Veterans' Benefits and Issues: Home

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Need more help? Reference librarians are available to meet with students in one-on-one sessions (or in small groups) to discuss research strategies, recommend relevant resources or review specific topics of legal research. 

Contact law-library@uic.edu with the subject you're researching and when you would like to meet. A librarian will get back to you to set up an appointment. You can also schedule an appointment on the library homepage by clicking "Schedule an Online Research Appointment." We ask that you request your appointment at least 2 days in advance, but remember that you can always stop by the reference desk for immediate help with a quick research question.

Welcome to the Veterans' Benefits and Issues Libguide!  The goal of this Libguide is to assist researchers interested in veterans law and veterans' issues.  This guide is written for individuals familiar with basic legal research.  Hopefully, this guide will expose researchers to veterans' issues and serve as a reference tool for veterans law research.  The guide also collects information like career resources for veterans, healthcare programs, and other veterans' benefits to further assist individuals who volunteer and help veterans (see Resources for Veterans).  The majority of this guide will identify resources that are available through the UIC Law Library, free online sources, and the Chicago Public Library.

Veterans law is an area of law that covers the legal treatment of military veterans and veterans' families.  Veterans law falls within a diverse range of legal areas, including but not limited to employment benefits, healthcare, disability, long term care, loan programs, education, family law, and criminal law.  The majority of veterans law is federal law.  These laws are generally protective in nature, providing benefits to qualifying former service members and their families.  States and municipalities, though, also pass laws protecting and providing benefits to veterans.  For a comprehensive understanding of veterans' benefits, it is important to research federal and state law.

The UIC Law Library provides this Libguide as a service to our patrons.  While this guide covers legal information, it is not intended to be taken as legal or non-legal advice.  Please consult a veterans' advocate if you have any veterans' benefits issues.  You can find veterans' advocates through the Veterans Advocates & Organizations page.

Navigating this Libguide:  This guide has six main pages accessible through the tabs located near the top of this page. 

1. Home: Provides a brief description of veterans law, general research tips and instructions for navigating this Libguide.
2. Secondary Sources: Identifies manuals, practice materials, and books that provide commentary and analysis on veterans law and issues.  This section also identifies relevant medical reference sources, manuals, and books that are used in veterans' disability and compensation claims. 
3. Primary Sources: Identifies the main federal statutes, case reporters, and regulations that make up veterans law.
4. Background Reading: This section identifies books covering veterans' related issues (e.g., U.S. Government's treatment of veterans,  post deployment issues).  
5. Veterans Advocates & Organizations: This section will identify Veterans Services Organizations (VSOs) and Non-Profit Organizations that either advocate or provide resources to veterans.  
6. Resources for Veterans: Identifies public internet sources that range from news feeds, government websites, to veterans and military websites.  This section will also identify resources that assist veterans, ranging from education, employment, and health related resources.

This guide is designed as a reference tool for veterans law researchers.  Most of the guide focuses on veterans law. For those of you just starting your research, we suggest starting your research with Secondary Sources, specifically the NVLSP's Veterans Benefits Manual.  This book provides an excellent overview of veterans' benefits, and can help you gain expertise in veterans law.  To further understand veterans' issues, we suggest checking out the material identified in the Background Reading section.  Afterwards you could consult Primary Sources.