VETUS LEGAL™ - Key Persons
David Lowenstein is a Senior Associate Attorney at Vetus Legal LLC and has more than 20 years of experience in veterans benefits law. He started working for eight years at the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of General Counsel where he represented the Secretary of Veterans Affairs before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). He then worked at Goodman Allen Donnelly for twelve years representing veterans and their dependents before the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office, Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board), the CAVC, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
He is well-recognized in VA law. He has mentored attorneys through the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, and has been recognized for his efforts with it by being an annual recipient of the Veterans Consortium National Volunteer Corps Honor Roll. He has been interviewed on the Military and Law Life and Matters Podcast on the topic of "Are you going through the VA Appeal Process - know your rights if you have filed a claim" (2017), and he has spoken at Freddie Mac regarding "Underutilized VA Benefits for Veterans and their Families" (2017), at the University of Maryland Law School regarding "Current Issues in Veterans Health and Disability Law" (2016), Guest speaker at Final Salute, Inc. (2015), and as a Guest Lecturer, College of William and Mary Law School (2009 and 2014). He also participated in a virtual legal clinic addressing questions about veterans benefits in collaboration with the University of Virginia School of Law (2021).
David is also a published author in the complex area of the CAVC's standards in reviewing decisions from the Board. (David J. Lowenstein and Jack Achiezer Guggenheim, Vetting the Appellate Standard of Review: What Was, What is, and What Should Be The Standard of Review Employed by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, 27 Whittier L. Rev. 755 (2006)).
He earned his Juris Doctor from the American University, Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C. in 2000, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Boston University, Boston, MA in 1997. He also attended Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel (1993-1994). He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals of Maryland, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is also an active member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association and the Maryland State Bar Association.
David Lowenstein is an experienced attorney with over 24 years of experience representing Veterans and VA. He started his legal career at the VA's Office of General Counsel representing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for eight plus years and has since been representing Veterans and their dependents before the Regional Office, Board of Veterans' Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
Job Titles:
- Seasoned Veteran Advocate and Legal Professional
Richard "Rick" D. Little is a seasoned Veteran advocate and legal professional with a distinguished career spanning more than 25 years. Currently serving as a Senior VA Accredited Agent with Vetus Legal, he has dedicated his life to supporting veterans and their dependents, especially in challenging and underserved areas across the United States.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Managing Member
- Managing Member and Founder of Vetus Legal LLC
Todd M. Wesche is the Managing Member and founder of Vetus Legal LLC. He helps veterans, and their dependents and survivors, obtain the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits they deserve. This has been his passion since 2004, building on his experience as an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force.
He has had a distinguished and unparalleled career doing so. It started with Todd serving for four years as a Law Clerk and then the Senior Law Clerk to the Honorable Bruce E. Kasold at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). He then left to represent his fellow servicemembers before the CAVC and at the VA. He has represented hundreds of veterans and advised on thousands of claims.
His vast experience also helps others who also serve veterans. For nine years, Todd was a member of Board of Directors of the National Organization of Veterans' Advocates (NOVA), a nation-wide organization that trains attorneys and advocates to improve their practice before the VA and the CAVC. He has presented at NOVA's training seminars on many occasions. Additionally, he has advised the CAVC judges on possible changes to its own rules as a member of its Rules Advisory Committee. He currently serves on the CAVC's Committee on Admission and Practice, which investigates alleged ethics violations and makes recommendations to the Court.
Todd earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 2002 from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, and his Master of Laws in Litigation and Dispute Resolution in 2004 from The George Washington University School of Law in Washington, DC. He is licensed to practice law by Massachusetts, accredited to practice before the VA, and admitted to practice before the CAVC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States (among others).
Todd Wesche is a disabled veteran of the U.S. Air Force, who has dedicated his professional life to helping Veterans, and their dependents and survivors, obtain the VA benefits they deserve. Prior to founding Vetus Legal, he honed his skills for the past 20 years as a law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and in private practice, advocating before the Court and VA.