After the JAG Corps: Navigating Your Career Progression

Post-military career progression is driven by a number of factors including geography, an individual member's financial requirements, area of expertise, and desires. In this instance, we hear from Brent Thompson whose career progression was driven predominantly by location, location, location. In this instance, Brent and his wife had purchased a house in a rural part of California. Yet, via in...

We close out 2023 with Holly Taylor who enlisted in the Navy before earning her commission and retiring after 26 years of service. While in the Navy, Holly served as a storekeeper, legalman, as a security officer, and then in admin and HR. After leaving the service, Holly went back to school before joining Amazon, serving in Arizona and Alabama, before breast cancer forced her to focus on her heal...

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to sit down with George Mathew, who talked about his post-military career progression, going from serving in the U.S. Air Force active component to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to USAID, and now to Lockheed Martin. George credits his experiences in the Air Force, including the great people for whom and with whom he worked, for his success. He also offers som...

Today, we hear from Luis Rodriguez who spent 43 years as a U.S. Army soldier until earlier this year. Luis now serves as an Associate Deputy General Counsel with the Army. In this conversation, we hear again about the importance of networking, networking, networking, other issues associated with entering Government Service, and even the mundane, but important administrative matters such as navigat...

What do you get when you take a JAG who has always loved the outdoors, returns to Maine after six years on active duty, including time in Europe, and give him a window at his new law firm overlooking the water in Portland, and combine that with a tolerance for risk? The philosophical answer is never working a day in one's life. In this podcast, we hear from Chad Olcott, who serves as the direc...

Although our paths did not cross too many times while serving in the Navy JAG Corps, Ian Wexler and I had many common career experiences, including career challenges and duty stations. Ian's last assignment on active duty was as Director, Institute for International Legal Studies in Newport, RI. Following his retirement this past fall, Ian became Director, Institute for Security Governance in...

This week, I talk to Zach Prager who left active duty last October. I asked Zach to share his journey as he was someone who reached out to me because of my podcast and I wanted to hear how his career progression went. As you will hear, Zach went through a period of discernment during which he examined both corporate and government work, the latter which he ended up taking and is enjoying very much...

In this podcast, former legalman and retired LCDR Mark Blask tells us how he became the Mayor of his hometown of Little Falls, NY, how his experience in the Navy shaped his leadership, and is perspective that everything starts with relationships. By far one of the most charismatic individuals with whom I ever met, and someone I consider fortunate to call a friend, shares his insights and perspecti...

In his brief three year stint in the Army, Steve Coopersmith wore many hats, including as a legal assistance attorney, SJA and trial counsel. However, he credits being thrust into the position of running a Voluntary Income Tax Assistance Center as a formative experience that set him on a course that led to becoming a business dispute lawyer and running his own law firm. Steve's LinkedIn profil...

This morning, we hear from Scott Johnson, who retired from the Navy in 2017, and is now on his third job with his current role working for a private equity firm, which is also his longest stint. Scott is someone with whom I had many conversations about career progression long before the concept of a podcast came to mind and he has some well-developed thoughts on the chasm between an individual&#39...

Although they will not admit it, every grown man who has seen Dennis Quaid in "The Rookie" got a tear in his eye when pitcher Jim Morris gets called up to the big leagues as a 35 year-old rookie. In this episode, we get to hear the JAG Corps version of this true story in which a washed-up 50+ year-old former college baseball player and career JAG, Captain Johnny Nilsen, gets the call from his favo...

This week, Dave Coogan takes us through his journey from serving as a judge advocate to private practice in the City of Champions, Pittsburgh, PA. HE talks about the importance of having a five-year plan, of being deliberate in the job search, the importance of gathering intel about a firm's culture, and the value of the JAG Corps network. Dave's LI profile is at https://www.linkedin.com/i...

This week, I change course and talk to Lisa Lang, who enlisted in the Army after college, spent about 8 years on active duty, and then went to law school. Although not a former JAG, her experiences as an enlisted soldier and as a lawyer in private practice, government, and now education, may be beneficial to transitioning judge advocates. Lisa's LinkedIn profile is at https://www.linkedin.com/...

Will Fischbach and I spent nearly 80 minutes talking about his life, schooling, his time as an Army JAG, private practice, and public service. While editing of our conversation I came to realize the relevance of everything we discussed: Will’s willingness to do anything that he was asked to do in the Army has shaped his approach to private practice in Phoenix, AZ; he is an attorney who is not afra...

As Ben Grimes will tell you, he never set out to be an attorney, but as a Blackhawk pilot who realized that continued service in the Army meant transitioning out of the cockpit to staff duty, decided to become the "staffiest"of all staff officers by becoming a JAG. A self-described "legal ethics geek," Ben then jumped at the opportunity to provide professional ethics advice to...

My conversation today is with Joe Schrantz who articulates a reason why many of us join the service: to be part of a team. It is a desire that has shaped his entire life, from playing sports as a kid and in college to joining the Marine Corps to his work now as Vice President of Business Development at Dauntless Discovery, an e-discovery firm. Joe's LinkedIn profile is at https://www.linkedin....

Today, we hear from LCDR Jordan Foley, an active-duty judge advocate and founder and CEO of Let's Chow, a 501(c)(3) that gives veterans thinking about going into the food truck or brick-and-mortar restaurant business the resources and space to discern whether the food service industry is for them and if so, gives them the funding to launch their business. This podcast is geared toward anyone t...

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2022. #1 played episode. For many, retiring from the military and leaving the only career one has had since graduating from college or law school is tough, but even tougher for those whose career comes to an abrupt end due to adversity.  In this episode, I talk to Jay Morse whose career came to such an end.  Accused of misconduct Jay's fall from grace was humiliating as it...

In this episode, we hear from Ritesh Srivastava who served in the Navy JAG Corps for six years before moving onto private practice before serving as a trial attorney and now serving as a corporate attorney. Hat tip to my former shipmate, Gopi Nadella, for recommending me to sit down with Ritesh. Ritesh's LinkedIn profile is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritesh-sri/

In this episode, retired Navy Captain Alex Whitaker tells us how he ended up back at his alma mater in an administration role before eventually becoming the President of King University in Tennessee where he has been for the past 7 years. He also talks about the state of higher education today, its challenges and rewards. A great primer for any JAG (or non-JAG) who may be interested in pursuing a...

Last week, I had the opportunity to chat with retired Captain Dan D’Alesio, who made Jacksonville, FL, his home after retiring from the Navy in 1998. In this episode, Dan talks about his journey into and out of uniform, the things he has done and thought about doing in his second career, taking the Florida bar exam, and the retired Jax JAG community. Dan’s LI profile can be found at https://www.li...

In 17 years as a lawyer, Joanne Neighbors has done a lot. After serving in the Army JAG Corps for approximately seven and a half years, she then moved onto civil service for about 10 years before breaking into banking world. Join us as Joanne talks about her incredible journey and what she did to get here.

This week, J. Lee Marsh recounts his journey from the United States Naval Academy, where he became enamored with the law, to submarines to the Navy JAG Corps and finally to becoming a judge in Florida. Judge Marsh's profile is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-lee-marsh-2991424/ .

This week, I sit down with Hank "Mongo" Molinengo, a Navy JAG Corps legend, who, as you will hear, did a lot scut work while on active duty. A true force of personality, Mongo served as the Navy JAGC's 06, which is a tombstone position, meaning that upon retirement, he was promoted to flag rank. Nonetheless, as you will hear, that did not help much when it came time to looking for post-service emp...

This week, I catch up with Matt Dursa, Chief Legal Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer with Darley, a Midwest company that provides training and material support to the Department of Defense and first responders. Matt takes us through his career progression from the Navy JAG Corps to working with Customs and Border Protection to Darley. Matt's LinkedIn profile can be found at https://www.link...