Stacey-Rae Simcox focuses her practice on helping seniors and their families ease the stress of planning for long-term care, with a special focus of aiding veterans and their families.  Stacey-Rae is a veteran of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG), where she served eight years on active duty and in the Reserves, reaching the rank of Major.

In 2008, seeing the number of veterans in need of specialized help to navigate the bureaucracy of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Stacey-Rae and her husband Mark Matthews founded the Lewis B. Puller, Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic at their alma mater, the William & Mary School of Law.  The Puller Clinic is the first of its kind in the nation, bringing together law students and clinical psychology students to address the unique concerns presented by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.  The Puller Clinic is nationally recognized and Stacey-Rae travels across the country to speak on veterans benefits issues.  She also regularly presents to veterans groups and trains local attorneys on veterans issues.

In addition to continuing to serve as the Managing Attorney of the Puller Clinic,  Stacey-Rae has taught a number of courses at the William & Mary School of Law, including courses on veterans benefits, Internet Law, Technology-Augmented Trial Advocacy, Electronic Discovery, and Legal Skills.  Her previous experience includes courtroom advocacy as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and military Trial Counsel, advising the Army on regulatory law, administrative law, and medical malpractice claims.  Stacey-Rae is active in her local community, serving as Director of Education at Corinth United Methodist Church in Sandston, Virginia.  She leads outreaches to veterans in local homeless shelters and coaches 3-year-old soccer teams at the Chickahominy YMCA in Sandston.  She has formerly been active with the Junior League of Richmond and the Board of Directors for the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia.  Stacey-Rae is also a member of the American Legion.

Born:  Milford, Ohio

Education

• William & Mary School of Law (Honors in Legal Skills in research, writing, and analysis, and trial and appellate advocacy; Honors Scholarship)
• The Ohio University, cum laude, B.S.C. in Communications, B.A. Sociology (Alpha Kappa Alpha International Sociology Honor Society; Golden Key National Honor Society; Lambda Pi Eta National Communication Honor Society)

Practice Areas

• Elder Law
• Veterans Benefits and Disability Compensation
• Estate Planning

Bar and Court Admissions

• Virginia
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
• U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Experience

• Adjunct Professor of Law, William & Mary School of Law, and Managing Attorney, Lewis B. Puller Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic
• Associate Director for Research, Professional Education, and Terrorism Prosecution, William & Mary School of Law
• Chief of Administrative Law — U.S. Army Transportation Center & Fort Eustis, U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps
• Military Prosecutor and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney — Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps
• Claims and Tort Litigation Attorney — Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps
• Legal Assistance Attorney — Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps
• Law Clerk, Hon. Susan Crawford, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces 

Professional Memberships and Activities

• Director of Education, Corinth United Methodist Church
  
• Former member, Board of Directors, Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia

Speaking Engagements

• American Psychological Association, Orlando, VA, August 2012 (upcoming).  Panelist:  A Novel Collaboration – Law and Psychology Training Clinics Assist Veterans.
• Virginia CLE, June 2012 (upcoming).  Presenter: Practicing Veterans Benefits Law (accreditation course).
• 121^st Virginia Bar Association Meeting, July 2011.  Panelist:  Lawyers Helping Warriors:  Our Obligations to Servicemembers Returning From Combat. 
• AALS Conference on Clinical Legal Education, Learning for Transfer:  (Re)conceptualizing What We Do in Clinics and Across the Curriculum, Seattle, WA, June 2011.  Panelist:  Looking Beyond the Law in Problem-Solving.
• John Marshall Law School Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic, Military Service & the Law, Issues of Justice and Dignity at Home & Abroad Conference, Chicago, IL, June 2011.  Presenter:  The Nuts & Bolts of Establishing a Law School Veterans Clinic.
  
• Virginia Bar Association’s Veterans Task Force, Veterans Summit, June 2011.  Participant.
• AALS Conference on Clinical Legal Education, Clients, Complexity & Collaboration in a Cross-Disciplinary Lens, May 2009, Cleveland OH.  Panelist:  Collaborative Learning across Disciplines through Clinics.
• Panelist, “Collaborative Learning Across Disciplines Through Clinics, ALS Conference on Clinical Legal Education (Clients, Complexity and Collaboration in a Cross-Disciplinary Lens), May 2009
• Panelist, “Forging a Relationship Between Doctors and Lawyers,” John Marshall Law School Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic, November 2008
• Continuing Legal Education course, “Technology Augmented Trial Advocacy for the Office of Military Commissions”
• Continuing Legal Education course, “Technology Augmented Trial Advocacy for the Prosecutors of the Commonwealth of Virginia”
• Continuing Legal Education course, “What’s the Meta With Your Documents?:  The Secrets Your Documents May Be Giving Away And How To Fix Them”
• Continuing Legal Education course, “Computer Security for Attorneys”
• Continuing Legal Education course, “PowerPoint for Attorneys:  Advocacy and Evidentiary Considerations”
• Continuing Legal Education course, “Electronic Discovery:  Meet and Confer”

Publications

• Chapter on Veterans Benefits in the Illinois CLE handbook

Back to About Us >