Attorney General’s Office releases report highlighting veterans’ legal support needs statewide

SEATTLE — The Washington state Attorney General’s Office of Military and Veteran Legal Assistance (OMVLA) released its Civil Legal Needs Survey report today, summarizing the met and unmet civil (non-criminal) legal needs of Washington's veterans, service members, and their families.

The report — based on recent surveys by the office of hundreds of people in need of services and hundreds more service providers — identified the top three civil legal needs statewide for veterans, service members, and their families as:

• Applying for or appealing denials of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits,
• Legal problems at the conclusion of employment, and
• Legal issues with landlords.

Providers who assist veterans, service members, and their families had concerns about homelessness and housing problems. Washington is among 22 states that experienced an increase in veteran homelessness in 2024.

“Our office is calling for robust support statewide to help Washington’s veterans, service members, and their families,” said Attorney General Nick Brown, a veteran of the U.S. Army’s Third Infantry Division. “I ask that any veteran or service member who needs civil legal assistance contact my office to see how we can help.”

Demographic data shows more than half a million veterans live in Washington, along with over 65,000 active-duty service members, 17,565 members of the National Guard and Reserves, and an estimated 2 million family members of veterans and service members. Despite the size of Washington’s military and veteran community and their contributions to the stability and vitality of our state, their legal needs are often going unmet.

The Legislature in 2017 passed an agency request bill to promote and facilitate access to free civil legal services for Washington’s current and former military service members, creating OMVLA. OMVLA’s current staff members are authorized to recruit and train volunteer attorneys, maintain a registry of available services and volunteers, assess requests for legal assistance, and refer such requests to registered volunteer attorneys and legal aid providers.

For more information about OMVLA and to request free civil legal help go here.

The 2025 report on veteran and service member civil legal needs, with full survey results, is here.

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Washington’s Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state’s largest law firm, the Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

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