“Joan Brearley was a sophisticated woman. She was active in politics, passionate about justice, an upper-middle-class professional who had written many books and articles. And she couldn't even manage the VA system. If it fails a woman like her, imagine all the thousands of vets it fails every day,” said Christopher Swift, her pro bono lawyer, an adjunct professor of national security studies at Georgetown University and fellow at the Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia.