Panel on Careers in Veterans Law
Chief Judge Margaret Bartley from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims will be joined by experienced attorneys from the federal government and in private practice to discuss career opportunities in veterans’ law — a diverse and rapidly growing area of administrative law.
Topic: Virtual Opportunities for a Career in Veterans Law Panel
Time: February 23, 2022 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Panelists:
Chief Judge Margaret Bartley currently serves as the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Before her appointment to the Court in 2012, Chief Judge Bartley worked as a veterans advocate for the National Veterans Legal Services Program and the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono program.
Javier Centonzio, Esq. is the founder of Centonzio Law, PLLC, where he practices Veterans Disability Law, Estate Planning, and Probate. Before attending college and law school, he served as an enlisted infantryman in the Marine Corps and Kansas Army National Guard. Javier is a graduate of Stetson University College of Law, where he received both his J.D. and LLM in Elder Law. While at Stetson, he participated in the Veterans Appellate Rights Clinic and spearheaded the efforts to create the Veterans Law Institute at Stetson Law. Javier was a David Isbell Intern for The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program and served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Robert N. Davis at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. He has appeared as lead counsel in over 150 appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Javier received the Chairman’s Award from The Veterans Consortium in 2019 for his pro bono work with the program and his representation of Spanish-speaking veterans and claimants from his native Puerto Rico.
Judge Evan Deichert serves as a Veterans Law Judge on the Board of Veterans’ Appeals in Washington D.C. Judge Deichert grew up in Mulvane, Kansas. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with highest distinction in May 2005 with a degree in broadcasting. He was a Presidential Merit Scholarship recipient and served as a Dean’s Fellow at the George Washington University Law School, graduating in May 2008. Prior to joining VA, Judge Deichert clerked for the 11 judges of the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County. Prior to his appointment as a Veterans Law Judge, Judge Deichert served in a variety of roles at the Board, including as Associate Counsel, as Counsel, as Special Counsel in the Office of Knowledge Management, and as Senior Counsel in the Office of Appellate Operations. He was appointed to his position in October 2018.
Nick Esterman, Esq. is a Senior Appellate Counsel in the Office of General Counsel’s Court of Appeals Litigation Group at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He has appeared as lead counsel in over 750 appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Prior to joining VA, he was a staff attorney with the American Bar Association’s Veterans Claims Assistance Program (VCAN). Nick is a graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, where he was a clinical student in UIC’s Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.