Lori Underwood, Managing Attorney
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Accreditation Number: 38539
Northern Kentucky University, J.D., 2011
University of Southern Indiana, B.S. Marketing, 2006
When Lori is reviewing a veteran’s case, she knows exactly what she’s looking for: evidence.
“I listen to their story and then look for the facts I can glean,” she said. “Is there any kind of evidence, not specifically about them, but just surrounding the facts of their story out there in the world?”
Favorite foods
Mexican, seafood, and anything garlic
Favorite movies
Forrest Gump. During a veterans advocates conference in Washington D.C. in 2021, she gave a fellow attorney her “Forrest Gump walking D.C. tour.”
Favorite activities
Outdoor activities (camping, hiking, boating, swimming) with her children. She also likes to travel and has started visiting the national parks. “That’s taken us out West, which was a first for me. I love to experience things for the first time with my kids.”
One of her strategies is to listen for places and events the veteran mentions and then to look for news articles published during the time period in question.
She finds it particularly satisfying when she can get the VA to acknowledge a Vietnam veteran’s Agent Orange exposure.
“Lots of people were exposed to Agent Orange and weren’t boots on the ground, and there’s just no record of that incident,” she said.
Lori has previous experience in Social Security disability and personal injury law. She also worked for the Indiana Department of Child Services.
She said veterans law “all comes down to helping people.”
She especially sees how much of a difference her work can make in a person’s life when she can get a veteran the maximum benefits.
And winning a case is not just about the money.
“I really do think that for most of the veterans getting the VA to acknowledge their disabilities is just as important as the money,” she said. “For the VA to finally recognize and say, ‘Yes, you have PTSD.’ That’s got to be satisfying.”
Advice from the attorney
When a veteran is looking for an attorney, it’s natural to wonder how much the firm cares about its clients. Lori says the staff’s concern for veterans is evident to her.
“There are a lot of people in this office who are really passionate about this work, and they’re really knowledgeable about it too,” she said.
She said after all the different types of claims the firm has handled, it’s still exciting for the whole team when they win a case.
“I think we’ve gotten really good at this, and we’ve been doing it for a pretty long time,” she said. “Most of the practitioners in this area are fairly new to it, and we’ve been doing it for 13 years.”
