I’m happy to report that the hard work of MSJDN’s volunteers continues as we move toward the end of 2017. Applications are open for the 2018 MSJDN mentoring program and the annual military spouse attorney survey has just gone...
By Devon Bozard The heart contracts upon hearing the moving stories of spouses and families who find themselves in the position of caregiver to a loved one who has been wounded in service to our country. These “Hidden Heroes”...
Interested in exercising your leadership skills? Have you always wanted to work for a non-profit? Please consider serving on MSJDN’s Board so you can help shape the future of our organization. Applications for open positions are due March 10....
The Communications team is proud to announce the new members of the MSJDN Writer Corps for 2016-2017. Please help us in welcoming our new team of writers. Sarah Cable. Sarah Cable is an Air Force spouse and soon-to-be mother...
The Justice for Military Families team has had a busy month! We have officially begun work on our online library. This library will be a compilation of information sheets, ranging from 1-4 pages each, organized by subject matter and...
Do you remember why you went to law school? I’ve been trying to remember that far back — back before four PCSs and the constant military spouse job hustle. Back before two kids, car payments, and student loan payments....
by Sarah Cable Earlier this year, the Military Spouse JD Network put out a call for nominations for the 2016 MSJDN Exceptional Service Award to recognize a member for demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the legal profession and going...
On October 21, 2016, the Military Spouse JD Network held their fourth annual Making the Right Moves professional development conference. This year’s host sponsor was Vinson & Elkins (V&E), and the event took place in their Washington, D.C. offices....
As the Military Spouse JD Network continues to advocate across the country for reduced licensing barriers and increased employment opportunities, we are often asked to provide details about military spouses in the legal profession. Although we can extrapolate some data about military families from the...
I have a confession. An addiction, even. And it’s time to come clean. I love animated GIFs. I know. You’re shocked. I have it so together, how could I buckle to such a vile internet addiction? Well, it’s simple....
MSJDN Receives Newman’s Own Award at Pentagon Ceremony When I set out to become president of the Military Spouse JD Network, I did it because I wanted 2012 Josie to know being a military spouse and lawyer are not incompatible...
By Mariya Volzhskaya Looking forward to spending a weekend in Washington DC while attending Making the Right Moves 2016? There is so much going on in the city that with a day or two to spare you can sample...
Why should you attend Making the Right Moves? And what is Making the Right Moves anyway? All your questions are answered here! Making the Right Moves (MRM) is the annual professional development conference from MSJDN created specifically for the needs of military spouse attorneys....
Thanking Our Fantastic Sponsors & Supporters of Military Spouse Attorneys MSJDN would like to take a moment to extend our heartfelt thanks to this year’s Making the Right Moves sponsors. We appreciate so very much the support for this event...
By Maureen Lavery On October 21, 2016, the Military Spouse J.D. Network will kick off Making the Right Moves 2016, MSJDN’s annual career development conference created for the specific needs of military spouse attorneys. This year’s conference will be...
MSJDN’s 2016-2017 leadership team – including the Board of Directors for both MSJDN and the Military Spouse JD Foundation, as well as MSJDN Committee Chairs – met on June 11th and 12th at the historic Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia...
On August 26, 2016, Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN) and the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) will convene a day-long event to educate, encourage collaboration and provide tools to make military spouse-led organizations more effective. Learning &...
Communications: There’s never a dull day on the Communications Committee! From updating our social media sites (check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) to pitching stories to the press to making sure members are kept up to date via...
by Thea Pitzen Like my Navy family, many of you reading this may be fans of NCIS, CBS’s long-running and extremely popular action drama series that focuses on the “sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team forced...
By Rachel Hsiao Military spouses have to be flexible. It’s a requirement of the military lifestyle. That requirement of flexibility crosses over to all aspects of life- particularly the professional life. It can be difficult to find an employer who is...
Military spouse attorneys often have to place their own careers on hold as they constantly move around the globe to accompany their servicemember on their military assignments. Too often, dreams of a career in the legal profession are sacrificed when they...
Editor’s Note: MSJDN asked its members to help us spotlight employers going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for the 2016 MSJDN Members’ Choice Award by members who told us in their...
Editor’s Note: MSJDN asked its members to help us spotlight employers going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for the 2016 MSJDN Members’ Choice Award by members who told us in their...
Editor’s Note: MSJDN asked its members to help us spotlight employers going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for the 2016 MSJDN Members’ Choice Award by members who told us in their...
How to Outsource Legal Work to a Freelance Attorney By: Meghan Dohoney, MSJDN Member and Freelance Attorney As military spouse attorneys, we balance long hours, difficult clients, combative opposing counsel, frequent moves, countless evenings alone, and the ever-changing schedules...
By Kelly Wilson On my first day as a practicing attorney, my then-boss suggested I read Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, a very on trend book at the moment. What’s funny is that I actually already had the book...
Five years ago, on April 1, 2011, I knew only two other military spouse attorneys like me: lawyers who moved every two to three years to a new state, with a new set of licensing requirements, and no professional...
Justice for Military Families is seeking help with the cases listed below. Any assistance that either an MSJDN member can provide, or any referrals to other attorneys that may be able to handle this case on a pro bono...
This morning twelve members of the Military Spouse JD Network were admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. These military spouse attorneys were honored to be presented to the Court by one of our...
MSJDN was founded in 2011 and will celebrate its 5th anniversary this June. In those 5 years, remarkable change has occurred for military spouse attorneys seeking to continue their careers while accompanying their servicemembers on assignments across the states...
The Justice for Military Families Pro Bono Program provides attorney military spouses the opportunity to do meaningful legal work as volunteers. JMF works to support TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), while they support the families of fallen services...
Interested in exercising your leadership skills? Have you always wanted to work with a non-profit? Please consider applying to serve on MSJDN’s Board and help shape the future of our organization. Nominations are open through March 10. Board leaders are responsible for...
“There are two ways to spread light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton Of all the things I do in MSJDN, my absolute favorite is to nominate our deserving members and programs...
By Rachel Hsiao “To be or not to be? That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And, by...
2015 was an incredibly busy and productive year for MSJDN and military spouse attorneys around the globe! January 2015 started with the good news that six military spouse attorneys were nominated for the 2015 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse...
Military spouses who accompany their servicemembers to Tennessee or Fort Campbell, Kentucky, can acquire a temporary license to practice law in Tennessee under a new provision ordered this week by that state’s Supreme Court. The new rule, which goes into...
The Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN) is proud to announce that Kentucky has taken a significant step in removing licensing barriers for military spouses residing within its borders. This month, the Kentucky Supreme Court amended its admission rules to include...
By Tara Said October 5, 2015 – a day that will live forever in the memories of a group of MSJDN attorneys and their spouses! Twelve MSJDN attorneys were sworn into the United States Supreme Court, sponsored by Judge Patricia Millett...
By Rachel Hsiao We have all been there – our career or the military? We face a decision between which side of our relationship will supersede the other. Our spouse’s (the service member’s) military career or our professional career as an...
On Sunday, July 12, 2015, during MSJDN’s annual Strategic Planning weekend at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia, MSJDN President Eleanor Vuono presented Communications Director and Board Member Libby Jamison with the inaugural Mary Reding Smith Excellence...
Any MSJDN member who has been involved efforts to secure a licensing accommodation for military spouse attorneys can tell you, our success usually is dependent on four things: hard work, good connections, timing, and a fair bit of luck....
When I graduated from law school, I had a résumé that basically screamed, “Atlanta!” Or, if not Atlanta, perhaps New York. I had attended college in New York, and, a few years later, law school in Atlanta. As a...
Dear MSJDNers, This is a bittersweet issue for me to be sending you. For nearly three years now, I’ve served as your trusty Newsletter Editor. Since before there was a Bars and Stripes, before there was a Writer’s Corps or even...
In December 2012, Arizona State Rule 38(i) was issued, allowing qualified attorneys married to servicemembers stationed in the state to apply for admission to Arizona bar without examination. This support from the Arizona legal community acknowledges that military spouses should...
Editor’s Note: MSJDN asked its members to help us spotlight employers that are going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for MSJDN’s Members’ Choice Award for doing just that, by members...
At the MSJDN Annual Reception on May 6th, Lieutenant General Flora Darpino will accept the 2015 MSJDN Homefront to Hired Award on behalf of the Army’s Office of The Judge Advocate General (OTJAG). This award recognizes law firms and...
Editor’s Note: MSJDN asked its members to help us spotlight employers that are going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for MSJDN’s Members’ Choice Award for doing just that, by members...
Dear MSJDN Members, It has been an honor to serve as the President of the Military Spouse JD Network over the past year. MSJDN’s job is to serve our members, our military community, and the legal profession. Starting last June,...
Military Spouse JD Network is now accepting applications for its 2015-2016 Board of Directors. MSJDN currently has one-year and two-year position open on its Board. To be considered for appointment to MSJDN’s Board of Directors, a candidate must (1)...
It’s that time of year again! Military Spouse JD Network’s Annual Reception will take place Wednesday, May 6, 2015, in Washington, D.C. The Annual Reception will be held at the historic Army Navy Club, 901 17th Street Northwest, from...
Stories Around the Table (“Stories”) is exactly what it intimates: a collection of short stories about life in and around the military. Male and female military spouses, service-members, mothers of service-members, and children of service-members all gather around an...
In the age of the Internet, email, smart phones, and teleconferences, working remotely is becoming increasingly possible – and common – for attorneys. A quick Google search on the topic will reveal everything from job postings by Lumen Legal...
by Kari-lynn Wenciker MSJDN proudly reports that our licensing efforts are continuing to find success across the country. After recent rule changes in Oklahoma and New York (making it 12 states with military spouse specific accommodations), our efforts continue in over 10 states, including...
by Lillian Yob On January 15, MSJDN’s President-Elect Eleanor Magers Vuono and I met with the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Amar Sarwal, Vice-President and Chief Legal Strategist, to talk about areas where our organizations share interests and opportunities may...
We’ve come a long way since our organization was founded by two military spouses in 2011. With members at duty stations around the globe, much of MSJDN’s growth has come through the use of social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn...
Six, yes, SIX of our talented MSJDN members are among the newly announced nominees for the 2015 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. Join us in congratulating Maria Chavez-Black, Tara Gaston, Elizabeth Jamison, Tatiana Matta, Natalie Wilson,...
MSJDN Member Christina Guerola Sarchio has had a varied, exciting career that would be the envy of any lawyer. It is also the product of a surprising journey. Currently a partner in Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s Washington, DC...
Dear MSJDN, Winter is finally here, and with it come lots of opportunities from the Military Spouse JD Network. MSJDN is working to improve and update our governance documents – including our by-laws, policies and procedures, and committee policies...
There are a number of events coming up that MSJDN is hosting and/or participating in around the country. Check out the details below, and join us! We would love to see you! December 9, 2014–National Military Family Association 2014...
By Rachel Hsiao It was a hot, humid, and muggy summer day when I joined my fiancé Patrick, an active Army Guard Reservist, for my first Family Organization Day (or mandatory fun, as the military likes to call it). ...
Happy Holidays from Lindsey Savage, Membership Chair, and the entire membership committee. We have been hard at work to identify and secure valuable membership benefits for you and are excited to share what’s coming in 2015: ABA Discount: Be...
For several months, the MSJDN Board has been reviewing, revising, and updating its policies and procedures. As part of that effort, the Board recently approved a new policy under which MSJDN will consider nominating MSJDN members, partners, and community...
On October 8, 2014, 12 members of the Military Spouse JD Network were admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. Sponsored by D.C. Circuit Court Judge Patricia Millett and O’Melveny & Myers counsel Meaghan...
Military Spouse J.D. Network is pleased to announce that Kari-Lynn Wenciker has accepted the role as State Licensing Chair. MSJDN’s state licensing initiative is run by a committee of state directors working with teams of volunteers to implement strategic state licensing...
Every October, the American Bar Association creates an annual national spotlight on pro bono through their Celebrate Pro Bono campaign. Justice for Military Families is part of the national pro bono community; we provide pro bono legal services to the...
MSJDN members Hayne Beatrous Caliva and Lauren Roland attended the North Carolina Defense Business Association (NCDBA) Chairman’s Annual Luncheon in Raleigh on July 23rd. DBANC is comprised of a wide variety of businesses, organizations, and individuals with several things in common, including: prior military...
As part of its annual Stars of the Bar recognition, the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia (WBA) has named Mary Reding Smith, Immediate Past President of the Military Spouse JD Network, a 2014 Star of the...
Military spouse attorneys are in a New York state of mind after learning that the New York State Board of Law Examiners (BOLE) has recently published a military spouse attorney licensing policy. The following message appears online: NOTICE TO MILITARY SPOUSES SEEKING...
MSJDN is pleased to announce our nomination of Justice Sandee Marion to receive the Sarah T. Hughes Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. Justice Marion is thoughtful, intelligent, a consummate professional, and a military spouse attorney! Not only has she...
It has been an exciting few weeks for Military Spouse JD Network, with the announcements of a rule change in Virginia and a military spouse accommodation policy in Massachusetts. And it’s about to get even more exciting! On June 13, 2014, the...
On April 7, 2014, MSJDN asked members to register to pay dues for the first time in the organization’s history. After several years of unprecedented growth and success, MSJDN needed funding to continue to increase our reach, expand programs, and...
On May 30, 2014, approximately 20 MSJDN members visited the Supreme Court of the United States for a special “behind the scenes” tour. After assembling by the John Marshall statute on the ground floor, tour guides took the group...
The Military Spouse JD Foundation was formed as a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity to house MSJDN’s pro bono and education programs. This year, 2014-2015, MSJDN is pleased to announce the Foundation’s inaugural Board of Directors. The Foundation’s Board will work...
The Military Spouse JD Network is an all-volunteer organization, and we have many programs and initiatives that we are working on across the country. All of MSJDN’s great works are overseen by an active Board of Directors, which works...
By April Carson On a daily basis, Capitol Hill staffers in both houses of Congress are hard at work on matters of national importance. Their work directly affects not only the military but the entire federal government, and the...
Dear MSJDN Members, It is my great honor to serve as the President of the Military Spouse JD Network for 2014-2015. Since joining MSJDN in 2011, my work on behalf of this organization has been among the most gratifying...
MSJDN’s committees are the driving force behind virtually all of the work the organization does for its members, and in the community. For the many efforts in which MSJDN is involved, it takes many volunteers and strong leadership to...
The MSJDN Writer’s Corps had an amazing inaugural year, with some great news pieces, interviews, and special interest information for our members. Now, the Corps is looking to expand its ranks with new members to serve in 2014-2015. Are you interested...
The Military Spouse JD Network Founders’ Day is June 14, but members around the country are celebrating all month long! Here, we have collected all the events of which we are currently aware. However, as more events are planned,...
The Communications Team is a critical part of MSJDN, keeping members informed and interacting with the public, the press, and other entities, while also managing the technical side of our online presence. Our team is looking to fill two...
As we reported last week, two MSJDN members are presenting MSJDN’s licensing accommodation proposal to the New Jersey Supreme Court today. We share the remarks of our New Jersey State Directors Jennifer Talley and Katie McDonough on the blog today as...
Our New Jersey team, powerhouses Jennifer Talley and Katie McDonough, will present MSJDN’s petition for rule change to the full New Jersey Supreme Court on May 27. The pair was invited to give comment after their response to the...
On Friday, May 16, 2014, the Supreme Court of Virginia issued an order adopting a new attorney licensing rule aimed at easing the burden on military spouse attorneys seeking to practice law while on orders to military installations in Virginia...
At the MSJDN Annual Reception on May 7, 2014, President Mary Reding passed the MSJDN torch to incoming President Rachel Winkler, our 2014-2015 MSJDN President. Now, MSJDN is accepting applications for open slots on the Board of Directors that...
Editor’s Note: This is the eleventh and final installment in MSJDN’s series highlighting the employers MSJDN members say are going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for MSJDN’s Member’s Choice Award...
Editor’s Note: This is the ninth installment in MSJDN’s series highlighting the employers MSJDN members say are going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for MSJDN’s Member’s Choice Award by members who told us...
Editor’s Note: This is the sixth installment in MSJDN’s series highlighting the employers MSJDN members say are going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for MSJDN’s Member’s Choice Award by members who told...
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth installment in MSJDN’s series highlighting the employers MSJDN members say are going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for MSJDN’s Member’s Choice Award by members who told...
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth installment in MSJDN’s series highlighting the employers MSJDN members say are going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for MSJDN’s Member’s Choice Award by members who told...
Editor’s Note: This is the third installment in MSJDN’s series highlighting the employers MSJDN members say are going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for MSJDN’s Member’s Choice Award by members who told us...
Editor’s Note: MSJDN asked its members to help us spotlight employers that are going above and beyond for military spouse attorneys. Each employer in this series was nominated for MSJDN’s Member’s Choice Award for doing just that, by members...
“It feels like he’s gone more now that he’s in the Reserves,” says Amy Apostol, laughing. Amy’s husband is a Navy Reserve JAG officer, and MSJDN members know well the contradiction — your spouse leaves Active Duty only to...
The Military Spouse JD Network wants to shine a big spotlight on employers that are really making a different for military spouses. We all know the (abysmal) statistics on military spouse employment, and the legal profession is certainly no...
