Pat Regan served eight years as an active-duty JAG, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.  Pat’s work as a trial counsel and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney enabled him to initially transition to a litigation role with Progressive Insurance.  His experience advising military commanders later assisted him as he moved to in-house regulatory roles, including his current position with Mercury, a financial tech company.

Raj, an Army Engineer, spent five years on active-duty building bridges.  After obtaining an MBA from Rice University, Raj became an investment banker, working 80 to 100 hours a week.  The demanding pace caught up with Raj and contributed to his divorce.  When Raj was served with the divorce paperwork, though, it sparked an idea that led to him becoming the owner of Lonestar Attorney Service.

After playing college baseball at Newberry College in South Carolina and graduating from the University of Alabama School of Law, Steven served in the Marine Corps, including a deployment as part of Security Assistance Group—Ukraine.  Last fall, Steven transitioned to Jenner and Block in Washington, D.C., where he is a member of the firm’s Investigations, Compliance, and Defense Practice.  His experience motivated him to start the Vets to Big Law LinkedIn group.

After ten years of active-duty service, including two deployments to Iraq and two tours in Korea, Kenny decided to go to law school.  The Veterans Legal Clinic ignited a passion in Kenny, launched his career, and ultimately led to his current role as Shareholder and Director of Litigation at Carpenter Chartered.

John, the President of the Air Force Academy Class of 2005, served as an Air Force Officer and Special Agent, focusing on counterintelligence investigations with deployments to the Middle East and Afghanistan.  After his active-duty service, John followed his bride Anna to South Carolina, where he graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Law.  John is now a Partner at Williams Mullen, an Am Law 200 firm, where he specializes in complex commercial litigation.

Mike, a Naval Academy grad, served aboard the USS Ingraham and USS Enterprise during OEF and OIF.  After his active-duty service, Mike returned home to attend the University of Cincinnati College of Law as a Corporate Law Fellow.  Mike now works as an Associate General Counsel at Fifth Third Bank.  Mike is willing to help those looking for opportunities in banking law.

Amy served as a Military Intelligence Officer in Bosnia and later deployed to Afghanistan as a JAG.  Since retiring from the JAG Corps, she has worked as a civilian legal advisor in the Department of the Army’s Office of the General Counsel.  Amy is now transitioning from federal service and pursuing a position at a non-profit organization that helps animals.  Janell Gregory, the South Carolina State Director for Humane World for Animals and a Navy wife, joined us on the show to provide insight into her career and provide advice to those like Amy seeking a legal career that helps animals.

Listen in to hear how, after a deployment to Iraq as a Field Artillery officer responsible for training Iraqi soldiers, Goldwyn completed a joint JD/MBA, which launched his sports business career.  Goldwyn has worked for the NFL, the Orange Bowl, and now the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins.

Mike and I prosecuted together in the Army at Fort Gordon.  Mike’s next assignment took him to West Point where he served as an Assistant Professor teaching Constitutional Law and Cyber Law while also serving as a faculty advisor to the men’s basketball team.  Mike has transitioned to the Army Reserve and has built upon his knowledge of cyber law to launch his career at USAA.

Will is transitioning from a 20-year career in the Army JAG Corps that included deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and culminated in his service as the Staff Judge Advocate of Fort Meade, the home of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command.  Listen in to learn how Will is leveraging opportunities available to veterans as they retire, including the Military Corporate Assistance Program, in which a NASCAR Deputy General Counsel is advising Will on his upcoming move to private practice.  Will is looking for roles in privacy and cybersecurity in the D.C. area, so please reach out to him with advice and leads.  Shout out to my colleague Jacqueline Pavlicek for joining us to share her insights into privacy law practice!

Catching up with my West Point classmate Tricia LeRoux Birdsell this week, who has successfully transitioned from Army retirement to her role as in-house counsel at T-Mobile.  Trish, a former Army D1 swimmer, is tough as nails and pleasant as can be.  She also has a heart for service and is willing to help those looking to make a transition in their career.  Trish is also looking to connect with those in the national security compliance area of CFIUS (Senate Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.).

U.S. Supreme Court Emergency Applications Attorney Rob Meek shares his journey from Hickory, North Carolina, to Korea, Germany, and Afghanistan, culminating in his current role at the nation's highest court, where he manages emergency applications, including those in late-stage capital cases. Proud to know this great guy and attorney!

Listen in to hear about John’s experience as one of the first JAGs in Afghanistan after 9/11 where, for a time, he survived on Orange Fanta and goat meat.  John had a fascinating career, then during COVID, his daughter faced a health issue that made him and his family decide it was time to transition back to Florida. John’s career trajectory in the past five years has continued to be fascinating- from selling Corvettes on the Florida coast to returning to the court room to his new role in business development and governmental affairs for a veteran focused law firm. 

Listen in this week to hear about car enthusiast Matt Freeman’s career that has taken him around the world from Chicago to Germany to Afghanistan to D.C. to back home in Chicago.  Since transitioning from active-duty, Matt has put his government contracting expertise to work at Big Law,  as General Counsel at the Army Marketing Office, and now as Senior Corporate Counsel for a global aerospace and defense contractor.

Josh and Jerrod served together as Army JAG prosecutors in Germany.  Listen in to hear about Josh’s winding road after the JAG Corps that led him to his current role working in-house at an Artificial Intelligence company, including earning an LLM in International Law at Cambridge and sitting for the bar in both England and Ireland. 

Contact Josh if you need assistance with legal issues related to European Law or require help establishing contacts with counsel in Europe.  If you’re working in the Artificial Intelligence space, Josh is looking to connect with you to trade insights in this rapidly growing field.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Military Veterans in Law podcast.  I’m your host Jerrod Fussnecker.   The motivation for this podcast and the accompanying LinkedIn Group is to harness the power of our massive network of 36,000 veteran attorneys who are serving at all levels across industry, the government, and academia.  Collectively, we have the power to solve problems, big and small.  Let's bring all 36,000 veteran attorneys into the fold.  I'm excited to see the impact we can make as Military Veterans in Law where we continue to serve together!