Jones Day announced last Veteran's Day that it was working with the American Bar Association (ABA) on a project to create a centralized platform to connect veterans to pro bono or low-cost attorneys. That project, VetLex, now has a website allowing attorneys and organizations to sign up to assist with veterans' legal matters when the platform is complete.

The platform will be available on a pilot basis by this coming Veterans Day, and the ABA estimates that VetLex will be fully operational nationwide by 2018. When it's fully operational, the site will serve as a space to connect attorneys and veterans' services organizations to any veterans' service-related and non-service-related legal matters.

Laura Ellsworth, partner in charge of global community service initiatives at Jones Day, led the projects efforts from the law firm side. She and her team repeatedly heard concerns from legal services providers serving veterans about their struggle to coordinate their efforts across legal and veterans' organizations. Ellsworth, with financial backing from the Jones Day Foundation, sought to create a centralized space to bring together legal practitioners and organization in order to serve veterans.