After the JAG Corps: Navigating Your Career Progression

In this episode, we hear the amazing account of Case Thomas's decision to retire and the deliberate decision to live in the present each step of the way: from devoting 100% of his energy and focus to his job before terminal leave, the decision to use that period to truly rest, and to start his job search after he was in a retired status. Case's networking and job search may resonate with a lot of...

Rodrigo Caruco is not your typical veteran. From his birthplace to his 11 years on active duty to establishing his own firm, he is not a man who takes the conventional or easy approach, but does what he believes is the right thing to do. In this episode, Rodrigo and I talk about his time in the Air Force JAG Corps, including his stint as a Military Commissions defense attorney, to establishing his...

Dean Korsak officially retired from the United States Air Force on August 1, 2024. Like many veterans, he started working on terminal leave as the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for the Griffiss Institute, but is also an entrepreneur. For several years, Dean has been working to launch his own business, CAPY News, which will use AI trained on the Federal Rules of Evidence and intelligence...

I had the great privilege of serving with Tim at GTMO. As my deputy, Tim ran the office, putting out fires, taking care and holding people accountable, and doing the other thankless tasks. But he was much more than that. He was a sounding board, an advisor, a fellow street hockey player, and a friend, not only to me, but my entire family. Tim has spent his legal career helping people, both in and...

On July 2nd, I had the opportunity to reconnect with retired Commander Meredith Werner, who I had the privilege of meeting over 10 years ago. As you will hear, Meredith loves a good challenge, including retiring from the service while stationed overseas with NATO. Meredith takes us through the peaks and valleys of her career progression from military service to her current job as a professional st...

This week, Pat McGrath reminds us of the important role our significant others play in our transition to a post-military career. In his case, it came from his wife who would spend time looking at jobs on USAJOBS. We also talk about the things that he found helpful during his journey and life working at the Federal Communications Commission. Pat’s LinkedIn profile is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/...

Most judge advocates begin their military legal careers immediately after law school or they transition to the JAG Corps via their respective service's funded legal education program. Today, however, we hear from an attorney who was earning his stripes at a big law firm in Pittsburgh, but, having grown up the son of an Army colonel, felt an obligation to serve. Brian spent four years in the U....

Mark Overberg spent 22 years in the Army and after a brief tenure with the Small Business Administration, returned as a civilian working with U.S. Army Retirement Services, the last 8+ years as its director. In today's episode, we talk about getting ready to leave the service, the things about which one should be thinking, and the resources available, including those at www.soldierforlife.army...

Catharine Parnell embodies all the attributes that makes a good JAG: a willingness to learn new areas of the law and then master them. The irony is that serving in the Army was not in her plans, but driven by other factors. She has continued this carpe diem attitude after leaving the military, which has led to her current position as a general counsel of a satellite technology company. Catharine i...

When I spoke to Tania Martin on Wednesday via Zoom, it was with a retired JAG who has transitioned to a part-time job after working full-time for a period of time after leaving the Corps. While emphasizing she works with great people with a good company, Tania was candid about still seeking something that provides her with the same level of fulfillment that serving in the Army JAG Corps for 30 yea...

This morning, I catch up with my former shipmate, retired Navy captain judge advocate. In a wide-ranging conversation, Vida talks about her career progression from the Navy to the DoD Office of General Counsel and the Senior Executive Service as well as observations and experiences with job-seeking generally. Vida's LI profile can be accessed here .

This podcast is focused on helping judge advocates plan their career pivot from serving in uniform to a career after the military. An underlying them is the need to plan. This week, however, is focused on carpe diem. As you will hear, Brendan Burke thought he would still be on active duty right now, but on a whim, he applied for a job that was of interest to him and the rest is history. The URL fo...

In this episode, Scotch Perdue, an attorney with the Fluor Corporation, opens up about the challenges and roadblocks he experienced in making the move to the corporate world, but also those who were incredibly helpful, and his efforts to strengthen the military law network inside the Association of Corporate Counsel with the establishment of a Military Veterans Affinity Group within the National C...

Today's guest is someone who truly seizes the day and follows his passion. Retiring in 2014, Dave did not begin focusing on his next career until he was done, ultimately working in compliance in higher education. However, it is what he has done in addition to his post-JAG career that is inspirational as it is impressive. Besides working full-time, Dave has written three fictional novels and is the...

Captain Drew Henderson finished out in his career in San Diego, holding several jobs including as a Commanding Officer and Military Judge before retiring in 2015. His number one consideration in both his final duty stations and follow-on career were driven by geography, as his wife and young son lived in Los Angeles. As you will hear, Drew ultimately landed a position as Counsel with the Departmen...

In this episode, Sue Stewart shares her post-career journey that took her from her adopted home of San Diego, CA, up the coast to San Francisco, to serve as environmental counsel at Chevron before moving over to the biotechnology company Genentech. This journey has all the subplots that you have come to love in this podcast: great timing, the power of the network, and good things happening to good...

In this conversation, Alex Loh shares his journey from the civilian world straight into the Air Force Reserve. So, whereas I have had several guests who were former military officers who transitioned from active duty to a civilian attorney career, and had their perspective of what skills JAGs bring with them, Alex's perspective has been shaped by working in both worlds. Alex's LinkedIn bio...

In this episode, I talk to U.S. Air Force veteran Josh Traeger who left active duty four years ago and moved to Traverse City, Michigan, where he opened his own law practice, True North Legal Group, which includes a division, The Military Defense Firm, dedicated to representing service members worldwide. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about what motivated him to leave the active compon...

In this episode, Genevieve Loutinsky shares how she took the experiences gained during almost 10 years in the Navy to become a member of the Operational Technology Law Unit with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Genevieve's LinkedIn profile is located at https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevieve-l-064076192/

In today's episode, I talk to Bob Liu who, thanks to a Skillbridge opportunity, got some exposure in working legal issues associated with a tech start-up and has ended up working at GitHub, a software development company. However, as you will hear, it was not necessarily an easy journey. In Fact, Bob was out of work for several months before landing his current gig, driving home once again tha...

In today's episode, Amanda Myers and I talk about our perspective journeys from the Navy JAG Corps to the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Commerce, respectively. Amanda's LinkedIn Profile can be accessed here .

In this episode, I sit down with the Honorable (and a captain in the Navy Reserve) Rich Federico whose nomination to become a judge for the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2023. One of the few officers who every assignment on active duty and then in the Reserve Component was a litigation assignment, Judge Federico left active duty in 2015 and...

This episode is about opportunity, timing, initiative, and a truly good fit. The tail end of Alex's career in the State of Washington's National Guard saw him working very closely with the Attorney General's office on some unique issues, including a pandemic, civil disturbances, and civil disobedience with the establishment of a purported autonomous zone in Seattle. So, with establishe...

This week, I talk to James McGhee, who was a practicing attorney with plans to become a U.S. Attorney, decided to join the U.S. Air Force after a fateful hike with his brother up The Incline at Pike's Peak in Colorado Springs. James went onto serve just over four and one-half years before moving onto his current role as an employment and labor law attorney in Dallas, Texas. James's LinkedI...

This week we learn about Mark’s unplanned career as a lawyer. As a young soldier, Mark ended becoming a paralegal after the Army did away with his MOS, and then went to law school after a conversation with a JAG. After graduating he had no intention of coming back into the Army (going into private practice instead) until 9/11. He then went onto serve another 15 years. In retirement, Mark served in...