USD School of Law's New Initiative to Protect Student Veterans Profiled in North County Times

USD School of Law's New Initiative to Protect Student Veterans Profiled in North County Times

San Diego (October 1, 2012) - On Sunday, the North County Times newspaper profiled USD School of Law's Initiative to Protect Student Veterans Director Patrick J. Uetz, who is a retired Colonel and a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps. The article, titled "MILITARY: USD offering vets help with education and predatory loan issues," highlights the law school's efforts aimed at helping veterans resolve disputes with online colleges who may have targeted them for their military education benefits.

The Initiative to Protect Student Veterans joins the efforts of military leaders and elected officials to educate and protect military veterans from the misleading practices of some for-profit educational institutions and lenders. The Initiative's multi-pronged approach includes research, advocacy and the launch of the Veterans Legal Clinic.

"Our focus is to assist any student veterans who may have been harmed by the predatory practices of online education companies," Uetz said to the newspaper. "We're here to say we can help, and we are willing to talk to people who want to remain anonymous."

The Veterans Legal Clinic, launched in August, provides free legal assistance to veterans in disputes with for-profit institutions over the use of GI Bill funds and predatory lending associated with education loans. Legal services range from advice to identification of potential claims to representation of student veterans in litigation, arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.

Robert Muth, a litigation associate and former Captain and Judge Advocate in the Marine Corps, is the supervising attorney for the clinic. Muth was interviewed by Rick Rogers on Military Talk Radio, also this weekend. Listen to the radio show podcast or view a full transcript of the interview.

San Diego County has an estimated veteran population of about 240,000, a number that is expected to rise slightly as the service's reduce their overall number of troops over the next few years. Visit the Veterans Legal Clinic web page for more information.

About the University of San Diego School of Law

Recognized for the excellence of its faculty, curriculum and clinical programs, the University of San Diego (USD) School of Law enrolls approximately 900 Juris Doctor and graduate law students from throughout the United States and around the world. The law school is best known for its offerings in the areas of business and corporate law, constitutional law, intellectual property, international and comparative law, public interest and taxation.

USD School of Law is one of the 81 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates. The law school’s faculty is a strong group of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations and currently ranks 23rd worldwide in all-time faculty downloads on the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN). The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, nonprofit, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.