Veterans & Military Lawyers
Veteran or not, you can trust an experienced litigator who is a retired JAG lawyer with your first call
Servicemembers, veterans and their families from across the country call on Citizen Soldier Law for advice, representation, or a referral to a lawyer they can trust. Our attorneys and staff are experienced veterans with more than one hundred years of combined military service, including veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom. When you hire us, you also gain the benefit of experienced and retired JAG lawyers, a retired Army National Guard human resources NCO, a board-certified physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and a former Assistant Prosecutor with hands-on trial experience. Whether you are facing a Medical Evaluation Board, an administrative separation, a security clearance revocation, a denied Line of Duty determination or a CRSC denial, you have found the right resource. Contact our experienced veteran & military lawyers today.
Supplying legal advice to servicemembers who are injured and still serving was the catalyst for founding this law firm in 2013. We have been active duty and reserve JAG attorneys, and we represent Active Duty and Reserve Component clients in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) for every branch: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard, active, reserve and National Guard. All IDES decisions are processed in Title 10 active duty settings for both Medical Evaluation Boards and Physical Evaluation Boards, informal and formal, and we know that system from the inside.
Do not hire a lawyer simply because you know them. Hire a Veteran who is trustworthy and competent to assist you as it relates to your military service and your current legal matter.
About Citizen Soldier Law
Citizen Soldier Law is the trade name of Thomas Roughneen & Associates, Counsellors at Law, LLC, a veteran owned and operated law firm with offices in Hackettstown, New Jersey and Huntsville, Alabama, home of Redstone Arsenal. Founding attorney Thomas Roughneen served in the Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve beginning in 1988, retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, served as Senior Defense Counsel for the Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey Army National Guards, sat as an Adjudicator on the Army Physical Evaluation Board, and is a Certified Criminal Trial Attorney as designated by the New Jersey Supreme Court. He has also been on the other side of the process as a Warrior in Transition who rehabilitated and was found fit for duty.
The firm’s name honors the citizen soldier, the Guard member or reservist who holds a civilian job, raises a family and still answers the call. Our practice is built around the legal problems that fall hardest on that population: injuries at drill or on mobilization that the command refuses to recognize, medical boards that undervalue real conditions, separations that end a career without due process, and benefits like CRSC and INCAP pay that are earned but never paid without a fight. We serve active duty servicemembers with the same commitment, at installations across the United States and overseas.
What sets us apart is who is on your team. Dr. Alice Tzeng, M.D., board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, reviews the medical evidence in our disability cases so that our arguments to the MEB, PEB, LOD authority and CRSC board are grounded in medicine, not just regulation. Our staff includes retired senior officers, a retired Army National Guard human resources NCO who has processed the very personnel actions we now contest, and a member of the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates. Our core values are Integrity, Accountability, Accuracy and Excellence, and our mission is to empower our clients’ needs for justice. Read what our clients say on our testimonials page.
Nationwide Representation for Every Branch, Active Duty, Guard and Reserve
Military law is federal law. Whether you are stationed at Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, Joint Base San Antonio, Naval Station Norfolk, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Redstone Arsenal or Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, drilling with a National Guard unit in any state, or deployed overseas, the regulations that govern your medical board, your separation, your security clearance and your retirement are the same. Our firm represents clients at installations across the country and around the world, and most of our military work is handled remotely through secure communication, written submissions and telephonic or video appearances. When a formal hearing requires an attorney in the room, we travel.
We are National Guard veterans, and we understand the unique problems of the Reserve Component: the gap between Title 10 and Title 32 status, the way a missing Line of Duty form can cost a Soldier or Airman a medical retirement years later, and the pressure a part-time command can put on a member to simply go away quietly. We also understand the active duty side, where the tempo is faster, the counseling packets are thicker, and a single General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand or a single positive urinalysis can end a career unless it is answered correctly and on time.
Military Disability Law: MEB, PEB, IDES and Medical Retirement
If a doctor has told you that your condition may not meet retention standards, the clock has already started. A Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) documents the conditions that fail standards, and a Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) decides whether those conditions make you unfit for continued service and what disability rating you receive. Under IDES, the VA proposes the rating and the PEB applies it to the unfitting conditions. A combined rating of 30 percent or higher on unfitting conditions results in permanent or temporary disability retirement with lifetime retired pay and TRICARE for the family; a rating below 30 percent results in separation with a one-time severance payment. That threshold is where careers and family finances are decided, and it is where an experienced military disability lawyer earns their keep.
We represent clients at every stage: the narrative summary and MEB rebuttal, the request for an Impartial Medical Review, the Informal PEB, the Formal PEB hearing, reconsideration and appeal, Temporary Disability Retired List re-evaluations, Return to Duty determinations, MAR2 retention reviews and Continuation on Active Duty or Active Reserve requests. We also handle Non-Duty Related PEBs and Fit for Duty determinations for Guard and Reserve members whose conditions were not incurred in the line of duty. Because we have sat on the PEB and served as JAG counsel to injured Soldiers, we know which arguments move the board and which arguments waste your one hearing. Learn more in our military disability information library.
Line of Duty (LOD) Determinations and Incapacitation Pay
For National Guard and Reserve members, the Line of Duty determination is the gateway to everything. An injury, illness or disease that is found to have been incurred or aggravated in the line of duty entitles the member to military medical care, Incapacitation (INCAP) pay when the member cannot perform civilian or military duties, Medical Retention Processing or Active Duty Medical Extension orders, and processing through the Disability Evaluation System for a possible medical retirement. A finding of Not in Line of Duty, or In Line of Duty Due to Own Misconduct, can strip all of it away and follow the member into every future VA claim.
We prepare and contest formal and informal LOD investigations, appeal adverse LOD findings, fight improper Existed Prior to Service determinations, and pursue INCAP pay when a command lets a legitimate claim sit for months. We handle LODs for injuries at drill weekends, annual training, mobilization, deployment and military schools, and we handle the mental health LODs, including PTSD and other conditions arising from combat or military sexual trauma, that commands are often slowest to approve. If your LOD has been denied or has simply never been completed, contact us before your window to appeal closes.
Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) and CRDP
Combat-Related Special Compensation is tax-free monthly compensation paid by your parent service to military retirees whose disabilities are combat-related. It restores retired pay that would otherwise be offset by VA disability compensation, and for many Chapter 61 medical retirees and Guard and Reserve retirees it is worth hundreds or thousands of dollars a month. To qualify, the retiree must have a VA-rated disability that resulted from armed conflict, hazardous service, conditions simulating war, or an instrumentality of war, and the retiree must be able to prove that connection with military records. Purple Heart injuries, parachute and airborne injuries, training accidents and combat-related PTSD are common CRSC conditions that the services deny for lack of documentation rather than lack of merit.
We prepare initial CRSC applications, reconsideration requests and appeals for Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard retirees, and we pursue retroactive CRSC payments where the retiree was eligible for years but never applied or was wrongly denied. We also advise on the election between CRSC and Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) so that our clients receive the higher benefit. Founding attorney Thomas Roughneen has written about how to calculate CRSC, and clients regularly find us by searching for a CRSC lawyer after their own application was denied.
Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve Administrative Actions
Most military careers do not end at a court-martial. They end in an administrative action that the servicemember did not understand, did not rebut, or rebutted without help. Our National Guard, Reserve and Active Duty administrative actions practice covers the full range: General Officer Memorandums of Reprimand and letters of reprimand, Article 15 and non-judicial punishment, relief for cause, referred and relief-for-cause evaluation reports, flagging actions, bars to continued service, the Qualitative Management Program, AR 15-6 and command-directed investigations, Financial Liability Investigations of Property Loss, Inspector General and whistleblower reprisal complaints, equal opportunity complaints, congressional inquiries, and involuntary separation.
For enlisted members that means representation at administrative separation boards and in notification-procedure separations for misconduct, unsatisfactory performance, drug or alcohol incidents, body composition failures, unsatisfactory participation and other designated physical or mental conditions, where the characterization of service that follows you for life is on the line. For officers it means Boards of Inquiry, show cause proceedings, officer elimination, Federal Recognition Boards and withdrawal of Federal Recognition, Active Guard Reserve tour terminations, retirement grade determinations, promotion non-selection and Special Selection Boards, and retirement in lieu of elimination. Many of these actions come with rebuttal deadlines measured in days. Our managing your military career resources explain the most common ones, and our team is available when the packet lands on your desk.
Discharge Upgrades and Correction of Military Records
An Other Than Honorable or General discharge, a bad reenlistment code, or an inaccurate narrative reason for separation on a DD-214 can block VA health care, the GI Bill, federal employment, a security clearance and civilian jobs for decades. Our Board of Corrections and Discharge Review practice takes cases to the Army, Naval, Air Force and Coast Guard Discharge Review Boards and to the Boards for Correction of Military and Naval Records. We seek discharge upgrades, changes to narrative reasons and RE codes, removal of GOMORs and Article 15s from the permanent file, correction of evaluation reports, correction of retirement points and retirement grade, and retroactive medical retirement with back pay for members who were separated when they should have been medically retired.
Current Department of Defense guidance requires the boards to give liberal consideration to discharge upgrade requests based on PTSD, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma and other mental health conditions that existed at the time of the misconduct. Building that record, with medical evidence our physician can help develop, is where these cases are won.
DOD Security Clearance Denials, Suspensions and Revocations
A security clearance is a condition of employment for millions of servicemembers, federal employees and defense contractors, and losing it usually means losing the job. When the Department of Defense Consolidated Adjudications Services or another adjudicating agency issues a Statement of Reasons or a Letter of Intent to revoke, you have a short window to respond in writing and to request a hearing before a Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals administrative judge or a Personnel Security Appeals Board. Our DOD security clearance practice prepares responses under all thirteen adjudicative guidelines, most often financial considerations, personal conduct, alcohol and drug involvement, criminal conduct, foreign influence and psychological conditions, and represents clients at the hearing and on appeal.
Courts-Martial, Investigations and Military Criminal Defense
Our attorneys have prosecuted and defended homicide cases and countless other charges in military courts-martial, civilian courts and administrative boards. We represent servicemembers under investigation by CID, NCIS, OSI and CGIS, at Article 32 preliminary hearings, at summary, special and general courts-martial, in requests for discharge in lieu of court-martial, and in clemency and appeal. Because a court-martial and an administrative separation often run in parallel, and because an acquittal at trial does not stop a separation board, we defend both tracks together.
Veterans Benefits, VA Appeals and USERRA
The disability rating you receive from the PEB and the rating you receive from the VA are related but not the same, and both can be appealed. We assist veterans with VA disability claims and appeals, including service connection, rating increases, effective dates and character of discharge determinations that stand between a veteran and VA care. We also represent National Guard members, reservists and veterans under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act when a civilian employer refuses to reemploy them after military service, denies promotions or benefits because of their service, or retaliates against them for drilling or deploying. Our USERRA library explains the law, and our attorneys enforce it.
Helping Veterans and Others With All Their Legal Needs in New Jersey
Beyond military law, we are here for veterans and others presented with legal challenges in many other aspects of life. Our New Jersey criminal defense practice is led by a Certified Criminal Trial Attorney and former Assistant Prosecutor who handled cases in Essex and Union Counties, and it includes DWI, drug, assault, weapons and juvenile and municipal court matters. For servicemembers and veterans charged in New Jersey, we know how to use the New Jersey Veterans Diversion Program to move eligible clients out of the criminal process and into treatment, and we know how a civilian conviction will be viewed by a military command, a security clearance adjudicator or a licensing board before the plea is entered.
We help people hurt in a car accident or slip and fall recover compensation through our New Jersey personal injury practice. Our New Jersey family law attorneys handle custody, support and military-specific issues like the division of military retired pay and the Survivor Benefit Plan in a New Jersey divorce, and we defend and prosecute temporary and final restraining orders in New Jersey domestic violence cases, where a final restraining order or a domestic violence conviction carries a federal firearms prohibition that can end a military or law enforcement career. We also assist with employment discrimination, workers’ compensation, real estate transactions, estate planning, bankruptcy and foreclosure, paying special attention to the protections the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act gives to those on active duty.
Law Enforcement, Firefighters, Weapons Possession and LEOSA
Our experience advocating before administrative boards translates directly to the public safety community. We represent law enforcement officers, firefighters and New Jersey Civil Service employees in disciplinary charges, internal affairs investigations, Civil Service Commission appeals and accidental and ordinary disability pension claims. Through our New Jersey weapons possession advocacy practice we defend gun owners, servicemembers and officers charged with weapons offenses, and we assist with firearms purchaser identification cards, carry permits and the return of seized weapons. The firm is also leading a team of federal litigators in LEOSA litigation against the State of New Jersey to secure the right of qualified active and retired law enforcement officers to carry under the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act.
Doctors, Nurses and Health Professionals
Military physicians, nurses and medics move into civilian practice, and civilian providers move into the Guard and Reserve. When a complaint, a peer review, an insurance fraud investigation or a credentialing action threatens a license or hospital privileges, our New Jersey medical licensing practice defends the provider before the State Board of Medical Examiners, other professional licensing boards and hospital credentials committees. We have been privileged to serve physicians charged with insurance fraud and in other licensing matters, and we have been routinely successful in preserving our clients’ liberty and their licenses to practice.
How We Work With You
Every case begins with a free case evaluation. Tell us where you are in the process, send us the document that started it, whether that is a narrative summary, a Statement of Reasons, a notification memorandum, an LOD form or a CRSC denial letter, and we will tell you honestly what can be done and what it will take. Deadlines in military administrative law are short and unforgiving, so we prioritize getting a rebuttal or a request for a hearing on file before we do anything else. From there, we build the record: medical evidence reviewed by our physician, sworn statements, personnel records pulled from the right systems, and a written submission that speaks the language of the regulation the board must follow. We keep you informed at every step, we return calls, and we do not hand your case to someone who has never worn the uniform.
Our Military Lawyers Are Here For You When You Need Us
We know your legal needs don’t follow the calendar, and neither do we. Call anytime, and we’ll make ourselves available to you. We handle criminal defense cases throughout New Jersey, and other aspects of our practice are national in scope, including all military and disability matters. Whether you are currently serving in the military, formerly served or never served, Citizen Soldier Law is a law firm you can count on and trust to meet your legal needs with honesty, integrity, ability and skill. Call our office at 973-937-6010 or contact us online. Our veteran & military lawyers can provide the helpful guidance that you need, and you can explore all of our areas of practice or read the latest from our blog.
Veterans & Military Lawyer FAQs
What is the difference between a Medical Evaluation Board and a Physical Evaluation Board?
A Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) is a medical proceeding that documents whether a servicemember’s conditions meet the retention standards of their branch. A Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) is an administrative proceeding that decides whether those conditions make the member unfit for continued service, assigns a disability rating to each unfitting condition, and determines whether the member is returned to duty, separated with severance pay, or retired for disability. The MEB does not decide fitness; the PEB does, and the PEB decision is the one that determines whether you receive a medical retirement.
Can a National Guard or Reserve member receive a military medical retirement?
Yes. A Guard or Reserve member whose condition was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty can be processed through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System and receive a disability retirement or severance on the same terms as an active duty member. The critical requirement is an approved Line of Duty determination connecting the condition to military service. Without it, the member is processed through a Non-Duty Related PEB that determines fitness only and pays no disability benefits.
What is a Line of Duty determination and why does it matter?
A Line of Duty (LOD) determination is the military’s official finding on whether an injury, illness or disease occurred while the member was in a duty status and was not the result of the member’s own misconduct. For Guard and Reserve members it controls access to military medical treatment, incapacitation pay, medical extension orders, disability evaluation processing and, later, the strength of a VA claim. An unfavorable LOD finding can be appealed, and an LOD that was never completed can often still be pursued years after the injury.
What is Combat-Related Special Compensation and who qualifies?
Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) is a tax-free monthly payment from a retiree’s parent service that replaces retired pay lost to the VA disability offset. A military retiree, including a Chapter 61 medical retiree and a Guard or Reserve retiree, qualifies when they have a VA-rated disability that resulted from armed conflict, hazardous service, conditions simulating war or an instrumentality of war, and the connection can be proven from military records. Denied applications can be reconsidered and appealed, and retroactive payments may be available.
Do you represent active duty servicemembers or only National Guard and Reserve?
We represent active duty servicemembers in every branch, along with National Guard members, reservists, retirees and veterans. Our administrative actions, medical board, security clearance, court-martial and records correction practices are as active on active duty installations as they are in the Reserve Component, and our attorneys have served as both active duty and reserve JAG officers.
Can you help me if I am stationed outside New Jersey or overseas?
Yes. Military administrative and disability law is federal, so your location does not change the rules or our ability to represent you. We represent clients at installations across the United States, at overseas bases and aboard ships, and most of that work is handled through written submissions, secure document exchange and telephonic or video hearings. When a formal board requires in-person counsel, we travel to the installation.
How do I upgrade my military discharge?
A discharge can be upgraded by applying to your branch’s Discharge Review Board, generally within 15 years of separation, or to the Board for Correction of Military Records or Board for Correction of Naval Records at any time with a showing of error or injustice. The application must explain why the characterization was improper or inequitable, and current guidance requires the boards to give liberal consideration to evidence that PTSD, TBI, military sexual trauma or another mental health condition contributed to the misconduct. A personal appearance hearing is available in many cases and improves the chances of success.
What happens if my security clearance is denied or revoked?
You will receive a Statement of Reasons or Letter of Intent identifying the adjudicative guidelines at issue, and you will have a limited time, often 30 days or less, to submit a written response. If the response does not resolve the concerns, military members and civilians can appeal to a Personnel Security Appeals Board, and contractor employees can request a hearing before a Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals administrative judge. A well-documented response that addresses each allegation and the mitigating conditions in the guidelines is the single most important step in keeping a clearance.
Do I need a lawyer for an administrative separation board?
You are entitled to military defense counsel at an administrative separation board or Board of Inquiry, and you are also entitled to hire civilian counsel at your own expense. The board decides whether you will be separated and, if so, whether your service will be characterized as Honorable, General Under Honorable Conditions, or Other Than Honorable, a decision that affects VA benefits, the GI Bill, employment and reenlistment for the rest of your life. Civilian counsel who focuses on military administrative law can prepare the case, cross-examine witnesses and present mitigation with more time and continuity than an assigned military defense counsel handling a full caseload.
What is the New Jersey Veterans Diversion Program?
The New Jersey Veterans Diversion Program allows eligible current and former servicemembers charged with certain non-violent offenses who are experiencing a mental health condition to be diverted from prosecution into treatment and case management. Successful completion can result in dismissal of the charges. Eligibility is determined by the prosecutor and the court, and an attorney who understands both the criminal statute and the veteran’s service history can make the difference in obtaining admission.
Why does it matter that the firm has a physician on staff?
Medical boards, Line of Duty determinations, CRSC applications, discharge upgrades based on mental health conditions and VA appeals are all decided on medical evidence. Having a board-certified physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation review records, identify missing diagnoses and explain the functional impact of a condition in terms a board must credit gives our clients an advantage that a purely legal argument cannot provide.
How much does a consultation cost?
Your initial case evaluation with Citizen Soldier Law is free. Call 973-937-6010 or use our contact form, and a member of our team will review your situation and explain your options and the deadlines that apply.
The use within this website of any reference to military assignments, rank, positions, titles, organization names, or any other military-related reference, does not imply an endorsement, or imply that DoD or any of its components endorse, sanction, or treat this LLC, or any of its members, in a preferential manner. Moreover, any views expressed on this website are those of Thomas Roughneen & Associates, Counsellors at Law, LLC, and do not reflect the official policy or position of the New Jersey Army National Guard, the Physical Disability Agency, the Physical Evaluation Board, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
