2021 Military Spouse Attorney Survey Aims to Collect Comprehensive Data on Licensure and Employment
In 2013, MSJDN began conducting a regular survey of military spouses to gather information on attorney licensure, employment, PCS moves, and other important issues for military spouse attorneys. The 2021 Military Spouse Attorney Survey marks the seventh round of collection of this critical information, providing the opportunity to examine trends and changes over the past few years, and is especially vital this year as MSJDN heads into its tenth anniversary milestone. This edition of the survey will also collect information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on military spouse attorney employment.
As MSJDN continues to advocate for licensing accommodations and increased employment opportunities, we are often asked to provide details and statistics about military spouses in the legal profession. Although it is possible obtain some data about military families from Department of Defense and Labor statistics and other sources, this information is not tailored enough to serve the needs of our organization. This occasional survey of our community is a vital tool to gather focused information on the issues most important to military spouse attorneys and their career advancement.
All military spouse or partnered law students and attorneys are invited to participate – whether dating, engaged or married; active duty, guard, reserve, or veteran; employed, underemployed, or unemployed – we want to hear from all those we represent as we work to remove the licensing and employment barriers faced by our community.
The survey takes approximately ten minutes and collects data on licensing and re-licensing issues, student loan debt, family separations, career interruptions, and much more. Answers are anonymous and MSJDN membership is not required to complete the survey.
To see how MSJDN uses the survey results, check out the reports from previous years. Our state licensing team relies on this information as they interact with local legal communities in each state while advocating for implementation of military spouse attorney licensing accommodations. We also use the information when applying for grants and sponsorships for MSJDN events and initiatives such as Homefront Rising and Justice for Military Families. The Homefront to Hired team shares the information with employers and organizations interested in hiring military spouse attorneys.
The Military Spouse Attorney Survey is critical to MSJDN’s efforts to tell your story. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and share with any military spouse law students or attorneys in your network!