Do I need a civilian military attorney?

We are often faced with this question. Why do I need a civilian military attorney when I can get a free one from the military? Here are the top three reasons you need an experienced civilian military attorney:

1.  You get what you pay for. Yes, your military attorney is free but you are a number. That military attorney has no control over the number of clients they represent. The military attorney does not evaluate a case and decide whether to represent the service member. They are ordered to represent you. Also, at many installations, there is only one military counsel for the entire base. They are simply overworked by the sheer volume of clients, which does not take into account when they are traveling to a different installation for a client or training. We purposefully limit the number of court-martial clients we represent so you are not a number and you can actually get in touch with us whenever necessary. This is your life. The charges you are facing could forever change your future and we understand that. You are a not a number, you are a human being.

2.  Your military attorney may not want to defend you based on the nature of the charges. We have known several military attorneys over the years who say they do not want to take on certain types of cases such as child pornography or child abuse cases. They tell us that if they had the choice, they would not willingly defend the case. Based on that type of attitude, do you think that attorney will really fight for you? There is no accusation that we do not want to defend. There is a presumption of innocence in this country and we believe in that principle. After speaking to a potential client we make a decision to take on the case as a firm. Once you hire us, you will know that we believe in you and your case. We will fight tooth-and-nail to defend your innocence.

3.  Lack of experience. For military attorneys, defending service members is just another military assignment that they hold for a few years or less. Within that short time span, they simply cannot gain the experience necessary to defend serious and complex charges. Additionally, they wear the same uniform as you and they don’t really want to rock the boat. They do not want to upset leadership because they know they will be working with them again and generally as a prosecutor. That’s right, most military defense counsel will leave their position to return to prosecuting service members! Our firm is exclusively dedicated to defending service members. This is what we have chosen to do for the rest of our lives. This is our passion. We have over twenty combined years of military experience, but we no longer wear the uniform. That independence gives us the independence to fight for you. We know that in order to do our absolute best we will at times have to upset the chain of command and ruffle some feathers. Our obligation is to our client, whom we proudly serve.