Military Law

The firm's nationally known Military Practice Group provides advice and representation for members of the uniformed services in the full range of administrative and judicial forums. These include administrative and criminal investigations, discharge and physical disability evaluation boards, "show cause" boards, court-martial trials and appeals, and cases before the Boards for Correction of Military and Naval Records, Discharge Review Boards, and Clemency and Parole Boards. Among our recent high-profile matters is the representation of Captain James J. Yee, who had been the Army chaplain at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. All of the national security charges against him were dismissed, and our appeal of his nonjudicial punishment on minor offenses was successful.

Attorneys from the Military Practice Group work closely with uniformed defense counsel furnished by the government, and regularly appear in military pay, personnel and disciplinary cases before the United States Court of Federal Claims, United States District Courts and Courts of Appeals as well as the military appellate courts.

Our clients include officer and enlisted members of each of the armed forces, as well as officers in the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service and cadets and midshipmen from the service academies. Many of our military clients are healthcare professionals. We also regularly handle security clearance matters before the Department of Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Attorneys from the Military Practice Group are active in efforts to broaden public understanding of the military justice system. Eugene R. Fidell, who heads the Military Practice Group, has been president of the National Institute of Military Justice since its inception in 1991. Both he and Matthew S. Freedus regularly appear in the news media as commentators on military legal matters. They have co-authored several articles, including one on courts-martial for the prestigious Federal Sentencing Reporter (2003), and another on the First Amendment in military courts for the American Bar Association’s Communications Lawyer (2005).

The Military Practice Group draws on the firm's other practice groups as necessary. The Military Practice Group was established more than 20 years ago, and we believe Feldesman Tucker is the largest law firm in the country with a regular practice in military law. As United States military operations evolve, new and challenging issues are continually emerging. We are gratified to practice in such an exciting and varied field.