is an educational resource that can assist association members in being better prepared for oral argument. Access to oral arguments online provides members the opportunity to hear important issues, to review case law and to analyze the process being discussed from different perspectives. Appellants and other interested parties will be afforded the opportunity to listen to the argument online.

Membership Benefit

In conjunction with the availability of the online audio of oral arguments, the Bar Association is providing an additional benefit to its membership. Electronic copies of the oral argument briefs are available to members of the bar association on the secured area of our website. The briefs are collected directly from the parties and posted in PDF format. If your case is set for oral argument, we ask your cooperation in responding to our e-mail requesting you provide a copy of your brief.


Report on Q&A Forum with Department of Veterans Affairs C&P Service and Office of Field Operations:

On December 6, 2006, the CAVC Bar Programs Committee hosted the second in a series of Q&A events. The December event featured the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Compensation and Pension (C&P) Service and the Office of Field Operations (OFO) from the Veterans Benefits Administration. On hand to answer questions were Steve Simmons, Deputy Director at C&P, Michele Katina, Chief of Policy at C&P, and Al Bocchicchio, Assistant to the Executive Director of OFO.  Mr. Simmons and Ms. Katina discussed the structure of C&P, and noted how information is transmitted to the Regional Offices through Fast Letters for immediate notification of a change in law or policy or through weekly conference calls with Veterans Service Center Managers for less immediate updates. Mr. Simmons and Ms. Katina also reported that a list of attorney fee coordinators including the coordinators’ names, address, email, and fax numbers would be provided to the CAVC bar association as soon as possible.

Mr. Bocchicchio informed the attendees about the duties of OFO and noted that Regional Office Directors report to OFO and not C&P Service, and that OFO sets the performance standards for these officers. Submitted questions regarding medical examination reports, training of C&P and RO personnel, extraschedular referrals to C&P, access to VetsNet, and other topics were discussed by the panel during the approximately hour long program. Mr. Simmons indicated written answers will be provided to the submitted questions as well as a list of Attorney Fee Coordinators. These documents will be distributed to the membership upon receipt.

Report on Q&A Forum with Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the General Counsel, Appellate Court Litigation Group, Professional Staff Group VIIl:

On January 29, 2007, the CAVC Bar Programs Committee hosted the third in a series of Q&A events. The January event featured the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of the General Counsel, Appellate Court Litigation Group, Professional Staff Group VII (PSGVII). On hand to answer questions for PSGVII were R. Randall Campbell, Assistant General Counsel; Carolyn Washington, Deputy Assistant General Counsel; and Leslie Rogall, Senior Appellate Attorney.

Mr. Campbell discussed the structure and staffing of PSGVII, and provided information on the volume of work that came in and went out of the office in 2006, including 27,000 pleadings filed and 5000 new cases received. Ms. Rogall discussed PSGVII’s early intervention team which reviews cases upon arrival in the office for jurisdictional issues, law changes since the Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision, or obvious error in the Board decision.

Submitted questions regarding the process for the approval of a joint motion for remand, settlements, training of new attorneys, creation of the designation of record, requests for a copy of the claims file, extensions, and the possible role of mediation, as well as other topics were discussed by the panel during the approximately hour long program.

Report on Continuing Legal Education Seminar at the Hyatt in Arlington, Virginia:

On February 12, 2007, the CAVC Bar Programs Committee hosted a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar at the Hyatt in Arlington, Virginia. The event featured presentations from personnel at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and the Office of the General Counsel Professional Staff Group VII (PSGVII) for the Department of Veterans Affairs, members of the CAVC Bar Association, and clerks from Chief Judge William P. Greene and Judge William A. Moorman’s chambers. The CAVC was further honored to have Judges Moorman, Bruce E. Kasold, Robert N. Davis, and Chief Judge Greene participate as presenters. Over one hundred people attended the event either in person or via the CAVC Bar Association’s new webcast program.

Veterans Law Judge Barry Bohan and Chief Counsel for Policy Rick Thrasher of the Board discussed the process of preparing and writing a Board decision and quality control at the Board. Barbara Cook, Esq., Joan Moriarty, Deputy Assistant General Counsel from PSGVII, Diane O’Brien-Holcomb, Senior Law Clerk for Judge Moorman, and Judge Kasold addressed improving legal writing at the CAVC.

Over lunch, Chief Judge Greene presented an update on developments at the Court. Next, Brian Rippel Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Ken Carpenter, Esq., and Judge Davis spoke on how to be an effective oral advocate before the Court. Last, but not least, Alice Kerns, Executive Attorney to Chief Judge Greene, and Judge Moorman provided insight into the preparation and writing of a Court decision. All panel members also responded to audience members’ questions at the close of the presentations. At the end of the formal presentations, participants and presenters had the opportunity to mingle and further discuss the information presented during a social hour.

The CLE program was well organized, well attended, and provided a unique opportunity to hear about every stage of the Appellate process from all sides – the Appellant’s representative, the VA, and the Court. Attempts are going to be made to provide the programs via webcast for a small fee on the CAVC bar association website for those who could not attend on February 12.

FIRST BIENNIAL BAR & BENCH CONFERENCE

The First Biennial Bar & Bench Conference was held on April 29 and 30, 2007 in Virginia at the Lansdowne Resort near Leesburg. The theme of the conference was “To Better Serve Those Who Serve”. The conference commemorated National Law Day. The conference format selected was a discussion and problem solving model. There were 59 participants in the conference. A list of participants as well as other conference documents are available to bar association members in the members only area on this website.

The Conference commenced with a Cocktail Reception on the resort terrace followed by a dinner and program. The program included remarks by Glenda Herl, President of the CAVC Bar Association and Chief Judge William P. Greene, Jr. The guest speaker was Norm Herring, Clerk of the Court/Executive Officer who provided an update on E-Filing. The program concluded with a presentation of recognition for the past presidents of the bar association: Jack Thompson, Robert Chisholm, Brian Rippel, Bart Stichman and Jennifer Dowd.

The conference focused on process at the CAVC. The conference was designed to encourage an exchange of ideas and facilitate collaboration by providing a forum for the bar and bench to share knowledge and experience and to gain insight into the current process while exploring new ideas for moving forward. The program was structured to promote an active dialogue between the groups of the association through the assistance of a neutral meeting facilitator.

The conference opened Monday morning with a session on the proposed rule for the Designation of the Record and the Joint Appendix to the Briefs. Panel members included Joan Moriarty, Chair of the Rules Advisory Committee, Ron Smith, a member of the appellant's bar and Paul Hutter speaking on behalf of the VA/appellee's bar. This topic was structured to allow the conference attendees an opportunity to discuss the proposed rule and offer comments and suggestions to improve the record process. During the course of the discussion, members of the Court indicated it would be helpful if the Bar Association submitted written comments based on the published proposed rule.

The consensus of the individuals in attendance at the conference was supportive of a change in the record process that would reduce the time frame required to create the record before the Court on veteran’s appeals. The conference attendees indicated that adopting a new process for creating the record represents a positive change for all parties. The comments were delivered to the Court on May 7, the deadline for public comment on the rule. A copy of those comments generated at the conference has been posted on this website in the members only area.

The second conference topic of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) focused on the theme of considering changes to improve the Court's ability to resolve appeals prior to the case being assigned to a judge. This topic was opened with a general discussion of ADR by the Honorable Robert N. Davis, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

The conference participants then attended breakout groups to initiate discussion on all three of the following ADR general session topics. The groups reconvened in the Amphitheater for the afternoon to expand the discussion topics and ideas.

The ADR topic was divided into a three part discussion: The current rule for Staff Conference, Consideration of Post Briefing Conference or other forms of ADR and whether creating a Staff Conference for EAJA disputes involving reasonableness would be helpful in resolving cases. The bar association collected information for discussion of this topic in a survey distributed to the membership. The results of that survey are available in the members only area on this website.

Discussions regarding the current rule for Staff Conference included revising the current pre-briefing conference format by either amending the current rule, adopting IOP change or by a Court Order defining the expectations of the parties participating in a staff conference prior to briefing. The goal in changing or revising the current practice was to facilitate the resolution of appeals prior to the case being assigned to a judge.

Discussions regarding consideration of a Post Briefing Conference Rule or other forms of ADR explored new ideas as opposed to the status quo. The final discussion in the ADR topic touched on whether it would be helpful to create a Staff Conference in EAJA disputes involving reasonableness.

The luncheon on Monday included a joint presentation by Randy Campbell, Assistant General Counsel (PSG 7), Dept. Of Veterans Affairs and Kenneth M. Carpenter, Carpenter Chartered regarding expansion within the Court’s rules for summary dispositions on the merits as an effective means for expeditious resolution of significant numbers of appeals on issues of relative simplicity, controlled by existing case law. A copy of the conference materials for this topic is available in the members area of our website.

This conference allowed all constituencies of the Court to have a candid discussion regarding the proposed rule for the record process and ADR topics. The Bar Association has been asked to prepare a report to the Board of Judges regarding the consensus reached by the parties at the conference to include any recommendations for changing the current process. The Court has indicated that they will provide a response to the recommendations of the Bar Association resulting from this conference. Future developments resulting from the conference will be reported to the membership.

The Board of Governors, expresses their appreciation to the following organizations who made generous financial contributions in support of the conference:

National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates, Inc.
Paralyzed Veterans of America
The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program
Disabled American Veterans, Inc.

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Committee Reports:

Law School Education
 
The committee reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims will be traveling for oral argument to Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, PA in March 2007. The Ad Hoc committee is in the initial planning stages of developing a law school curriculum module for veterans law.

Membership
 
The committee reports 322 members to date. The Board of Governor’s voted to add a new membership category to increase numbers and encourage participation. This category is a non-voting complimentary membership for newly admitted practitioners to the court.

Portrait

The committee reports it is proceeding with fund raising for future portraits.

Publications

The committee reports the next issue of the Veteran’s Law Journal will be published in January 2008. The committee intends to expand the publication to include new features.

Website

Suggestions or comments are welcomed.

Schedule of Events

The 10th CAVC Judicial Conference will be held April 14-15, 2008, at the Grand Hyatt Washington DC. The Program focuses on 20 years of judicial review with presentations on the challenges of the past, significant trends on veterans law, and a review of innovations such as e-filing and enhanced mediation being initiated by the Court. CLE credit is available. Registration and payment for the Judicial Conference can be done online at www.vetapp.uscourts.gov. For the convenience of persons interested in attending both the Judicial Conference and the CAVC Bar Association CLE Program, the CLE Program will begin immediately following the close of the Court’s Judicial Conference, in the same location.

The CAVC Bar Association is sponsoring a CLE program on Tuesday, April 15, 2008, from 1 to 5 pm, as an adjunct to the CAVC Judicial Conference. The CLE program will consist of two panel presentations of approximately 1 ½ hours each, and lunch.

The topics for the panels are "Determining What Constitutes an Adequate VA Examination" and "Lay Evidence: Credibility, Competency, and Probative Value in light of Recent Case Law."

Panelists for the discussion on adequacy of VA examinations will be Michael Lane, Senior Attorney at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, Brad Flohr from VA’s Compensation and Pension Service, Dr. Lewis Coulson of the Veterans Health Administration, and Kathy Lieberman, Lieberman & Mark, PLLC.

The Lay Evidence panel will include Matthew Tenner, Special Counsel to the Senior Deputy Vice Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, Leslie Rogall, Senior Attorney at the Office of the General Counsel for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Linda Blauhut of Paralyzed Veterans of America.

The fee for the CLE program is $65 for current CAVC Bar Association members and $100 for nonmembers. The fee for nonmember includes membership in the CAVC Bar Association for the duration of this fiscal year, through September 30, 2008.

Registration can be completed online through the United States Court of Veterans Appeals website along with registration for the Court’s upcoming Judicial Conference on April 14-15, 2008, under Judicial Conference at www.vetapp.uscourts.gov or you can click here to obtain the registration form and mail it to Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association PO Box 7992 Washington, DC 20044-7992. The registration deadline for the CLE Program is April 7, 2008.

CLE forms will be offered and collected at the program, and as sponsor, the CAVC Bar Association will submit the forms for CLE credit to the state bars of all participants.

Because some practitioners may not be able to attend the Conference in person, the CAVC Bar Association is offering the opportunity to view the CLE Program by Webcast. The Webcast registration fees are $65 for current CAVC Bar Association members and $100 for nonmembers. The fee for nonmember includes membership in the CAVC Bar Association for the duration of this fiscal year, through September 30, 2008. Please note that not all states permit CLE credit for Webcast programs. If you seek CLE credit, check the requirements for your state prior to registration.

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