Chellsie Willmes

Practice Focus

Chellsie Willmes is a Veterans Disability Attorney at Berry Law whose practice is centered on guiding former service members through complex VA disability claims and appeals. Based in Papillion, Nebraska, she brings a careful, strategic approach to cases involving medical records, service records, prior VA decisions, and the legal standards that govern entitlement to benefits. Her day-to-day work includes identifying evidentiary gaps, spotting legal and factual errors, analyzing C&P examinations and VA medical opinions, and developing the strongest theories of service connection available under the record. She is particularly focused on helping clients understand what is happening in their case and why, translating a technical system into language Veterans can actually use.

Role at Berry Law

At Berry Law, Chellsie’s work blends legal analysis, advocacy, and client counseling. She drafts supplemental claims, higher-level review arguments, Board appeals, and supporting statements tailored to the facts of each case. She also communicates directly with clients to explain VA procedures, manage expectations, and help reduce the confusion and stress that often come with the benefits process. That combination of technical precision and clear communication is central to the way she serves. Chellsie has said that she chose this line of work because it sits at the intersection of advocacy, precision, and real human impact. For her, the work matters because it helps restore fairness and justice for people who did what was asked of them and were later denied, minimized, or misunderstood by the system.

One of the most meaningful parts of her practice comes early in the attorney-client relationship. She has described how especially rewarding it is when, during a first call, a Veteran ends the conversation feeling heard and believing that someone is finally in their corner. That shift—from frustration or resignation to relief and trust—captures much of what motivates her. In her view, the role of an attorney is not simply to file paperwork or quote regulations, but to step into the gap when a system is failing to function as it should and to advocate in a way that restores confidence as well as legal momentum.

Advocacy Background

Chellsie’s legal career has been shaped by work on behalf of vulnerable populations and by experience in multiple practice areas where administrative systems, evidence, and client advocacy intersect. Prior to law school, she worked as an investigator for Child Protective Services, where she handled high-stakes matters involving trauma, accountability, and family safety. That background helped build the resilience, judgment, and compassion that continue to inform her practice today.

She later practiced Family Law, Social Security Disability, and Veterans Disability Law. In particular, her Social Security Disability work gave her substantial experience analyzing medical evidence, vocational issues, and administrative errors. She successfully argued numerous Social Security Disability cases in federal court and brought that appellate experience to Veterans law, where the same close attention to records, regulatory detail, and agency mistakes can make a decisive difference. Her honors include a CALI Award for Excellence in Juvenile Law and Wrongful Convictions, along with multiple awards and remands in the Federal District Court for the District of Nebraska in Social Security Disability matters.

Background & Interests

That combination of legal and negotiation training supports a practice style that is both analytically rigorous and highly attentive to client goals. She has said that her work allows her to use legal advocacy to reduce harm, give people their voice back, and make a system function the way it is supposed to.

Outside of work, Chellsie enjoys swimming, spending time at the lake with family and friends, and hiking with her rescue dog, Georgia. She is also passionate about travel and adventure and has skydived, bungee jumped from the highest point in South America and paraglided over Colombia’s Chicamocha Canyon. She brings that same determination and boldness to her advocacy for Berry Law’s clients.