Pro Bono Innovators 2022 Honoree Hunton Andrews Kurth

Your firm worked on key matters such as Rudisill v. McDonough, a case that could restore billions in post-9/11 educational benefits for up to 1.7 million veterans. You also led the Eviction Diversion Program in Richmond, Virginia and reestablished 14 monthly legal aid intake clinics in Dallas. How did your firm strategize on how to approach these matters?

In Rudisill, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling holding that veterans with separately qualifying periods of military service are entitled to GI Bill benefits for each period of service. The decision, a key win for the firm’s client, Army combat veteran Jim Rudisill, could restore billions of dollars in post-9/11 educational benefits for up to 1.7 million veterans.

For Rudisill, we focused on the relevant statutory text and the broader historical context of the successive GI bills to show that the relevant text supported our position, but also that the government’s position contravened Congress’ history of allowing veterans to accrue multiple educational benefits through separately qualifying periods of service.

To launch the Eviction Diversion Program (EDP), we collaborated with other law firms, the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation and Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia to recruit and train volunteer conciliators to facilitate communication between landlords and tenants and prepare payment plans.

We relied on teamwork to quickly develop, test, and launch the virtual clinic platform by assembling a team of engineers, technology experts, legal staff, and lawyers who ensured it was accessible, user-friendly, and optimally created to capture required information while being functional on any device.

What were the most innovative aspects of this matter in your view? And who took the lead on driving innovation with the work? 

For Rudisill, the most innovative aspect was developing the broader historical context of prior GI bills. Former HuntonAK lawyers Tim McHugh and Dave DePippo led development of this approach. [During the pendency of the case, McHugh was an associate with the firm and DePippo was a lawyer with Dominion Energy.]

The pandemic forced us to innovate unexpectedly. Eviction moratoria paused the Eviction Diversion Program six months after it launched. Our team refocused our energy and resources building a case management database to efficiently track information and case status. This database and the information we shared with the EDP team proved instrumental in helping tenants apply for rent relief funds to pay their past due rents.

The pandemic also brought about the idea and inception of the virtual clinic platform. It pulled the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP) into the next realm of technology advancement and propelled a number of efficiencies, cost savings, and advancements in the applicant’s experience in seeking legal assistance.

Benefits of the platform include that applicants no longer needed to request time off of work, arrange childcare or transportation, or wait in a line to access services. More lawyers could participate as they could more easily schedule their clinic hours to align with their schedule. And DVAP could manage a higher volume of applications as their records were digitized and streamlined. We do not have an app yet, but that is our next goal.

Tell us more about the impact of the matter on the local, national, and/or global level.

The impact of the Rudisill decision is enormous and far-reaching. The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides billions of dollars in benefits to hundreds of thousands of service members, veterans, and family members every year.  This win provides access to post-9/11 benefits without relinquishing benefits previously earned based on separately qualifying periods of service.

Since 2019, Eviction Diversion Program conciliators helped nearly 1,000 tenants avoid evictions and assisted with disbursement of $1.832 million in rent relief funds to landlords. Nationally, our work on this project allowed us to help tenants obtain rent relief in a way that contributed to Virginia’s leading the distribution of federal funds.

Because of our team’s extraordinary effort and innovation, the virtual clinic platform has processed over 8,500 applicants and held over 130 clinics. We have organized, motivated, and guided 22 of those clinics and provided a staff of volunteers. Nonprofits across the nation have sought advice on improving their clinic structure.

Why do you think your team ultimately achieved successful results? 

In Rudisill, we devoted countless hours parsing a complex statutory and regulatory scheme, and went above and beyond by meticulously tracing the historical development of prior GI Bills. Our lawyers’ passion and hard work was evident throughout, and greatly contributed to our client’s victory.

Our team knew the only way to address the eviction crisis was through the collaboration of many stakeholders, including local elected officials, judges, nonprofit organizations, and pro bono volunteers. Representatives continue to meet monthly to refine the Eviction Diversion Program to address both new and old challenges that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Dedication and hard work. We believed in the virtual clinic vision from day one. In an environment where community members needed help, there were fewer options and resources available. Since we were technologically savvy, we knew this was an objective we could achieve and everyone on the team was highly motivated to succeed.

Take us back to the time the matter was resolved. What did you do to celebrate?  

Since we were working from home at the time of the Rudisill decision, the attorneys involved exchanged a flurry of jubilant emails and called to congratulate one another.  Later that evening, several attorneys celebrated over drinks. 

The Eviction Diversion Program is still growing and evolving. Individually, each conciliator celebrates small victories—each executed payment plan and unlawful detainer continuance—that add to the eviction diversion tally.

Our team received the Benjamin Lacy Volunteer of the Year Award, and we were able to gather in person, socially distanced, and wearing masks, to receive the award and celebrate. It was a fulfilling moment for our team.

The virtual clinic team has been focused on the mission, improving the platform, expanding its reach, and training additional firms to assist with the need. We hold a pro bono meeting every month and use the time to recognize the platform’s achievements and thank every participant that has helped.

Responses provided by Hunton partner and chair of the Pro Bono Committee Fawaz Bham on the Dallas virtual clinics, counsel Jendy Daglio on the Eviction Diversion Program, and associate David Parker on the Rudisill matter.

—With assistance from Kibkabe Araya.