We were lucky to catch up with Antoinette Naddour, Esq., LLM recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Antoinette, thanks for joining us today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

The term nonprofit is a misnomer- you still need to turn a profit. Although we service the poor at no charge, we still have overhead. Our costs include rent, salaries, insurances, supplies and more. Yet, we are not selling good or services, we are providing goodwill. We survive off of private donations and grant funding. We have big bills and even bigger dreams. That being said, I thought having a few employees would suffice and we would be able to source enough funding to cover every Veteran in need.

Well, we can’t.

Passion and intentions aren’t enough. In August 2023, Veterans Legal Institute received 219 online applications for service with an additional 8 applications in office- with a total of 322 legal issues presented. The first week of September 2023, VLI had 46 applications from veterans in crisis with needs ranging from homelessness prevention to assistance with benefits for survivors of military sexual trauma to end of life emergency planning. Attorneys and staff at VLI are well versed in these areas so the work isn’t the barrier to service- it’s the amount of work. VLI has 24 employees and utilizes over 200 volunteers each year who log in over 10,000 hour of service. That being said, it’s not enough to fill the massive influx of service needed so that no veteran falls through the cracks. Simply put, we need more full time employees, and that requires funding we do not have.

In an effort to utilize creative means of service, we have taken several measures. VLI has automated its application system so that veterans can apply directly online. We have streamlined processes for veteran benefits, discharge upgrades, and family law with questionnaires. In terms of funding, we have reached out to several partners including SCSEP who place older adults who want to be trained and re-enter the workforce, At present, VLI has 2 SCSEP admins who make sure that every veteran who calls the office during business hours receives a warm greeting instead of going to voicemail. They also relieve the burden of administrative tasks so that VLI attorneys can focus on their legal work. We have reached out year after year to different funders like the Orange County Bar Association Charitable Fund, the Stanley W. Eckstrom Foundation, the State Bar of California, Bank of the West, and others who have stepped up their giving to ensure that veterans in need access justice. Bank of America awarded VLI a grant to fund summer high school and college interns with a stipend so that we attract better talent and train future attorneys who otherwise would not have been able to volunteer. Further, each year around Veterans Day VLI hosts a fundraiser to raise funds to hire two full time attorneys for one full year that can assist up to 400 veterans. Overall, these measures have allowed us to hire more staff to meet the daily needs. Nonetheless, the demand for free legal services is increasing and we are constantly reinventing our strategy to meet the daily economic climate and ensure that every hero in need gets a hand up.

Antoinette, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a first generation American and first generation college student. My dream was to become an attorney and work in public interest. A few years after graduating at law school, I joined the Americorps as an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow and started working at a local legal aid. There I developed a greater love and commitment to working with those who could not afford to access justice and discovered a significant void in military specific legal services. While engaging the unhoused, I noticed a large minority had served in the US military and I didn’t understand why. After further investigation I came to realize that the reason certain veterans are homeless varies greatly from their civilian counterparts and as such, they need customized care. For example, a veteran may have issues dating back to his or her service in the military that requires someone who understands military culture and lingo as well as the system. My passion led me to co-found the Veterans Legal Institute (VLI) in 2014 and since then my team has served over 10,000 veterans in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Veterans Legal Institute provides free legal services to veterans with the intent to empower them into accessing housing, healthcare, employment, and education. Our goal is to lift the veteran and his or her family into self sufficiency. Many will attest that they were on their last leg before finding an advocate at VLI and with our help, have a renewed excitement about life. For example, the staff at VLI encountered a woman veteran who was living out of her car. She had experienced military sexual trauma during her service and suffered from post traumatic stress disorder so much that she was unable to maintain a job or any personal relationships, finding herself homeless, suicidal, and alone. She had applied for her benefits based on her MST and resulting PTSD but was denied twice and could not locate an attorney to assist her in her upper level appeal. VLI was able to connect her to mental health resources and appeal her claim resulting in a backdated award significant enough to ensure her safe housing. Today, this veteran is thriving, a massive 180 degree turn from where she was prior to being connected to VLI. There are countless other stories of veterans who would have become homeless but for their advocate at VLI, and simply having a pro bono attorney who they otherwise couldn’t afford.

Professionally, I am most proud of the veterans lives we saved through compassion and care, the families that stayed together and have grown in strength with the help of a legal advocate, and building a patriotic team of like minded, caring individuals who practice law with their minds and hearts. Personally, my greatest happiness are my two teenage sons who are compassionate citizens who recognize the need for them to serve their community, and my greater extended family who have always supported and loved me.

I was an officer with the California State Guard for over 6 years and served in the rank of Major both as a Marketing Officer assigned to Strategic Communications (STRATCOM) as well as reserve JAG Officer assigned to Legal Support Command. I regularly lecture on legal topics affecting veterans and openly share innovative solutions aimed at veteran empowerment and self-sufficiency to the greater community. I sit on the military advisory boards for Supervisor Katrina Foley and Congresswoman Young Kim.

I am a graduate of the 2018 Presidential Leadership Scholars Class, a prestigious program that serves as a catalyst for a diverse network of leaders brought together to collaborate and make a difference in the world as they learn about leadership through the lens of the presidential experiences of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson. During my tenure in this program, I focused on the improvement and further development of mobile legal clinics for low income veterans, a project that is shared freely throughout the nation to promote additional services for veterans in need.

I was a two term Director at Large with the Orange County Bar Association, and am presently member of the Outreach and Pro Bono Committees and Co-Chair of its Military and Veterans Committee. I am a board member of the Orange County Women’s Lawyers Association and was named the OCWLA 2022 Attorney of the Year. I am also Board Advisor for the Orange County Black Chamber of Commerce, member of the OC Veterans and Military Families Collaborative, former multi-year Chair of its Legal/ Re-Entry Working Group, and for a long period of time served as Vice Chair of its Steering Committee.

I hold a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and Management from Chapman University School of Business as well as a Juris Doctor with a special certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution and an LLM emphasized in Business and Economics from Chapman University Fowler School of Law.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I first came up with the idea to start a veteran serving legal aid, I decided to approach several community stakeholders and people I respect to pitch my idea. With business plan in hand, I met with over one dozen people and most told me the same thing: go attach to an existing legal aid; no one wants to fund lawyers; you won’t be able to afford legal staff on a nonprofit budget; why would someone homeless need an attorney?

Undefeated, I decided to move forward without outside seed funding with a hard goal and promise to myself that if the nonprofit was unable to pull in funding and hire staff by the end of its second year, I would accept failure and move on.

I was relentless and approached every person and organization willing to listen. I shared my business plan with trusted people, received feedback, adjusted, and slowly convinced funders that the veterans we served were worth investing in. I brought in hard data as well as told stories of veterans we had served. I had veterans testify and their stories were powerful enough to warrant funder’s trust. I applied for paid fellows from law schools and was awarded full time staff on their dime. I brought in volunteer paralegals, admins, law students, college students and others to help support the operation. I was working 50-60 hours per week, sometimes more.

All of the leg work paid off. The Orange County Bar Association Charitable Fund awarded VLI a grant that allowed us to hire staff and has since raised money on VLI and other legal aid’s behalf every year. Further, many attorneys who support the OCBACF have stepped in to volunteer on cases at VLI. This has allowed us to serve an exponential amount of veterans who are getting top quality care from partners and associates at law firms around Southern California.

Despite the naysayers, I supplemented my passion and desire with a good business plan, a mind open to feedback, data, and hard work. Today, almost 10 years later, we have 24 employees, over 200 volunteers per year, and have served over 10,000 veterans in need.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Veterans Legal Institute boasts a national reputation for its military advocacy. We are wholly military specific, hire military connected folk, and have an excellent rapport with our clients, funders, and the greater military community. This came over time. Along with my staff, I lecture and publish regularly on topics affecting veterans. There is no trade secrets to the work we do- we openly share and educate attorneys and veterans alike on what we do and how we do it. The goal is to create more veteran advocates as the need is so vast that not one organization can meet all the demands.

Most importantly, we show up. I personally attend several veteran and legal events every week. VLI has a presence at almost every local veteran resource fair. We take an active role in the Orange County Veterans and Military Families Collaborative.

Our clients testify. With a select few and their permission, we video client stories to spread the good news.

A reputation takes years to build and seconds to destroy so we are constantly reviewing our work, consulting with one another about how to improve services, and maintaining a happy staff environment that promotes productivity.

Contact Info:

• Website: vetslegal.org
• Instagram: veteranslegalinstitute
• Facebook: Veterans Legal Institute
• Linkedin: Antoinette Naddour and VeteransLegalInstitute
• Twitter: VetsLegalOC
• Youtube: Veterans Legal Institute

Image Credits
For my personal photo, the photographer was Victoria Chrystal Photography