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Michael E. Wildhaber - Senior Attorney and Proprietor

Michael E. Wildhaber has been a legal advocate for veterans since February of 1985, while he was still attending law school. First, he became an accredited veterans service representative after beginning work as a law clerk with Vietnam Veterans of America Legal Services (VVALS). After graduation from law school he began work as a staff attorney with VVALS. In August of 1985 he also began a nine-year association as an attorney with the National Veterans Legal Services Project (NVLSP). In early 1994 he resigned from NVLSP to start his own law practice, The Law Office of Wildhaber & Associates, PLLC.

Education

Michael E. Wildhaber graduated in 1979 with his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Political Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). In the spring and summer of 1977 he worked as an intern for a non-profit advocacy association in Sacramento as a participant in the UCSB-Sacramento Internship Program. He also was a Dean’s List scholar at UCSB in 1978 and 1979. Mr. Wildhaber received his law degree (JD) from Antioch University School of Law located in Washington, DC, in 1985.

Legal Experience

From February 1994 to the present, Michael E. Wildhaber has engaged in the practice of law, starting and managing his own law firm, The Law Office of Wildhaber & Associates, PLLC. Prior to this he worked as an attorney for the National Veterans Legal Services Project (NVLSP) from August 1985 to January 1994, and for Vietnam Veterans of America Legal Services from August 1985 to August 1989.

During Mr. Wildhaber’s nine years of service at NVLSP, he worked in many different capacities and held several different positions, including as a special assistant to the Co-Directors, litigation staff attorney, and Director of Agency Representation. Of note was his participation as a line-attorney in two of NVLSP’s significant law reform class-action lawsuits: Giusti-Bravo v. U.S. Veterans Administration, CA No. 87–0950 (D.P.R.) and Cooper v. Secretary of the Air Force, CA No. 89-0927 (D.D.C.). In addition, he litigated as the lead attorney in numerous cases represented by NVLSP in the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (formerly the Court of Veterans Appeals). He also served as a mentor to volunteer attorneys representing veterans before the Veterans Court on behalf of the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Project.

Coinciding with his nine-year association with NVLSP, from 1985 to 1989 Mr. Wildhaber also was employed as a staff attorney with Vietnam Veterans of America Legal Services, the benefits advocacy department of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. (VVA). In addition to supervising VVALS program to provide legal representation to claimants before the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA), he assisted as co-counsel in litigation brought on behalf of VVA, helped train VVA’s service representatives for accreditation by VA, and provided legal support services to attorneys and accredited VVA service representatives in the field. Mr. Wildhaber himself was first accredited by VA as a VVA service representative in 1985, and he has retained this accreditation on behalf of VVA since then.

While attending Antioch University School of Law from 1982 to 1985, Mr. Wildhaber participated in the law school’s clinical internship program, completing one-third of his total credit hours as a Student Attorney in the areas of juvenile rights, landlord and tenant law, and immigration law. During the Summer of 1984 he also worked as a Legal Intern for the Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society.

Community Service

Throughout his legal career, Michael E. Wildhaber has demonstrated a strong commitment to providing pro bono (voluntary) legal services to the disadvantaged who cannot otherwise afford to hire an attorney. He maintains this commitment as part of his day-to-day management of The Law Office. Pro bono legal services are provided to veterans benefits claimants in certain cases.

Prior to entering law school in 1982, Mr. Wildhaber served a 26-month tour as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in western Kenya, from July 1979 to September 1981.

Bar Memberships and Professional Affiliations

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1985 (inactive)
District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1988
United States Court of Appeals for Federal Claims, 1987
United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, 1989
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 1993
District of Columbia Bar Association
National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates (past Vice-President, 1998-2003)

Publications

Author, Ameliorating the Adverse Consequences of VA Accrued Benefits Law on the Survivors of Vietnam Veterans (presented to the National Symposium on the Legacy of Vietnam Veterans and Their Families, sponsored by the Agent Orange Class Assistance Program, May 17, 1994).

Co-Author, VETERANS BENEFITS MANUAL: AN ADVOCATE'S GUIDE TO REPRESENTING VETERANS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS (1991 edition & 1993 supplement).

Co-Author, Proving Service-Connected Disabilities to the VA, 38 THE PRACTICAL LAWYER 39 (September 1992)