RICHMOND, VA – In their fight to secure full educational benefits potentially worth billions of dollars for about 1.7 million post-9/11-era veterans and counting, attorneys from Troutman Pepper and Dominion Energy today filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to review the lower court ruling.
The case was brought by FBI Special Agent James R. Rudisill, a decorated U.S. Army veteran, against the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2015. It seeks to resolve how many months of educational benefits a veteran is entitled to under two different GI bills. Rudisill is represented pro bono by Troutman Pepper attorneys Timothy McHugh, Misha Tseytlin, Kevin LeRoy, Abbey Thornhill, and Trey Smith, among others, and David DePippo from Dominion Energy.
Based on nearly eight years of qualifying service, many of which occurred on active duty in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, Rudisill separately is entitled to educational benefits under both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bills. The VA concedes as much. Despite that, in order to access the generous Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, the VA required Rudisill to first either exhaust or forfeit his remaining entitlement to Montgomery benefits, and limited his entitlement to Post-9/11 benefits to just 10 months, instead of the 36 months the program provides. The VA concedes it has applied this same forfeit-or-exhaust-first requirement to millions of veterans.
Until a December 15, 2022, ruling by an en banc panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversing the ruling of a three-judge panel of the same court in July 2021, appeals courts agreed with Rudisill that the VA’s forfeit-or-exhaust-first requirement was contrary to law when applied to long-serving veterans, like Rudisill, with enough service to separately qualify for benefits under both the Post-9/11 and Montgomery GI Bill programs.
“We are hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court will hear our case because, as the dissenting judges pointed out in the December ruling, the majority gave short shrift to the bulk of the statutory and regulatory text that would be rendered moot or absurd based on the majority’s reading,” McHugh said. “This violates the pro-veteran canon of construction that the nation’s highest court has employed in practice since very soon after the Revolutionary War to recognize that veterans’ benefits legislation is meant to do just that – benefit veterans and their survivors.”
Under Rudisill’s view, when the law is applied correctly, he would be allowed to keep his earned Montgomery benefits, as well as obtain 36 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, and use those benefits as he sees fit, subject to Congress’s long-standing 48-month cap on the usage of benefits under any combination of GI Bill programs. The VA’s forfeit-or-exhaust-first requirement does not benefit Rudisill or any other long-serving veteran.
“I finished my service in 1999, and used the Montgomery GI Bill to help pay for law school, to the tune of about $600 per month, in arrears. The rest of my tuition, books, and living expenses were paid by loans, which took me nearly 16 years to pay back. Today, the Montgomery benefits pay about $2,200 per month. In stark contrast, benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill are equivalent to a full-scholarship to college, with generous stipends for living expenses, books, and fees. In short, these are life-changing benefits for veterans—setting them up to begin their new, post-service chapters successfully, and without the staggering student loan debt impacting so many in this country,” said DePippo, Assistant General Counsel at Dominion Energy and a U.S. Coast Guard veteran. “The Supreme Court granting certiorari and ruling in Jim’s favor would greatly and positively impact his and his family’s lives, and it would be transformative for millions of veterans, their families, and their communities.”
The petition for writ of certiorari highlights the following:
- The Federal Circuit’s en banc decision breaks Congress’ core promise in the GI Bills for post-9/11 era veterans by, for the first time in our nation’s history, depriving veterans with multiple periods of qualifying service the full use of the 48 months of education benefits that they have earned. The result is that veterans with multiple periods of qualifying service—including veterans like Rudisill, who first served in peacetime before September 11, 2001, and then re-enlisted after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to serve again in wartime—cannot use the generous Post-9/11 Bill benefits that they earned with their wartime service, unless they first agree to suffer the penalty of giving up the right to a full 48 months of benefits that veterans with multiple periods of service have received for generations. The Federal Circuit never even attempted to explain why Congress would have wanted to adopt such an unprecedented, punitive regime, to the great detriment of our nation’s veterans.
- Under the Federal Circuit’s decision, millions of veterans face the same nonsensical penalty. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ own data shows that over 2.6 million post-9/11 veterans already have exhausted or forfeited other GI Bill benefits to obtain Post-9/11 benefits, and that number continues to rise as veterans who enlist and re-enlist today continue to establish entitlement to education benefits, including under the Post-9/11 GI Bill program.
Case Highlights:
- Rudisill served three periods of active military service between 2000 and 2011 and applied for education benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill receiving 25 months and 14 days of the 36 months of benefits available under that program.
- After his final stint in the Army, Rudisill applied for education benefits under the Post- 9/11 GI Bill, which also provides 36 month of benefits and has a 48-month combined limit of benefits for veterans who have had multiple terms of service and use benefits under multiple programs.
- The VA claimed Rudisill was only entitled to the remaining 10 months and 16 days of the time allotted by the Montgomery GI Bill.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims determined that Rudisill isn’t limited to the 36 months given by the Montgomery GI Bill because he also qualifies for later benefits under the Post 9/11 Bill.
- S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judges Pauline Newman, Timothy B. Dyk, and Jimmie V. Reyna heard arguments in the case in December 2020. The panel issued an opinion affirming the U.S. Appeals Court for Veterans Claims’ decision in July 2021.
- The VA requested and was granted reconsideration before the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday, October 6, 2022. The court reversed the ruling of the three-judge panel in December 2022.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
About Dominion Energy
About 7 million customers in 16 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to safely providing reliable, affordable and sustainable energy and to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.
NEW YORK – Genna Garver, a partner in Troutman Pepper’s Corporate Practice Group, has been named among a group of eight “trailblazing women” identified by ION Analytics’ editorial team as “notable women in compliance and hedge fund, data privacy and cybersecurity, and anti-corruption law.”
ION Analytics, the parent company of several industry publications, including Hedge Fund Law Report, Mergermarket and Private Equity Law Report, recognized Garver as part of its International Women’s Day feature.
Garver has a unique ability to guide clients through the complex maze of investment regulation. She routinely advises clients on SEC and state investment adviser, broker-dealer, and private fund regulation; Investment Advisers Act compliance programs, annual reviews, and ongoing compliance matters; and regulatory examinations and investigations.
She serves on the Board of Directors and Regulatory Action Committee of the National Society of Compliance Professionals (NSCP), which serves compliance professionals, including investment advisors, brokers, dealers, and fund managers. Garver has been an active member of NSCP for more than a decade. She is a long-time member of 100 Women in Finance and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Education Committee for Connecticut and Westchester County, NY. She also is a member of the New York Alternative Investment Roundtable and is highly involved in women’s and diversity initiatives in the financial services industry.
Consistently recognized as a top-tier national practice, Troutman Pepper’s corporate attorneys regularly handle transactions ranging in size from tens of millions of dollars to multi-billion dollars. Core areas of service include private equity, mergers and acquisitions (including cross-border transactions and corporate carve-outs), capital markets and corporate finance, corporate governance, and securities laws compliance. The firm also has particular expertise in advising clients on matters involving fund formation and fund management.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from start-ups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
LOS ANGELES – Jessamyn Vedro, a litigation partner in Los Angeles with extensive expertise serving the health insurance and managed health care sectors, has joined Troutman Pepper’s market-leading Consumer Financial Services Practice Group. She joins the firm from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP.
Vedro handles complex, high-stakes business litigation for a variety of clients. Specifically, she represents major health plans and insurers in individual and class action lawsuits in both state and federal courts, including actions for breach of contract, bad faith denial of benefits, and unfair competition, while also providing health care regulatory support and compliance advice.
“Jessamyn is a dynamic addition to the firm,” said Partner John West, chair of the firm’s Business Litigation department. “She will help lead our growing managed health care practice in California and beyond, as well as expand our general litigation experience on the West Coast.”
“In addition to her expertise in the health insurance and managed health care sectors, Jessamyn has represented clients in the energy, entertainment, and technology spaces which is of great value to our clients here in LA and across the country,” said Tambry Lynette Bradford, managing partner of Troutman Pepper’s Los Angeles office.
Vedro joins the firm’s nationally recognized CFS Practice Group just one year after Troutman Pepper attracted an industry-leading, seven-partner team to the practice. A two-time winner of Law360′s Consumer Protection Practice Group of the Year award, the high-growth practice helps clients resolve litigation, provides regulatory guidance, and assists with investigations and actions initiated by federal and state government agencies.
“I am delighted to join Troutman Pepper’s top-ranked team and to help grow its managed health care practice on the West Coast,” Vedro said. “The firm is known for providing first-rate client experiences, and I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues to deliver excellent outcomes.”
Vedro earned her JD from UCLA Law School and her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from UCLA. After law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jacqueline H. Nguyen, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from start-ups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
ATLANTA – Six Troutman Pepper attorneys have earned 2023 JD Supra Readers Choice Awards, which recognize top authors and firms for thought leadership in key topics throughout 2022. The attorneys are among only 303 globally to achieve the recognition. Notably, Partner Ethan Ostroff was the No. 1 author writing on financial services and banking matters in 2022.
Troutman Pepper Top Authors
Keith Barnett (Finance & Banking)
Elizabeth McCormick (Energy)
Ethan Ostroff (#1 Finance & Banking)
Ron Raether (Cybersecurity)
Callan Stein (White-Collar Defense)
Anna Wildeman (Environment)
JD Supra’s Readers Choice Awards recognize the top authors and firms read by C-suite executives, in-house counsel, media, and other professionals across the JD Supra platform based on visibility, thought leadership, and engagement. In each of the 31 categories, decided by timeliness and ongoing importance, 10 authors, out of over 70,000 who publish, were recognized for consistently high readership and engagement.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from start-ups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
NEW YORK – Two dozen Troutman Pepper attorneys have been recognized by Thomson Reuters as “Stand-out Lawyers” and will be included in the organization’s database of client-nominated lawyers in private practice. Each year, Thomson Reuters surveys more than 2,000 senior legal buyers around the world in building its list of Stand-out Lawyers.
Those recognized are noted for their ability to improve client satisfaction, increase client advocacy, grow share of wallet, strengthen brands, enhance people engagement, and increase profits per partner.
Troutman Pepper’s 2023 Stand-out Lawyers:
Keith Barnett
Mason Bayler
Meredith Cabarrus
David Constine
Jason Cover
Mark Furletti
Jeffrey Gill
Alison Grounds
Robert Hickok
Stefanie Jackman
James Kim
Tom Marshall
Louise McCabe
David Meyers
Gregory Parisi
Brandon Raphael
Scott Rickard
Andrew Schifrin
Thomas Schmidt
Brooks Smith
Chad Warpula
Justin Weber
Robert Williams
Christopher Young
Thomson Reuters’ Stand-out Lawyers database features more than 18,000 client-nominated, stand-out lawyers in private practice. Those included are identified as stand-outs by senior in-house counsel in large organizations. The database is entirely free from law firm influence.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from start-ups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
ATLANTA – R. Zachary Torres-Fowler, a partner in Troutman Pepper’s nationally recognized Construction Practice Group, has been appointed to serve on the board of directors for The Atlanta International Arbitration Society. The nonprofit organization seeks to promote Atlanta as a venue to resolve the world’s business disputes using international arbitration and mediation.
The Atlanta International Arbitration Society aims to inform the global community that Atlanta offers a major business, transportation and conference center that delivers uncommon value as a venue for arbitrations and mediations. The organization works to continuously improve Atlanta’s most favorable legislative and judicial climate for obtaining and enforcing arbitral awards and forms partnerships with arbitral groups, legal firms, and educational institutions to make Atlanta a leading arbitral center.
Torres-Fowler has a decade of experience advising clients in connection with construction-related disputes and specializes in complex domestic and international arbitration proceedings. He has counseled clients in connection with construction and infrastructure projects in the U.S., Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, and has significant experience representing owners, contractors, and suppliers/subcontractors in connection with disputes involving power plants, airports, commercial buildings, and other civil infrastructure works.
Troutman Pepper’s Construction Practice Group counsels clients on some of the largest, most sophisticated construction projects in the world and is among the leading firms in total number of complex disputes tried and won in federal and state courts nationwide and arbitration forums domestic and international. The practice has been nationally recognized by Chambers and Partners, U.S. News: Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms,” and local publications across the country and was named among Law360’s 2021 Practice Groups of the Year.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Troutman Pepper is serving as legal counsel to Partners Bancorp (NASDAQ: PTRS) in its definitive agreement and plan of merger with LINKBANCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNKB) pursuant to which the companies will combine in an all-stock combination, valued at approximately $167.8 million. Read a company press release about the merger agreement.
Partners Bancorp is the parent company of The Bank of Delmarva (and its division, Liberty Bell Bank), headquartered in Seaford, Delaware, and Virginia Partners Bank (and its division Maryland Partners Bank), headquartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia. LINKBANCORP, Inc. is the parent company of LINKBANK, a Pennsylvania state-chartered bank headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The proposed combination will create a preeminent Mid-Atlantic community bank with nearly $3 billion in assets.
The Troutman Pepper team advising Partners Bancorp in the merger includes Seth A. Winter (Corporate), Gregory Parisi (Corporate), Zayne Ridenhour Tweed (Corporate), Jason L. Langford (Corporate), Joseph A. Goldman (Corporate), William Mayo (Corporate), Lynda M. Crouse (Benefits), Constance Brewster (Benefits), Christopher Stock (Benefits), Mark A. Goldsmith (Tax), and Joel M. Post (Tax).
Troutman Pepper has more than 200 attorneys who regularly advise financial services providers, including banks, neobanks, payment processors, card issuers, and consumer and commercial marketplace lenders. Troutman Pepper handles their full spectrum of legal needs and has been nationally recognized for its work in the financial services industry, including by Chambers and Partners, U.S. News – Best Lawyers®, and Law360, among others.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
ATLANTA – Troutman Pepper Partner Victoria Alvarez has been selected for the 2023 Fellows Program of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), and associates Erica Dressler and William Belton have been named to LCLD’s 2023 Class of Pathfinders. LCLD seeks to create a more diverse and inclusive legal profession with more than 400 members, including corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners.
Alvarez, a partner in Troutman Pepper’s Business Litigation Practice Group, will participate in the landmark Fellows program, which LCLD created to identify, train and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession.
An experienced trial attorney, Alvarez uses her courtroom experiences to counsel companies on limiting their liability and exposure. Appearing before state and federal courts, municipalities, public commissions, and international arbitral panels, she often represents real estate developers, manufacturers, retail operators, and utilities. Counseling businesses big and small — from multinational corporations to local partnerships – Alvarez is well equipped to manage even the most complex multifaceted cases.
Dressler and Belton will participate in LCLD’s Pathfinder Program, which trains high-performing, early-career attorneys in critical career development strategies, including leadership and the building of professional networks.
Dressler concentrates her practice on complex breach of contract litigation, securities litigation, corporate governance disputes, and antitrust litigation, including franchise disputes. She has taken and defended numerous depositions and also has significant trial experience, including a federal jury and federal bench trial.
As corporate counsel, Belton strives to help solve clients’ problems in a targeted and collaborative manner. He focuses his practice on representing clients in mergers and acquisitions, including both private equity and strategic transactions, as well as startup companies and private and public companies in the mature stages of their growth.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are among Troutman Pepper’s core values and are fundamental to the firm’s culture. Troutman Pepper has been involved with the LCLD since the organization was founded in 2009 and most recently was recognized as an LCLD 2022 Top Performer and Compass Award Winner for being among the top 20 percent of organizations based on participation in LCLD programs and activities.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
NEW YORK – Troutman Pepper advised in nearly 200 mergers and acquisitions in 2022 with an overall deal value of more than $26 billion. Transactions spanned across the United States with a handful of cross-border deals.
Troutman Pepper’s continued M&A success is reflected in the League Table rankings showing the firm’s position in multiple categories. Published by Refinitiv, a data analytics provider, and Pitchbook, rankings for 2022 include:
Refinitiv Global Mergers & Acquisitions Review Full Year 2022
U.S. Target Completed AG2 – Based on Number of Deals
#25 ranked firm
Refinitiv Global Mergers & Acquisitions Mid-Market Legal Advisory Review Full Year 2022
U.S. Target Mid-Market
#20 ranked firm
Refinitiv Global Mergers and Acquisitions Small-Cap Legal Advisory Full Year 2022
U.S. Target Small-Cap
#18 ranked firm
Pitchbook Global League Tables: 2022 Annual
Law Firms: M&A Deals Most Active in U.S.
#20 ranked firm
Law Firms: M&A Deals Most Active in U.S.: Representing Companies
#19 ranked firm
Troutman Pepper’s mergers and acquisitions attorneys deliver practical, creative solutions and bring in-depth market and industry knowledge to help clients solve their toughest challenges. The firm has extensive experience representing a diverse array of sophisticated public and private clients from coast to coast. Clients include Fortune 500 corporations and middle-market companies, as well as smaller businesses and emerging growth entities. The firm has particular expertise in the private equity and private fund services space, advising clients on matters from fund formation to investments and exit transactions.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from start-ups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including construction, energy, finance, health sciences, insurance, private equity, real estate, and technology, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
ATLANTA – Troutman Pepper and five partners have been recognized among the world’s leading national and international trademark practitioners in the World Trademark Review’s 2023 edition of the WTR 1000. The publication is the definitive guide that identifies the top trademark professionals in key jurisdictions around the globe.
Individual practitioners, law firms, and trademark attorney practices qualify for inclusion in the WTR 1000 solely on receiving sufficient positive feedback from market sources. The extensive research process was conducted over a four-month period by a team of full-time analysts and involved over 1,700 telephone interviews with trademark specialists across the globe.
United States: Georgia
- Troutman Pepper (Silver – Firms)
- Michael Hobbs (Silver – Individuals)
- Austin Padgett (Bronze – Individuals)
United States: California
- Susan Stabe (Bronze – Individuals: Prosecution and Strategy)
- Ben Wagner (Bronze – Individuals: Enforcement and Litigation)
United States: New York
- Howard Shire (Bronze – Individuals: Enforcement and Litigation)
Troutman Pepper’s nationally recognized Intellectual Property Practice provides the complete range of services for patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets and assists clients with litigation and dispute resolution, licensing and other transactions. Clients include startups, Fortune 100 companies, academic and research institutes, business incubators, and technology companies in a wide range of industries.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.