Practicing Law at the Speed of War, 0720 ALBJ, Vol. 81 No. 4 Pg. 266 (July, 2020)
| Author | By Lt. Gen. Charles N. Pede, Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army, and Maj. Gen. Stuart W. Risch, Deputy Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army. |
| Position | Vol. 81 4 Pg. 266 |
By Lt. Gen. Charles N. Pede, Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army, and Maj. Gen. Stuart W. Risch, Deputy Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army.
As the Judge Advocate General and Deputy Judge Advocate General for the United States Army, we have the honor of leading a regiment of over 10,000 of our nation’s most dedicated professionals– judge advocates, paralegals, legal administrators, civilian attorneys, and para-professionals. Every day, their commitment to selfless service– whether in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disaster relief, prosecuting cases before court-martial, advising and protecting the rights of sexual assault and domestic violence victims, providing counsel to commanders in the field on complex targeting decisions, or defending soldiers facing trial before court-martial–never ceases to impress and amaze us. Members of the nation’s oldest law firm are tenacious, driven, and experts in their craft.
Whether serving on active duty, in the Reserves, or as members of our National Guard–whose work is featured in the pages of this journal–the members of our Corps stand ready to serve. We were each called to service and are honored and privileged to serve the greatest clients in the world. We provide premier legal advice and principled counsel to commanders, soldiers, and family members.
And we do so at the speed of war.
We are everywhere commanders and soldiers can be found, assisting them in making split-second and complex decisions, always with an eye toward getting it right. For us, there is no other way, particularly when it comes to the Law of Armed Conflict. The principles of the Law of Armed Conflict are easy enough to understand; they are intuitive and reflect our values and ideals. However, it is one thing to read the Geneva Conventions, for example, in a classroom or in a discussion with colleagues while enjoying a cup of coffee. It is quite another to apply it in a tent, standing next to a commander with decades of combat experience while troops on the ground are in contact with the enemy, and civilians may be vulnerable to the conflict raging around them. We are there to calmly, coolly, professionally assess the situation and provide precise legal ad-vice–in the moment. There is no practice of law on earth like it.
Similarly, there are few responsibilities more solemn...
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