Hands-down, the number one difference is experience. Our attorneys have nearly 40 years of combined military justice experience, having handled thousands of cases, at least 250 fully litigated jury trials, hundreds (even thousands) of additional court proceedings, preparation of thousands of administrative documents and responses, and a sterling reputation that nearly every experienced military lawyer and military judge are aware of.
To their credit, most military defense attorneys are willing to work hard and have the desire to be the best they can to be. That is certainly not the case for all, especially the ones that are overwhelmed with work and pressure from their superiors. However, even the attorneys that work hard and are fully dedicated simply do not have the experience we do at handling complex (or even simple) courts-martial.
There’s a recent example where one of our regular experts visited a Navy base that we did a sexual assault court-martial at more than a year before. When the expert arrived multiple attorneys and the judge asked how our attorney had been. As the conversation continued, they revealed that they had recorded and transcribed the closing argument of our attorney and used it as a model example of the “perfect closing argument.” Case after case, the courtroom is packed for our closing arguments by the local military attorneys because they know it’s a learning opportunity that you don’t regularly get.
Perhaps the most important point about free military defense attorneys vs civilian attorneys is that you don’t have to choose between the two. You remain entitled to a free military defense attorney even when you hire a civilian attorney. Your two attorneys then work together to jointly represent you. You benefit from the skills and local-base knowledge of your military attorney, and get the benefit of the tremendous experience and connections we’ve developed over the years.
