Stetson Law receives boost in state funding for Veterans Law Institute and Veterans Advocacy Clinic
Stetson University College of Law received “robust state support” for its Veterans Law Institute and Veterans Advocacy Clinic in the new state budget that took effect July 1.
The clinic, which is part of Stetson’s Veterans Law Institute, provides free legal services to veterans and their family members who are appealing decisions about their disability benefits. It also gives students an opportunity to gain legal experience while helping U.S. military veterans, according to the university.
The 2024-2025 state budget provides $438,000 in funding for the Veterans Law Institute and Veterans Advocacy Clinic.
“Service to our community is a core value at Stetson Law, and we are proud to have one of the nation’s leading Veterans Clinics,” Stetson Law Dean D. Benjamin Barros said in a statement. “We are grateful that our state leadership recognizes the value of the Veterans Advocacy Clinic and is willing to support the transformative outcomes it can provide to those who have served our nation.”
The budget also includes a $500,000 historic preservation grant for the Hulley Tower project on Stetson’s main campus in DeLand.
Stetson Law students and staff provide about 250 hours of free legal work on every client case, work that can result in increased healthcare access and financial stability for veterans and their families, according to the university.
“This support from the State of Florida will be immensely helpful to grow the incredible work that our students and staff do on behalf of veterans every day,” said Stacey-Rae Simcox, a Stetson Law professor and director of the Veterans Law Institute and Veterans Advocacy Clinic. “Through our work, veterans can get access to priority health care and financial help that can mean the end of housing instability for their families.”
Since 2014, the legal work by the Veterans Advocacy Clinic has resulted in veterans receiving about $23 million in additional future benefits, as well as $13 million in retroactive benefits, according to Stetson Law. Students who have participated in the clinic often seek opportunities to continue using their legal work to help veterans after graduation and have also returned to campus to mentor others who show promise in the area of veterans law.
“Our primary goals are to train law students to be excellent attorneys and to help our nation’s veterans. This funding will help the Veterans Law Institute increase our abilities to do both,” Simcox said. “Increasing a veteran’s access to benefits he or she has earned through service to our nation can be life-changing for both the veteran client and the student who represents the veteran.”
