Some of you may have heard
of the group called the
National Organization of
Veterans Advocates (NOVA).
For those of you haven't,
I thought I would summarize
what you are in for if you
go them.

They do have a website and
going there is a good start.

http://www.vetadvocates.com

If you have a simple, uncomplicated
VA disability case which is well
documented, and papers are not
an issue, and you are NOT
alleging VA corruption [Yeah Right!]
and all of your ducks are lined
up in a row and you can just mail
out the stack and let NOVA do the
driving, then perhaps NOVA is legal
option for you.

New returning Iraq War Veterans
should not have any trouble
using NOVA.

But.....Once you step out of that
narrow box, now you are in trouble
with them.

This is predominately a group
of stay-at-home lawyers,
not affilliated with a full
law firm, and that's only
if you can find an attorney
among them.

Most of them are just more
of the same that we get at
VSO's - a Tweedle Dee with a
certificate from somewhere
that says he/she knows how
to fill out VA disability forms.
[hey, don't we ALL! whoever
heard of a military Veteran who
doesn't know anything about
government FORMS!]

Kenneth Carpenter is a lawyer
and has taken Vet cases and
has been with NOVA for a very
long time. But this guy has
a twist ---- he refuses to
take any mental illness cases
including PTSD.

You will find this a lot
at NOVA, first they list
themselves as Vet advocates,
and then there is the long,
long list of EXCEPTIONS
of cases that they DON'T take
leaving you standing there
scratching your head as to
why they even bother being
with NOVA to begin with.

In my own personal case,
not through NOVA but through
the Court of Veterans Appeals,
I was daring enough to hook
up with a stay-at-home lawyer
and he was the biggest disaster
I had ever encountered. He
either had mental illness or
was an alcoholic, I couldn't
tell over the phone, and this
apparently accounted for why
he was not working with a
real law firm in an office
somewhere.

What will frequently happen
with stay-at-home types, also
is overbooking retainers.
They will sign you up and
then 8 months later your
case is still gathering dust
on his or her desk while
you are bouncing off the walls
screaming for your benefits.
When you call "Where is it,
Where is it?", they will whine
back to you [it's all about THEM]
that they have too many cases
and will get to YOURS "soon".

The one-person VA law office
is not a good idea for
large or complicated cases.
If the C-File is too large,
then they get lost in space
and what you wind up getting
for services at the VARO is
a jumbled pile of shit, and
if you wanted that, then you
could do it your sick and
medicated self. If they cannot
tell a story true and straight
then bail out immediately
because you can become even
more screwed at the VA with
a moron representing you than
you can with no help at all.

I say use NOVA with caution
and size up your situation
before you approach them because
sometimes inadequate or incompetent
help is no help at all !!