After the JAG Corps: Navigating Your Career Progression

LTC(Ret) Steve Levin takes us through his career on active duty and as a member of the Army Reserve, working in two U.S. Attorney offices, as a partner in small firms, and as an associate in a medium sized firm, and finally working in big law.

After almost ten and one-half years serving around the world as an Air Force JAG, Roza Sheffield talks about her career progression to her current position as an associate with Holland & Knight.

This week, I talk to Hugo Teufel who joined the Army National Guard as a judge advocate while working as an attorney with the Department of Homeland Security. After the ANG, Hugo made the move to the corporate world, first with Raytheon and now with Lumens.

In this episode, Bryan Thompson, a judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve, with experience in both private practice and corporate law as an attorney with Microsoft, talks about his military career, the resource active duty officers have in Reserve Officers when it comes to transitioning from active duty service to post-military career, and working in the field of Privacy.

In this episode, Tom Caruso takes us through his career progression after leaving active duty with the Navy. Leveraging Skillbridge on a part-time basis, he returned to clerk for a judge who was a mentor and for whom he previously worked while in law school to a clerkship with a Federal judge to private practice and now as Chief Legal Officer and Corporation Secretary.

In this episode, we learn about Samantha Sliney's career progression from active duty Air Force to serving as an advocate with the Defense-State Liaison Office, which exists to advocate for military personnel and their families at the State level. Samantha is on LinkedIn and information about the Defense-State Liaison Office is available on the Military One Source web site.

Michael Bahar is a partner With Eversheds Sutherland and is based out of its Washington,DC, office and currently serves in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

In this episode, we hear from Steven Arango, who recently went from serving as a judge advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps to associate attorney at Jenner and Block.

This week, I had the honor of talking to Geoff and Gary Corn to talk about their career progression from Army judge advocates to their respective positions at law schools. The cover art for this podcast is a picture of Geoff and a colleague pinning on Gary's lieutenant bars when he was commissioned.

In this episode, Peter Dutton explains how curiosity has taken him from aviation to the JAG Corps to a post-military career as an academic, obtaining his Ph. D and now becoming a member of the Yale Law School Faculty.

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” - Yogi Berra In this episode, we hear from retired Army JAG, Trey Courie, who elected to participate in the deferred resignation program.

In this episode, we listen to Professor James Kraska, retired Navy JAG and current Charles H. Stockton Chair of International Maritime Law and Department Head, Stockton Center for International Law, U.S. Naval War College, talk about his motivation for joining the Navy and his unusual and continuing career progression that has remained center on international security law.

A 1930s Kansas Chamber of Commerce ad claimed, "If there's anything better than life--it's life in Kansas." This week, Nathan Banks proves that! Deciding to retire from Fort Leavenworth, Nate was determined to remain in Kansas because of his kids. He then identified possible jobs and landed one through his ever-expanding network. Nate is on LinkedIn

A lot of factors go into a decision of which job to take after leaving the military. Oftentimes, it may leaving a place that you like. That is the situation that confronted Dan Maurer. At least until it did not.

This week, I catch up with Johnathan Rudy who successfully leveraged his military cyber law practice into civilian gigs, including with Geico where he now works. In this episode he recounts how his own lack of knowledge resulted in both a boot camp and Officer Candidate School experiences, and his journey from active duty Marine to working in the corporate world. John is on LinkedIn.

In this episode, I talk to recently retired United States Marine Colonel John Hackel, who is held in high regard by so many. John began his military career two weeks after graduating from high school as a plebe at the United States Naval Academy and 34 years later, had to chart a new course with his post-military career. As you will hear, John took his time in discerning his way-ahead. You can fin...

In this episode, Ed White takes us through his decision to retire in 2014, the different post-military legal careers he considered, how he landed at the Department of Justice litigating immigration and national security cases, and his eventual retirement to Spain, where he now lives. Ed is on LinkedIn.

In this episode, I talk to recently retired Navy Captain Mark Holley who retired from the JAG Corps in October 2024 and will soon begin his second career as a Navy OGC attorney in San Diego, CA. However, Mark is not just a lawyer and while he would not consider himself a renaissance man, that he has added the title of playwright to resume places him closer to that category than me. Mark talks abou...

This week, former Navy JAG, Paul Wagoner and I discuss his career progression from the armed services to in-house counsel to his current role as an Executive Coach and Resume specialist focusing on in house counsel through his business, Pathless Coaching. We then focus on the latter endeavors , including the coaching Paul provided to me when I was seeking my first post-Navy legal job. Paul is on L...

If you just read the headline for this episode and are now coming back to read this description, you probably thought we were talking about a JAG turned lawyer in a foreign court system. Not here. This weekend, we meet Jill Thomas, an Air Force Reserve Officer who makes her home in Portugal and has since taken up the sport of pickleball. This week's episode should appeal to anyone who has thought...

I am not sure of too many people who, with orders in hand to Hawaii, would instead live active duty to accept a position with a civil rights non-profit law firm. Yet, that is exactly what today's guest did. Mike Berry, who continues to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, spent 11 years at the First Liberty Institute handling First Amendment cases, including that of the kneeling football coach,...

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” - Ferris Bueller By all accounts, Rob Monahan was on glideslope to a smooth transition. He was days away from signing on with a law firm after his retirement for the Navy the following year when an offer to go work as civilian staffer at the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces came about. Not only did...

In this episode, we learn about the important work Air Force veteran Abhishek Kambli is doing in preserving states' rights in our federal system. From student loan forgiveness to Title IX issues, this former JAG is involved in some of the biggest cases over the past several years. Abhi is on LinkedIn.

In this episode, I talk to Brian Wilson whose departure from the Navy was prompted by an offer that was just too good to pass up. Known throughout the Corps for his kindness, humbleness, intelligence, and hid dedication to the mission, we all thought Brian would stay until forced out. His first stint out of the Navy lasted 14 years, allowing him to combine many of the roles and skills he developed...

In today's podcast, we hear about Aaron Jackson's career progression from the Air Force to becoming a partner at Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig, a Washington, D.C. law firm. All without leaving Northwest Florida. His account is yet another testament to the power of an individual's network and the important role that they play in making the jump from the military.