Editorial: Vets barred from attorneys

Monday, May 15, 2006 | 7:20 a.m.

After the Civil War, unscrupulous lawyers took advantage of some veterans who were trying to secure their pension money. So Congress passed a law that prohibited veterans from hiring lawyers to help them obtain benefits.

Pending bills in the House and Senate, including one introduced in March by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., would nullify the well-intentioned but antiquated law. The legislation would allow veterans to pay attorneys to help them, if necessary, getting help in what sometimes can be a complex bureaucracy.

Most veterans aren't in need of a lawyer to navigate the Veterans Affairs claims system. Of those who do need help, they currently can turn to service groups, such as the American Legion, that offer free help in processing claims.

But some cases get complicated and can get snared in a system that can be a time-consuming and frustrating maze to travel for the nation's 24 million veterans - including about 243,000 in Nevada - and it is these cases that often should be handled by an attorney.

In some disputes, claims advance to the independent Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Veterans can retain lawyers to represent them in court, but the veterans are not allowed to pay them until the court reaches a final decision, which can take years, according to the Associated Press. Needless to say, it is an unusual situation in which a U.S. law prohibits a citizen from obtaining legal counsel, experts say.

We don't want dishonest lawyers to take advantage of veterans, but the existing system actually prevents veterans from hiring qualified, competent attorneys to get them the pension benefits they rightfully deserve. We agree with Berkley that veterans should no longer be barred from hiring an attorney if they have exhausted other resources and their patience with the bureaucracy has run out.