Attorneys face significant challenges in creating a career compatible with the military spouse lifestyle.  We— together with another wonderful non-profit organization, Military Spouse JD Network — are working on a number of options related specifically to military spouses with JD degrees.

Bar Licensure

Military Spouse JD Network is working furiously at the State and Federal level to come up with options for reciprocity or other fixes for the issues facing military spouse attorneys as they PCS from state to state and seek bar admission (or reciprocity or waivers) in each state.  If you are interested in contributing please visit their website at www.militaryspousejdnetwork.org

Telecommuting

One creative way that many spouses have continued a legal career through multiple PCS moves is through telecommuting— finding project-based that can be done from a remote location (often through a previous employer or a legal "temp" firm).  Please see the blog post our resident lawyer (and In Gear board member) Donna Huneycutt on the legal issues that are raised by this option.  Depending on what state you are physically working in, you may be restricted in what sort of legal work you can do.

Government Employment

Some spouses may be able to find work as an attorney in the Federal government— usually within the Office of General Counsel (OGC).  We are asking some current OGC lawyers to provide us with some insight into the process of getting into OGC… but they're too busy with the end of the Federal Fiscal Year legal issues to get us a full write-up right before October.  In the meantime, check out the following websites, and look at USAJobs.com for OGC postings:

Additionally, some non-legal government jobs are a natural fit for lawyers— especially in the procurement/contracting field of DoD.  The government is in desperate need of qualified mid-career contracting officers, and there are usually great mid- to senior-level jobs on all military installations related to contracting.  Unfortunately, it is difficult— even with a law degree— to get into the contracting field at anything but the entry level because specific contracting certifications are required.  One way of getting into the contracting field, which allows fairly quick forward progress— is through the OGC internship.  In Gear Career is working to advocate for increased military spouse access to these programs, to allow the government to leverage their experience as attorneys and in other fields, to save money, and to promote retention of its service members.