Jason T. Vail

Background

About Jason T. Vail

Jason T. Vail is the Director of the American Bar Association Division for Legal Services, which works to expand access to justice for all persons through the provision of, and appropriate funding for, legal assistance, counsel, and representation in the nation’s civil, criminal, and military justice systems. In his role as Division Director, he also serves as Chief Counsel to the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense, which supports the creation, maintenance, and enhancement of effective civil legal aid and criminal indigent defense delivery systems and services nationwide. For a decade prior to becoming Division Director, Jason served as Chief Counsel to the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel, focused on enhancing the scope and availability of civil legal services for military personnel, veterans, and their families and caregivers. As a part of this work, he lead the creation of the ABA Military and Veterans Legal Center and its programs and initiatives, including the ABA Military Pro Bono Project, a first-of-its-kind national pro bono program for active-duty military families; the ABA Veterans’ Claims Assistance Network, a pro bono program assisting veterans with disability compensation claims; ABA Veterans Legal Assistance Grants, which have provided funding to veterans legal assistance programs across the country; and ABA Home Front, an online legal information and referral platform for military families and veterans. Jason’s prior legal practice includes nearly seven years as a staff attorney in the Seattle office of Northwest Justice Project, Washington State’s largest statewide civil legal aid program. He has also served as a legal editor of Clearinghouse Review: A Journal of Poverty Law and Policy, published by the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law in Chicago, and as a communications consultant for the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. Jason received his B.A. in Business Administration from Eastern Washington University and his J.D. cum laude from Gonzaga University School of Law, where he was on the National Moot Court team and served as managing editor of Gonzaga Law Review. He is admitted to practice in Illinois.