Webinar: Pursuing Veteran Herbicide Exposure Cases

The webinar will explore the history of herbicide exposure claims subsequent to the enactment of the Agent Orange Act of 1991. This will include an analysis of the Blue Water Navy and the landmark case of Procopio v. Wilkie. We will look at the role of Congress and difficulties in obtaining supportive legislation. The webinar will also explore herbicide exposure areas outside of Vietnam including Guam, Johnston Island, Panama, Korea, and Okinawa. We will further discuss the role of rulemaking and judicial review in covering veteran herbicide victims and the use of the pro-veteran canon of construction and other statutory interpretation tools to overcome Virginia arguments.

Presented by the Veterans and Military Law Section

About the Presenter:

Commander John B. Wells, USN (Retired), Chairman of the Board and Director of Litigation for Military-Veterans Advocacy, Inc.

John B. Wells was born in Taylorville, Illinois in 1950. He graduated from Sangamon State University (now University of Illinois at Springfield) in 1973. Wells entered the Navy in February of 1972 and was commissioned in 1973. He served as a surface warfare office until his retirement as a commander in 1994. He served at sea for ten years in six different ships and had six years in command of shore facilities. During his last tour of duty, Commander Wells attended the Duquense University Law school night program, graduating in 1994, shortly before his retirement from the Navy. Returning to Slidell, Louisiana, he opened his own practice which emphasizes military and veterans laws. His practice is national in scope and Commander Wells travels throughout the nation in support of military personnel. He routinely handles cases in the Washington, D. C. area. Additionally, he has represented clients in federal courts and courts-martial throughout the United States and before the Department of Veterans Affairs. As well as military and veterans law, Wells also practices in the Louisiana state courts. As well as Louisiana, Commander Wells is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, His is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Federal and District of Columbia Circuits, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the various service Courts of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the United States Court of Federal Claims and several federal district court including those in Louisiana and the District of Columbia. Commander Wells also served as the Director of Legal and Legislative Affairs of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association. In 2012 he founded Military-Veterans Advocacy and served as their founding Executive Director. In that capacity he has traveled expensively to Washington DC to advance legislation important to members of the military and veterans. He has also filed extensive litigation to protect the right of those who are serving or have served. He has testified before both the House and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. In 2019, he won a successful court case, Procopio v. Wilkie, which forced the VA to grant toxic exposure benefits to tens of thousands of veterans. He is a member of the St. Tammany Parish President’s Veterans Military Affairs Advisory Council and serve as a Commissioner for the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission. He is also a member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Fleet Reserve Association, Association of the United States Navy, Vietnam Veterans of America, Military Officers Association of America, and the United States Naval Institute. He was also instrumental in establishing the Veterans Treatment Court for the 22nd Judicial District Court in Louisiana. Commander Wells makes many public appearances and is often interviewed on radio and television. He is a frequent contributor to The Hill, a Washington DC based newspaper. Commander Wells is married to the former Janice Burton of Perth, Western Australia. They have two daughters and are five-time grandparents with two great-grandchildren.

Registration

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Should you request live captioning or another accommodation in order to participate in this webinar, please contact meetings@fedbar.org at least 10 days before the event so we may make the necessary arrangements.

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No refunds will be made for cancellations received after the close of business on November 19, 2020. No-shows will be billed. Substitutions may be made at any time upon notification. Please contact Ariel White at awhite@fedbar.org with cancellation and/or substitution requests.

CLE

1 CLE Credit (60min state) / 1.2 CLE Credit (50min state)

Credit for these complimentary webinars will be processed/reported within 4-6 weeks of the webinar event date and available for credit in states that allow credit for live webinar presentations. Your bar number must be accurate in our database to receive credit.

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If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Caitlin Rider, Conference Manager.