Mayer Law Office

You trained for months and years to defend the country. Defending yourself is completely different.

Dedicating your best years to serving our country, you travel across the globe, endure hardship, and give your time preparing, fighting, and winning our nation’s wars. Now, you find yourself needing help and not knowing where to turn.

Regardless of the punishment you face, you need a lawyer in your corner to tell your story and fight for the things that are important to you–your career, your family, your freedom, and your good name. Especially when facing a court-martial, having a trained military attorney and court-martial lawyer in your corner is a must. Having two is even better.

By retaining a civilian military lawyer, you build a team to work for your interests–a team you both need and deserve. It is a court-martial defense team that consists of both civilian counsel and your assigned military defense counsel. You don't just need a lawyer, you need a military lawyer who understands what it means to serve.

You spent so much of your youth fighting for the freedom and rights of others. Now, its time to fight for yourself. Make it count.

Military Lawyers +

No military law problem or court-martial is simple. A single case might involve criminal law, civil law, military pay, military records, discharges/post-service rights, DFAS indebtedness, immigration law, and a host of other legal problems. To provide better, more complete service, we have a team of professionals to provide you with a one-stop-shop for all military legal problems, from courts-martial to immigration law to DFAS pay appeals. The practice of military law is unique, and having an advocate who focuses on all aspects of military law gives you an advantage. Regardless of your case, you deserve a military lawyer who understands the big picture, and that's what we strive to provide.

Practice Areas

Military Administrative Law 

• Letters of Reprimand
• Rank Reduction Boards
• Administrative Separations and Boards
• Officer Eliminations and Show-Cause Boards
• Discharge Upgrades
• Correcting Military Records

Nonjudicial Punishment

• Article 15 / Captain’s Mast / Office Hours
• Appeals

Judicial Punishment (Courts-Martial)

• Summary Courts-Martial
• Special Courts-Martial
• General Courts-Martial

Immigration Law

• Expedited Natualization
• Parole in Place
• Marriage-Based Visas
• Renewal of Conditional Green Cards
• Naturalization
• Family-Based Visas
• Travel Advice

Military Indebtedness Appeals

• DFAS Debt Waiver Applications
• Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) Claims

Federal Labor Law (Department of Defense)

• Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Service Academy Adverse Action (USMA, USNA, and USAFA)

• Misconduct Adjudications and Appeals
• Conduct Investigations
• Adverse Administrative Separations

Where We Go

Worldwide. Our office is designed to travel anywhere for trials, hearings, and boards.  We are here to help Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines at installations around the world, including the Pacific Rim, Europe, and the Middle East. We even represented a client in Baghdad during combat operations. Participating in a court-martial during a sandstorm is a unique experience, but a true privilege for any military lawyer and trial attorney.

You travel worldwide, and so do we. A military lawyer is prepared for the specific needs of service members, and that means being flexible and prepared for all contingencies. Military lawyers are different--necessarily so.

Military Lawyer Considerations

Many ask what factors are important to consider with a military lawyer. Below are a few considerations in making an extremely important choice:

• Years of experience. While this is not of absolute importance, most lawyers do not truly start feeling comfortable with their practice area until they've worked for 7-8 years.
• Military law experience. Sometimes, lawyers will set-up shop outside the gates of a military installation in the hopes of making quick and easy money from young servicemembers. Many have little or no experience with military law and also focus their attention on civilian criminal law, family law, bankruptcy, personal injury law, and many other areas of practice. Wouldn't you rather have a military lawyer who focuses 100% of his practice on military law and policy?
• Military experience. Has the military lawyer only been a lawyer/JAG, or did they serve in the military in some other capacity? Considering that interaction with commanders (one-on-one or in a jury or panel) is of vital importance, it is critical to find someone who understands how leaders and commanders think. Some military lawyers are trained and experienced as "line officers" and know how to interact and communicate with commanders. Others are not similarly experienced.
• When talking with the military lawyer, are you comfortable with their demeanor and advice? Does it appear that they are giving you a rosy perspective in order to get your business, or are they being honest about your case, warts and all?
• Cost is always a factor. However, always remember that you are paying for time and attention to your case. Often, you get what you pay for with a military lawyer.

A Word About Volume

Some military lawyers have a high-volume practice. They balance dozens of courts-martial and charge extremely low fees. By hiring one of these military lawyers, you become one of their dozens of clients. We believe clients suffer when represented by one of these high-volume firms. Often, these court-martial lawyers seek the quickest and easiest solution, not the right one.

Are you willing to trust your future, your career, your freedom, and your good name to the lowest bidder?

Each military trial requires weeks (if not months) of preparation.  We accept no more than 3 courts-martial each year in order to ensure adequate preparation, time, and attention. Depending on the complexity of the cases, the number may be less. We are not here to collect cases. We are here to be military advocates.

Our clients deserve personal attention. They do not deserve to be just another faceless number buried in a volume military lawyer's file cabinet. Clients pay for time, attention, preparation, and dedicated representation. With us, that is what you receive.

Discharge Upgrades

Recently, we have seen a disturbing number of administrative separations resulting in General Discharges or Other than Honorable Discharges. Routine misconduct/allegations that once garnered a slap-on-the-wrist and a second chance are now resulting in terminated employment, lifelong stigma, and a loss of VA benefits. For this reason, we pay special attention to trends with the discharge upgrade boards. Most disturbing is the trend of less-than-honorable discharges forced upon members of our Armed Forces suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

If you received a less-than-honorable discharge, you owe it to yourself to fight for the honorable discharge you deserve. Even if you only served for a few years, you showed that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for freedom, and that deserves recognition, not stima.

Unless you feel confident presenting your case to the board, it helps to have an experienced military lawyer to present your case to the five senior officers who will decide your appeal.

Office News

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