Claims attorneys also determine the validity of and process claims made by soldiers when their personal property is damaged, usually in the process of moving from one duty station to another. Claims is a great experience for litigation attorneys who favor the civil side of the house and provides an opportunity for young JAs to exercise their litigious nature. Administrative Law Administrative law attorneys are the Army s version of corporate lawyers. Like typical in-house counsel, they provide legal advice and services to commanders, staff officers, and civilian management officials. Areas of expertise include interpretation of Army regulations, environmental law, personnel law, labor law, fiscal law, contract law, and ethics.
Administrative practice is quite diverse, including all types of legal actions on a daily basis.
This means surfing the Internet for government publications sites as well as poring over the extensive regulatory guidance contained in every JAG library. Several regulations written by different branches of the Army will often be on point on an issue. This becomes the administrative law attorney s main job sifting through the monumental amount of paper to determine which authority should apply to each issue. The opinions requested of the JAG Corps in administrative law divisions are highly political and usually involve the local community. As a result, the actions of the lawyer must be offered with the command s political interests as well as the local interests in mind, without compromising the integrity of the opinion.