Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Hartford office has been awarded the Connecticut Veteran Legal Center's (“CVLC”) 2021 Veteran Justice Award for substantial pro bono legal service on behalf of Connecticut’s indigent veterans and their families facing immediate homelessness through the eviction process. Hartford partner Cullen Guilmartin, associate Kelcie Reid, and Of Counsel Regen O'Malley, recorded an acceptance video on behalf of the Hartford team who participated in this important work.
The firm’s Hartford office zealously fought on behalf of veterans living in unsafe living conditions and on behalf of those illegally locked out by landlords from their apartments, despite the state and federal eviction moratorium. By keeping veterans and their families safely housed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pro bono attorneys were literally saving lives. Since the eviction moratoriums were lifted, pro bono attorneys have continued to provide critical legal representation to combat the tsunami of summary process filings flooding housing court.
CVLC will virtually host its annual Saluting Service on Thursday, November 11 - Veterans Day. The Saluting Service event and award presentation will feature Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Richard Robinson, who will highlight the importance of pro bono legal service to bridge the access to justice gap for veterans and their families facing homelessness. It will also include Army Veteran, Steve Kennedy, one of two named plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit on behalf of more than 3,000 veterans denied honorable discharges by the Army Discharge Review Board, who will speak about the lasting impact of Kennedy v. McCarthy on Afghanistan-era Army veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and the overall treatment of veteran mental health.
To learn more about CVLC or the Veteran Justice Award, please click here.