Attorney Antoinette Naddour has been fighting for veterans through her nonprofit law firm Veterans Legal Institute since 2014, when she launched her law firm to assist veterans with pro bono legal support. She and her team of 28 serve nearly 1,000 people each year, focusing on assisting veterans and servicemembers who are low-income, at-risk, homeless or disabled.

Naddour decided to start her own law firm when she was a member of the California State Guard.

“I noticed that there was a huge lack of military-specific services for veterans in need, and I really wanted to be able to provide something tailored to them through people that understood the lingo and that military members would trust,” Naddour says.

From there, she began partnering with organizations such as the Orange County Bar Association and seeking out private attorneys to assist with pro bono cases.

In addition to offering pro bono legal services to veterans, the Veterans Legal Institute holds clinics where people can see an attorney that day and ask legal questions. Naddour and her team also have assisted the community in other ways. For example, they are coordinating legal support at the American Legion Pacific Palisades and assisting both civilians and veterans who are fire survivors with tasks ranging from navigating healthcare benefits to housing assistance.

All of the Veterans Legal Institute’s programs contribute to their mission “to eradicate barriers to housing, healthcare, education, and employment and foster self-sufficiency” among veterans and servicemembers. Naddour notes that since Veterans Legal Institute began, the rate of military suicide and homeless has decreased.

“I'm really proud of that because it's not just about helping one military hero or another, it's really about creating a generational positive change for their families, assisting them with whatever issues they have, and that allows their family to grow and heal as well, along with them,” Naddour says. “It's a strong reason for why I do what I do, and it keeps us going. Not every case is a win or a happy one, but we fight on for those that we can.”

Naddour says her journey in nonprofit law over the past decade has not always been smooth because, like many nonprofits, funding is a constant concern.

“The demand exceeds the supply. We just don't have enough attorneys,” Naddour says. “There's so much demand — we get close to 400 inquiries a month. So that part is very frustrating, [but] we just power through it. We help who we can, and we just keep on fighting.”

Naddour and her team plan to continue to keep working to make sure no veteran or veteran family gets left behind. Each year, they host a fundraising event — this year's event will be at The Balboa Bay Club on Nov. 14. Naddour invites people interested in helping veterans to get involved.

“If supporting the military speaks to them, we're just going to ask to have all hands on deck,” Naddour says. “Anyone who wants to help, there's a space for them at the Veterans Legal Institute. Whether you want to answer phones or you're an attorney and you want to provide help on cases, or you're someone who likes to shred paper, we take everybody. There is so much need and so much demand for support that we are going to lean on our community to help ensure that we can help as many people out there that need help.”

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Bio:

Emily McGinn is a journalist based in the Los Angeles area. She enjoys reporting on and writing about a variety of topics from lifestyle to news, especially in her areas of specialty, environmental science and political science.