Representing One to Help Millions

Tim McHugh, a partner in Troutman Pepper Locke’s Richmond, VA office, was featured and quoted in the article “Representing One to Help Millions,” the cover story of the October 2025 issue of Virginia Lawyer magazine. The article highlights Tim’s pro bono work alongside David J. DePippo, managing counsel at Dominion Energy. Both men recently received the Military and Veterans Law Pro Bono Award from the Virginia State Bar Military and Veterans Law Section after successfully arguing before the United States Supreme Court in the case of Rudisill v. McDonough.

“From 2009 to 2024, the VA was making everyone switch over [from MGIB to PGIB],” McHugh said. “What that meant was, if you technically had enough service to qualify for both benefits, you were potentially giving up additional benefits.”

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“We made a [Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the VA asking how many active duty and veteran service members had to forfeit their Montgomery benefits in favor of their Post-9/11 benefits,” McHugh said. “On the eve of filing with the Supreme Court, we got a response back stating that from 2009 to November of 2023, the VA revoked almost two million service members’ Montgomery benefits to receive their Post-9/11 benefits.”

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“One of the most standout briefs was [from] the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, Jason Miyares, and the Solicitor General’s Office, leading a 34-state bipartisan amicus brief,” McHugh said. “They stated that they had significant institutional interest by not only having veterans in their states impacted by this decision but also how the VA’s interpretation and misadministration of GI Bill benefits impact their states’ corollary state educational benefits programs.”

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“We have active litigation with some of those folks,” McHugh said. “We are attempting to get injunctions from the court to ensure that those people have benefits so their children can go to school.”