Signing Up for Service

• Author: Lyle Moran
• Pages: 66-67

66 || ABA JOURNAL MARCH 2019

Your ABA

COURTESY OF MIR ALI

When one of Mir Ali’s colleagues

at Schi Hardin contacted him last

year to ask whether he thought the

fi rm would be interested in joining a

national network of attorneys provid-

ing pro bono legal assistance to veter-

ans, Ali responded: “Absolutely.”

Ali, a veteran himself, then pitched

the opportunity to partner with

the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono

Program to Schi Hardin’s pro bono

coordinator. She gave her immediate

approval.

The fi rm publicly announced

the new collaboration led by Ali in

November, and Schi Hardin lawyers

have started representing veterans

and their loved ones in appeal-

ing denials of benefi ts by the U.S.

Department of Veterans A airs.

“We are o to the races,” says Ali,

an ABA member since 2011.

Ali, a Chicago-based partner who

handles a variety of litigation mat-

ters, says his own military service has

aided him with the pro bono work.

He was on active duty in the U.S.

Army for seven years, including two

combat deployments to Afghanistan

between 2005 and 2007.

Ali commanded a team of U.S.

Army Special Forces soldiers, com-

monly known as Green Berets, and

he received two Bronze Stars for ser-

vice and another for valor. He was

also awarded the Purple Heart after

sustaining wounds from shrapnel

while directing troops during combat

in Afghanistan.

Now, he and a “pilot team” of

three other lawyers are handling

cases before the U.S. Court of Ap-

peals for Veterans Claims based in

Washington, D.C. The work includes

ensuring that the VA is considering

all records and evidence of combat

injuries or other service-connected

injuries when making compensation

decisions.

“It is very rewarding for us to be

able to assist those folks that don’t

know how to navigate the legal sys-

tem and obtain the compensation

they are fully entitled to under the

law,” Ali says.

COMRADES IN COURT

Ali says his experiences are helpful

in connecting with the veterans he

and his colleagues are assisting.

“When you hear the stories about

how they were wounded, whether it

be in combat or moving equipment, I

think you can relate to that,” Ali says.

“You have done that same type of

work and seen people injured.”

Schi Hardin associates Tracy

Adamovich, Samuel Bonnette and

Christopher Bruno are the other

members of the fi rm’s pilot team

handling cases through the consor-

tium. Adamovich and Bonnette are

also Army veterans.

Adamovich, who deployed to

Iraq as a chief of casualty opera-

tions o cer for a year starting in

February 2004, says it’s been grat-

ifying to have the opportunity to

help fellow veterans with their legal

needs.

Since Ali had previous experience

taking on a case through the consor-

tium, Adamovich was able to turn to

him for some practical advice.

“Mir has been the forerunner,” says

Adamovich, a New York City-based

associate. “He really does take a lead-

ership role in everything he does.”

Paula Ketcham, Schi Hardin’s pro

bono coordinator, says Ali is a natu-

ral leader and a great fi t to head

up the partnership with the

Veterans Consortium.

The fi rm encourages its

lawyers to follow their

passions when taking

on pro bono projects,

she says.

“Mir followed in

the tradition of many

Schi lawyers in

identifying pro bono work that reso-

nates with his experience, values and

expertise,” says Ketcham, a Chicago-

based partner. “His passion for this

work is inspiring and will inspire

others.”

If the Schi Hardin pilot team’s

members continue to have posi-

tive experiences working on cases

through the consortium, the fi rm

hopes to grow the number of its

attorneys taking part in the program.

VOLUNTEERING FOR VETERANS

Since its inception in 1992, the

Veterans Consortium Pro Bono

Program in Washington, D.C., has

recruited, trained and mentored

Signing Up for Service

Schi Hardin partner and former Green Beret leads fi rm’s pro bono pilot program for veterans

By Lyle Moran

Mir Ali as a Green Beret