Campbell Law’s Veterans Legal Clinic seeking clients to challenge discharge classifications

RALEIGH - Campbell Law School's Veterans Legal Clinic is officially open and taking new clients, Dean J. Rich Leonard has announced.

The law school's newest pro bono clinic provides representation and advocacy for low-income veterans of the Armed Services, who are challenging their discharge classifications. Through supervised student representation on these petitions, former military members may gain the ability to receive greater Veterans Affairs benefits, status and services following their separation from the Armed Services.

The clinic is located in The Commons, a co-working space on the third floor of 150 Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh. A formal grand opening ceremony for the clinic was held on Sept. 4.

"Thank you for joining us on this great day where we kick off remarkably our seventh freestanding clinic, which are now scattered in niches all over Raleigh," Leonard told the group of students, faculty, staff and supporters gathered for the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"This clinic has been envisioned for a long time, but to start a clinic, you really need three things. You need to prove a need in the community and that's not difficult. You need space and we found space. And you need resources. Luckily, resources have come my way in the shape of an anonymous donor, who's funded the clinic sufficiently so that it can stand on its own for the next five years. I'm enormously grateful for that."

The Veterans Legal Clinic is a clinical course in which law students, under the supervision of a licensed attorney, represent low-income former service members, before military administrative boards and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), who need advocacy to correct injustices in their records.

Leonard added it was a great day for the law school in another significant way. "We got our bar exam results today, and they were spectacular. We hit right at a 95% passage rate, one of the best rates Campbell has had … and while some of my faculty might disagree, I actually think there's a tie between the expansion of our experiential programs and how well our students are doing. I think the skills they are taught in these clinics are exactly the sort of skills that get tested on the bar exam."

Veterans Legal Clinic Director Sebastian Kielmanovich, who has taught as an adjunct professor at Campbell University since 2019, is the Managing Attorney at Triangle Immigration & Criminal Defense.

The final missing element needed to start the clinic was to find the right person to run it, Leonard continued.

"Luckily, I knew Sebastian from being an adjunct faculty member, and he has a remarkable background," he said. "Many of you know he's a native Argentinian and he has his first law degree from his home country and then he earned a JD from Duke University. He is a captain in the Army Reserve, and he was a well-known prosecutor as an assistant U.S. attorney before launching his own practice. I'm delighted to add him to my incredible cohort of clinic directors."

Assistant Dean of Experiential Learning Richard Waugaman III '09, '12 said the law school is very pleased to be filling a need that has existed for a long time.
"What we have with all of our clinics is an opportunity for students to get to work with live clients, to get to work on cases that go beyond just the hypothetical in class, to have an impact and to be the hands and feet of the law school going out into the community to meet the needs that are so prevalent and try to help fill those gaps."

Kielmanovich added becoming a citizen and being a federal prosecutor representing the United States was one of the greatest honors of his life, followed by wearing the uniform of the U.S. Army at 45 years old. However, when he turned 50, he decided he wanted to try something different, so he started his own practice.

"This is where everything converged," he explained. "I talked to the Dean about how meaningful and important it would be to help veterans, and the time was right."

The clinic's focus is on helping veterans who have been discharged with any type of discharge that is less than honorable, Kielmanovich said.

"They have, in some cases, a general discharge that is preventing them from receiving some benefits, so we will be trying to help those former service members get the benefits they need," he explained. "Many who have what they call 'bad papers' end up homeless or they don't have access to mental health treatment, medical care and other types of resources. It could also hurt employment because a general discharge may close doors for getting a job in the private sector."

The clinic is currently looking for clients, who can find out if they are eligible for its services by filling out the form at this link.

"We are getting out in the community just like a real law firm and we are doing some marketing," Kielmanovich said.

In addition to helping veterans, the other mission of the clinic, according to Kielmanovich, is to train law students on essential lawyering skills, such as client interviewing and counseling, factual investigation, research skills, written and oral advocacy and legal office operations.

"Students are going to leave law school knowing how to work in real life, how to either start up their firms or work anywhere else because the clinic is going to give them the tools they need to research, to advocate, to negotiate, to resolve conflict, to deal with psychological issues," he said. "So what we will see is a comprehensive benefit, a win-win, for the students, for the community, for the veterans and for the law school and the university as well."

Joshua Crockett '27 is a second-year law student enrolled in the clinic along with four other students this semester.

"I wanted to participate in the clinic because I wanted to help veterans on both sides before I hopefully enter the service," he said. "My friends and family have served in the military and I want to honor and respect them and their service and sacrifice for our country. I know each of the students in the clinic have their own reasons for participating, and in the end, we all want to support those who have served and sacrificed, in whatever way we can."

Potential clients can this QR code to fill out the form to find out if they are eligible for the clinic's services:

ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation's top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation's best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2026, Campbell Law will celebrate 50 years of graduating legal leaders and 17 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina's Capital City.

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