Clinical Professor Emerita Angela Drake named GMLF Woman of the Year
Clinical Professor Emerita Angela Drake received a Greater Missouri Leadership Foundation Woman of the Year award this summer. Professor Drake was one of four women celebrated at an awards ceremony in July for their outstanding contributions to citizens of the state. Specifically, the Foundation selected Angela as the 2024 GMLF Inspirational Leader of the Year due to her work as the founder of our Veterans Clinic. Read more about the award here: https://greatermo.org/women-of-the-year/ …
Mizzou Law Student, Veterans Clinic Director File Amicus Brief in the US Supreme Court
On March 29, Mizzou Law 2L Katherine Frerking and Professor Angela Drake, director of the MU Veterans Clinic, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court for an upcoming case. The case, Skaar v. McDonough, is a putative class action involving hundreds of veterans who were exposed to large amounts of radioactive plutonium dust when they participated in a “clean up” following the collision of two Air Force planes above Palomares, Spain in the 1960s. For years, the Office of Veterans Affairs (VA) used a flawed radiation dose estimate methodology to determine the amount of radiation to which these…
Professor Angela Drake Wins Distinguished Faculty Award
Professor Angela Drake, director of the Mizzou Law Veterans Clinic, has been honored by the Mizzou Alumni Association (MAA) with the 63rd Annual Distinguished Faculty Award. This award honors one Mizzou faculty member each year for their exceptional contributions to the University’s growth and core mission, through their professional accomplishments, teaching and research excellence or service to the institution. Under Professor Drake’s leadership, the Veterans Clinic has assisted over 1,000 veterans and their family members with discharge upgrades and disability compensation claims, free of charge, and secured over $10 million in federal compensation benefits for those they represent.
USSC Justice Cites Mizzou Law Veterans Clinic Amicus Brief in Dissenting Opinion
An amicus brief written by Mizzou Law Veterans Clinic students and faculty was cited three times by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in his dissenting opinion in George v. McDonough. The case, decided on June 15, found that discharged military veteran Kevin George was not entitled to have his earlier decision denying veterans benefits for preexisting mental health issue, exacerbated by his time in service, revised to conform to the law. The case involved the scope of “clear and unmistakeable error” in agency decisions. In George’s case, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs denied his benefits initially…