By Zinie Chen Sampson

RICHMOND -- The College of William and Mary Law School and Virginia Commonwealth University are teaming up to help veterans with their disability claims and to offer them mental health services.

The Veterans Benefits Clinic will assist military members with service-related disability compensation claims and psychological assessment, counseling and treatment referrals to former service members, who often return from their deployments with injuries.

"Given our proximity to so many military bases, and the initial and repeated deployments that many of our military are facing, we think there is a great deal of need," said Patricia Roberts, clinical assistant professor of law at W&M and director of clinical programs at the Williamsburg school.

Virginia has 28 military installations, and 16 of them have medical treatment facilities, Roberts said.

When the clinic opens in mid-January, W&M law students will help veterans with their disability claims and answer questions about the claims process at no cost to the clients. Students also will educate veterans groups, advising them of their legal rights in the claims process. Students from VCU's Center for Psychological Services and Development will handle the mental health services on a sliding-fee scale, depending on veterans' ability to pay.

Returning veterans who have suffered from traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder need help because they often display "symptoms that make it difficult for them to successfully advocate for their benefits in the claims process while adjusting to their injuries," Roberts said Tuesday.

The clinic will be staffed by eight law students supervised by two adjunct law professors, Stacey-Rae Simcox and Mark Matthews, who both served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. VCU's psychological services center expects three or four students to handle the mental health assessments.

Roberts and Matthews said that Simcox envisioned the clinic as a way to use her experience with the Army and the Department of Veterans Affairs to help veterans, while also giving W&M law students a chance to work with clients.

Army Capt. Brian Kargus, a third-year law student, is one of the law students participating in the clinic.

"I feel that it's my duty to give back to my buddies, the guys I served with," said Kargus, who served a tour in Iraq in 2003-04 with the 101st Airborne Division.

Kargus said a new generation of veterans needs the services the clinic will provide -- and the number of veterans who will need such services is expected to rise.

The Hampton Roads area has a significant population of active duty and military retirees, and "if there were a market for this type of service, this would be the market," he said.

Clinic law students will learn about veterans disability law and procedures, and gain experience in handling clients, analyzing records and conducting interviews with expert witnesses. They also will coordinate their efforts with students in psychology and social work.

The Veterans Benefits Clinic is seeking outside funding, along with lawyers who can assist service members on additional legal issues at no cost to the veterans. The McGuireWoods law firm plans to participate in the effort, W&M officials said.