Finnegan to Argue Before the Supreme Court on Behalf of Navy Veteran

On October 4, 2022, Finnegan partner James Barney will argue before the Supreme Court in the veteran disability case Arellano v. McDonough, No. 21-432. Working closely with Finnegan associates Alex Harding and Kelly Horn, Mr. Barney—a veteran and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy—represents fellow U.S. Navy veteran Adolfo Arellano pro bono. After developing post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions connected to an aircraft carrier collision he experienced while serving in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Arellano was unable to apply for retroactive benefits within the statutory one-year window following his discharge.

The Supreme Court will consider whether the legal principle of equitable tolling may apply to veterans like Mr. Arellano who are prevented from meeting the one-year deadline to seek retroactive disability benefits. A ruling in favor of Mr. Arellano has the potential to affect thousands of current and future veterans. Mr. Barney, Mr. Harding, and Ms. Horn also represented Mr. Arellano before the en banc Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and successfully petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari review. Of the 7,000 to 8,000 certiorari petitions filed each term, the Supreme Court grants certiorari and hears oral argument in only about 80 cases.

Mr. Barney’s Supreme Court argument continues a long Finnegan tradition of utilizing our appellate expertise to provide pro bono representation. Indeed, Finnegan attorneys have briefed and argued hundreds of cases before the Federal Circuit, and nearly 40 have served as judicial law clerks to judges on the Federal Circuit or its predecessor court. Over the past decade, Finnegan attorneys have used this appellate experience to represent veterans in more than 1,000 appeals at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the Federal Circuit, handling nearly 50 veterans appeals since 2021. Finnegan attorneys have also successfully represented appellants from the Merit System Protection Board pro bono before the Federal Circuit. Finnegan donates 100 percent of the fees it recovers each year under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) for the firm’s successful pro bono work. To date, Finnegan has donated more than $5.5 million to veterans’ charitable organizations, including Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Fisher House Foundation, National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), and others.

Learn more about Finnegan’s appellate practice and pro bono veterans program.