The Cumberland Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic at Cumberland School of Law, provides legal assistance to veterans and their families across the state of Alabama. Through partnerships with local and statewide veterans assistance organizations, the clinic helps veterans and their families for whom retaining counsel would be an undue hardship.
Representation of persons whose case is accepted by C-VETS will be by practicing attorneys assisted by law students or by law students authorized to provide legal representation supervised by practicing attorneys. C-VETS stands ready to assist with a wide variety of civil matters including consumer debt, landlord-tenant, contracts, uncontested family law matters and wills. Students and lawyers may also assist with criminal matters such as expungement, driver license issues and fines and court costs. We can also discuss other legal matters with you and may refer you to another organization. In Jefferson County, C-VETS will work closely with the Veterans Help Desk of the Birmingham Bar Volunteer Lawyers program.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Counties Do You Serve?
C-VETS helps veterans and their families in the following counties: Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Cullman, Etowah, Jefferson, Shelby, Walker
Are There Eligibility Requirements?
You must be a resident of one of our eight service counties, a veteran, spouse, surviving spouse or a dependent (must be a minor child or an adult disabled child living with parents) of an eligible veteran. In addition, you must show that retaining an attorney would be an undue hardship. If you are unsure, contact us and we will help you figure out if you are eligible. And even if you are not eligible for this particular program, we can refer you to other organizations that may be able to help.
Where are Your Offices? Can I Walk In for Assistance?
We are based at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, but at this point, we are serving our eight-county area by telephone and email only.
Is There a Charge for Your Services?
No, there is no charge for our services.
Can You Answer Questions about My Military Discharge or Upgrade?
No, but we will try to refer you to an attorney who can help you with discharge/upgrade issues.
Can You Answer Questions Involving Veteran’s Benefits Such as Service-Connected Disability?
No, but we may be able to refer you to an attorney or organization in your area that may be available to help you.
If You Help Me, How Long Will It Be Before I Speak with an Attorney?
After you apply online or after contacting us by phone or email and being interviewed by a law student, we will decide whether we can assist you with your issue. If we decide that we can help, you will be contacted by a student advocate.
Applying for Legal Assistance
You may apply for legal assistance from C-VETS in one of three ways:
Call 205-726-4735. Leave a message with your phone number and a brief explanation of your legal issue. A law student will contact you to take an application for assistance over the phone.
Email cvets@samford.edu with your phone number and a brief description of your legal issue. A law student will contact you to take an application for assistance over the phone.
Complete our secure, online application. It's the fastest and easiest way to ensure that you provide the vital information we need to evaluate your legal issue and get the process started.
Once the application is completed online or by phone, the clinic will review your application and your legal issue and determine whether it can assist you. Because of time constraints, the clinic cannot assist with emergency legal matters.
How to Volunteer
While C-VETS does not directly engage volunteer attorneys to work on clinic cases, we are seeking attorneys willing to provide pro bono legal services on referral from the clinic. Therefore, C-VETS endeavors to maintain a list of attorneys who are willing to take referrals (on a pro bono basis) for matters that are either outside the scope of the clinic’s representation or due to space limitations, the clinic simply cannot undertake. If you are interested in joining our pro bono referral list, please email the C-VETS clinic at cvets@samford.edu or call the C-VETS managing attorney, Kevin Patton, at 205-726-2690, with your contact information.
Additions and deletions to the referral list are at the sole discretion of C-VETS.
In Memory of Judge John L. Carroll, 1943-2023
Judge John Carroll, JD ’74, former dean of Samford University Cumberland School of Law, passed away on Aug. 14, 2023. Carroll served as dean from 2001 until 2014 and continued to serve as a professor until his retirement in 2022. Judge Carroll taught courses related to mediation, evidence, trial practice, ethics and professionalism and e-discovery. But his true passion was his commitment to serving the public, especially helping veterans. A U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, Carroll co-founded and served as the supervising attorney for the Cumberland Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic, more commonly known as C-VETS. Since the program launched in 2020, it has positively impacted the lives of countless veterans across the state of Alabama. We are grateful for Judge Carroll’s vision for this clinic and are honored to continue serving our veterans and their families in his memory
