Change of Venue takes a military turn today.
Yesterday, I reminded you about a State Bar of Arizona effort to get more attorneys involved in providing legal help to formerly deployed military servicemembers.
Today, I point you to a news story about a sea change in the Army JAG Corps (I know, I’m missing my military metaphors, but bear with me).
This week, for the first time in history, the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corp (the Army’s attorneys) is led by a woman lawyer. As Stars & Stripes reports, Brig. Gen. Flora D. Darpino took over as Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army on Wednesday,
The JAG’s new top lawyer: Brig. Gen. Flora D. Darpino
The article goes on to point out what a significant time in history this is for the Corps.
“Significant bills [are] circulating that would give the JAG far more power over prosecutorial decisions. She’s slated to take command at a time of increased scrutiny of the military’s handling of sexual assault cases, with legislators in both houses of Congress trying to strip commanders of authority over serious criminal prosecutions. That authority would then flow to prosecutors.”
Meanwhile this week, I heard from Ann Murphy at the Bar Association of San Francisco, who mentioned the plight of the lawyer spouses of military personnel. As you might guess, state-by-state admission is no picnic for folks who move with their spouse often. State bar admission can be severe impediment to maintaining a lawyer career.
Ann suggested I look at the Facebook page of the Military Spouse J.D. Network, which aims to be a support network for these folks.
Meanwhile, on the legal front, some states, including Arizona, are trying to take the barriers down.
Just this past January, Arizona Supreme Court Rule 38(i) went into effect. It allows qualified attorneys married to servicemembers to apply for admission without examination. So it’s admission on motion for otherwise-qualified attorneys who are married to servicememebers.
You can read the order on Rule 38(1) here.
Do you see a story here? Should Arizona Attorney cover it, and what questions would you want answered?
Have a great weekend.
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