It’s been three weeks since I’ve had a chance to write – and even now I feel like I’m not giving you all my attention. Just after Valentine’s Day, I left the family at home for a while and hit the road for my last Field Screening Officer trip. I headed to New York City – my old stomping grounds from law school days – and visited New York University School of Law and Brooklyn Law School. I also spent a full day with the guys at the Army Recruiting Station on 6th Avenue (at 22nd Street); they were kind enough to host me during a full day of interviewing practicing attorneys looking for a change of pace.
It was great to be back in ‘The City’ and I was seriously impressed with the caliber of applicants we’re getting for the selection board set to meet this month. I conducted interviews almost non-stop for three days before heading home, and I was absolutely exhausted when I got back. Of course my wife was exhausted, too, from a full week of single-parenthood and we’d barely gotten ourselves back together over the weekend when I was off again for three days.
My second trip was down to Charlottesville, Virginia, to The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. This is in many ways the home of the JAG Corps. Every Judge Advocate will spend time there during their career – first doing initial training (Officer Basic Course), then later as a mid-grade officer (Officer Graduate Course) getting an LL.M., and periodically for CLEs and other short courses (1-2 weeks long; things like the Criminal Law Advocacy Course). I was there as part of a small group talking about the future of the JAG Corps’ knowledge management program. We’re looking at ways to make the sharing of information, experience, and expertise, easier and more tied to our daily practice. What I realized from our three days of brainstorming is that in many ways the JAG Corps is doing some very good things, and we’ve got the ability to do even more.
I talk with applicants all the time about the three things that make a legal practice in the JAG Corps stand out – the people/clients, ownership of the practice, and mentorship – and effective knowledge management tools and practices not only make us all better lawyers, it also enhances our already robust culture of mentorship. That’s something that’s really special and, I think, sets us apart from just about any other legal business around.
So what’s the milestone? Well, the 1st of March saw the closing of our first online application window in support of our Summer Intern and Active Duty Selection Boards. The response was great and (despite some hiccups) everything seems to have gone pretty smoothly. No we just have to get through the selection boards to really see what we’ve got.
Now I’m back in the office, drowning in paper, but happy to be back.
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