Mizzou Law is proud of its many interdisciplinary connections, from partnerships with other institutions on campus to hosting students with diverse academic backgrounds.

The Veterans Clinic, which provides veterans with free legal services as they pursue discharge upgrades and disability compensation claims, is pleased to announce retired physician Dr. Stephen Brietzke has joined the clinic as a volunteer medical consultant. In this role, he will assist law students and clinic faculty in determining the medical validity of veterans’ claims to help the clinic provide the best legal advice possible.

“I’m essentially meeting with a law student to go over the medical facts of the case,” Dr. Brietzke said. “I always emphasize to them– one of the most important things that any of us can do is be able to identify facts and distinguish facts from opinion. I try to help them discern that.”

Dr. Brietzke first heard about the clinic from the dean of Mizzou’s School of Medicine, Dr. Rick Barohn, who Dr. Brietzke first met during his own time in the U.S. Air Force.

When Angela Drake, director of the clinic, began looking to bring on more clinical consultants, Dr. Barohn suggested Dr. Brietzke following his recent retirement from full-time practice.

“That opened up days when my wife was eager to kick me out of the house,” Dr. Brietzke said. “I emailed Professor Drake, and the rest is history.”

Since joining the clinic, Dr. Brietzke has been impressed by the quality of Mizzou Law’s students.

“To my very pleasant surprise, they’re very similar to med students,” Dr. Brietzke said. “The ones that I’ve worked with so far are very earnest, very well organized, really smart, and very committed to justice.”

As students involved in Veterans Clinic continue to give back to those that served this country, the Mizzou Law community looks forward to working with experts in various fields to enhance its legal scholarship and student experience.