October 23, 2014
Contact: Lara Slifko (602)340-7235
Print Press Release

Roger Ferland is a man on a mission. After serving our country in the U.S. Military where he was severely wounded in the line of duty, he came home to face a lengthy and grueling rehabilitation program. However, he didn’t let his injury stop him from living his life to the fullest, and in this time he married, and started a family of his own. Upon his return and sufficient recovery, Roger worked as an environmental attorney for Quarles & Brady. Recently, Roger retired, but just two years ago he served as chair of the State Bar of Arizona’s Military Legal Assistance Committee (MLAC). While working with MLAC, he realized that veterans coming home needed some basic legal assistance. Of all people Roger knew what they were going through; he saw that they needed help with legal issues like child support, custody battles, divorce. That’s when roger decided to assist disabled veterans by providing them with the legal services that they needed, at no cost.

Free legal clinics became the answer, and the Arizona Disabled Veterans Foundation began offering free legal clinics connecting disabled veterans with attorneys. These legal clinics are held every couple of months all around Arizona in order to provide veterans with legal services ranging anywhere from writing up a will to filing for divorce and anything in between. Attorneys volunteer through the foundation to assist these veterans who would otherwise not have a chance to meet with an attorney on legal matters. Roger has been an instrumental volunteer and leader in these legal clinics.

Today, Roger continues to sit on the MLAC committee at the State Bar as well as serving as an attorney for the Army One Source through the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education. He has a passion for helping others, especially those that have served our country as he once did.

Most recently, Roger received the 2014 Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year from the Disabled American Veterans Foundation. An award that he is undoubtedly deserving of and so much more.

For all that he has done and continues to do, we want to recognize Roger Ferland during our Pro Bono week. Thank you Roger, for serving our country, and helping us serve so many veterans. You are an inspiration to us all and we don’t know what we would do without you.