Practice Area

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Reine Rank Law Practice is a veteran owned and operated law firm. 

Mrs. Bedford-Rank reviews all potential cases, directly speaks with veterans, and personally drafts all legal arguments. 

Founding attorney, Amanda Reine Bedford-Rank served honorably in the United States Marine Corps and is a service-connected veteran and veterans' benefits attorney. Mrs. Bedford-Rank's father served in the Army and her husband served in the Navy. 

Mrs. Bedford-Rank assists veterans with appeals for service connection and for increased ratings nationwide, regardless of their state (or country) of residency. She has represented clients in Europe, Japan, Poland, and all over the United States. 

Starting July 2024, Sherrie Bedford will join Reine R. Law Practice to assist with administrative, office management, and paralegal work. In addition, Mrs. Bedford-Rank periodically contracts with other qualified attorneys, most of whom are service-connected veterans themselves, to assist with her case load as she grows her law practice. 

Mrs. Bedford-Rank specializes in appellate cases before the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) and the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). Cases eligible for appeal to the CAVC include those Board decision that were decided within the last 120-days. This is a strict Court deadline and the Court will not accept for appeal cases that are outside of that 120-day period. 

Often veterans with a recent Board denial will receive a letter from the Veterans Consortium regarding pro-bono representation in which the Consortium will agree to post your case with on a platform where attorneys can request it on a first-come-first-service basis. Information about the Consortium can be found https://www.vetsprobono.org/

While the volunteer placement may work for some veterans, others may want to have more control about which attorney they choose to work with, after all this is a working-relationship and you should be comfortable with whomever you choose. 

At this time, due to current workload Mrs. Bedford-Rank is only accepting open appeals, meaning veterans who have received a VA rating decision within the last 12-month period or have been denied benefits by a Board of Veterans Appeals decision within the last 60-days. 

Veteran benefits are a unique area of law with special protections. Congress has now allowed attorneys to represent veterans, but has limited how attorneys can receive payment for their work. According to contingency payment agreements, attorneys can charge a 20 percent (20 percent is standard) fee, up to 33 and 1/3 to be paid from retroactive benefits awarded in the case of a favorable grant of benefits. Therefore, in most cases attorneys are not able to recoup a fee for their work if the veteran is already receiving veteran benefits at the 100 percent payment rate. For this reason, veterans who have TDIU or 100 percent for service-connection are advised to contact a veterans service office (VSO), such as Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the American Legion, or Disabled American Veterans (DAV), etc.. 

Additionally, veteran benefits are for military veterans with a general or an honorable discharge. If you have an other than honorable, you will need to discuss a discharge upgrade which is governed by a different set of guidelines not contained within the Veterans Administration of Disability Benefits. Similarly, if you are still on active duty, you are not yet a veteran, but will become one on the day after separation. If you seek assistance with the UCMJ, please contact a military law attorney who is accepted to practice before a UCMJ jurisdiction. 

If you have an open appeal from a recent VA rating decision or from a recent Board decision and would like information about possible representation, please do not hesitate to provide your contact information and Ms. Bedford will personally return your message.   

Attorney Amanda R. Bedford-Rank is responsible for the content on this website.