As a staff attorney with the Veterans Legal Assistance Program, Hal brings a wealth of experience and a personal connection to his work. Raised in a military family, he knows firsthand the sacrifices veterans and their families make. Hal’s dedication to serving those who served our country shines through in every call he takes.
On how his career in legal aid started...
After I returned home from a year in Vietnam, I took a little time to consider my next steps. I've always hung on to the idealism of the early 1960's as manifested by President Kennedy's creation of the Peace Corps. In the late 1960’s, the Vietnam War and Watergate led to a high level of national cynicism which I could not accept. It was a major motivation for me to join the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA).
Legal aid was the most obvious program [for me], and they sent me to Legal Aid Society of Travis County in Austin just when legal services were getting federal funding from Legal Services Corporation. Before that, it had been almost all locally funded. This led to a dramatic expansion of legal aid programs. I liked the environment. I stayed because I liked the attorneys. We had similar goals and attitudes. SSI came in at the time I was starting. It was a new creature, and I developed a specialization in Social Security work.
On returning to legal aid in retirement...
I wound up working for a for-profit entity later in my career. I could have stayed retired, but what was attractive about this job was going back to my childhood roots as an army brat and getting back to legal aid...my past identity. Just getting back to what I enjoyed the most.
My dad served in the Korean War and came up through the ranks in the Army. My mom worked as a nurse, raising me and maintaining our financial stability during my dad’s deployment. We lived in Japan when I was in high school, and one of the best times in my life was being at Zama [an army-dependent high school in Japan]. My dad eventually retired as Lieutenant Colonel after 22 years. I understand veterans, even different generations, and all the stuff that a family goes through when you're moving around all the time. There are a lot of different outside pressures that a veteran and his or her family encounter that you don't see in the civilian world. I grew up with an understanding of what a [military] family had to go through and how that felt.
On what inspires him...
The environment here. The other staff members. Everybody has a commitment to what they do, but they're also realistic about it. Everybody has a sense of humor, which you really need in some of these situations. Humor can be a coping mechanism when idealism meets reality. You may not wind up published in a law review, or getting a newspaper headline in some big case, but [our work] is just as important to our clients.
You may not wind up published in a law review or getting a newspaper headline in some big case, but [our work] is just as important to our clients.
On what surprises him the most....
I'm always surprised that even the most basic advice or referrals are so helpful for our clients. Sometimes clients don't know of other benefits that they might be eligible for beyond a veteran's program. Just being able to give people that guidance for extra opportunity of financial support is rewarding in and of itself. Sometimes there is an easy solution to their situation.
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