Navy Lawyer
The Navy operates under a distinct legal framework that most civilian attorneys never encounter. From the Uniform Code of Military Justice to the intricate process of Medical and Physical Evaluation Boards, the rules governing a sailor’s career, discipline, and benefits bear little resemblance to the civilian legal world. When your service record, your discharge characterization, or your disability rating is on the line, the attorney you choose needs to understand how the military actually works, not just how courts work. A Navy lawyer who has worn a uniform and served in a JAG capacity brings an entirely different level of preparation to your case.
Citizen Soldier Law was founded specifically to serve those who serve. The attorneys and staff at this firm carry over one hundred years of combined military service, including veterans who have navigated the same administrative systems, evaluation boards, and command structures that sailors face today. That firsthand experience shapes how the firm approaches every case, whether it involves a court-martial defense, a disputed disability rating, or an administrative separation the command is pushing through without full regard for a service member’s rights.
Navy service members stationed at installations from Naval Station Norfolk to installations in the Pacific face legal situations that unfold on military timelines, with military rules and military consequences. Getting sound legal advice early, from someone who understands the difference between a Medical Evaluation Board and a Physical Evaluation Board or who knows how a separation board actually weighs evidence, can determine whether a sailor leaves the Navy with honors or without them.
What Sets Citizen Soldier Law Apart for Navy Legal Representation
Citizen Soldier Law was established in 2013 and has spent over a decade focused on exactly the kind of legal representation Navy and other service members need. The firm’s founding came directly from the experience of representing injured service members going through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System, a process that is as consequential as any court proceeding and one that most civilian attorneys would not recognize if they walked into it. The team includes retired and part-time JAG lawyers, a retired Army National Guard human resources NCO, and a board-certified physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, Dr. Alice Tzeng, M.D. That physician is on staff, not on retainer, which means medical analysis of disability claims happens with a qualified expert embedded in the legal team rather than brought in as an afterthought.
Thomas Roughneen, the firm’s lead attorney, completed his undergraduate work at Rutgers University and earned his law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law, later adding a master’s degree in International Public Policy from The Johns Hopkins University. His legal career spans active duty and reserve JAG service, giving him direct experience in the systems that govern Navy legal proceedings. The firm’s vision extends to nationwide representation of service members and their families, which means sailors stationed anywhere or separated anywhere in the country can reach out for competent, veteran-centered counsel.
Navy Legal Situations That Require Experienced Counsel
- Court-Martial Defense: Facing a general, special, or summary court-martial is one of the most serious situations a sailor can encounter, with potential consequences including federal conviction, punitive discharge, confinement, and forfeiture of pay and allowances.
- Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) and Physical Evaluation Board (PEB): When a sailor develops a condition that may affect fitness for duty, the MEB and PEB process determines whether they separate or retire, and at what disability rating, directly affecting compensation and healthcare benefits for life.
- Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES): The IDES combines the military’s fitness determination with a VA disability rating in a single concurrent process, and errors or omissions at any stage can significantly reduce the benefits a sailor receives at separation.
- Administrative Separation Boards: Commanding officers can initiate administrative separations that bypass the court-martial process entirely, but sailors facing a board with an other-than-honorable characterization have the right to respond, and an attorney who knows how these boards operate can make a material difference in the outcome.
- Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC): CRSC provides tax-free compensation for combat-related disabilities that offset retired pay, but the application process is highly technical and initial denials are common without the documentation structured correctly.
- Discharge Upgrades and Military Records Corrections: A discharge characterization that does not reflect a sailor’s actual service can affect VA benefits, employment, and civilian licensing for decades; the Board for Correction of Naval Records has specific procedures that require careful navigation.
- Non-Judicial Punishment (Article 15 / Captain’s Mast): While a sailor generally has the right to refuse NJP and demand a court-martial, that decision carries its own risks, and understanding the specific facts, the command climate, and the likely outcomes requires legal judgment grounded in military experience.
How the Navy’s Legal Process Actually Works and What to Do Right Now
The military legal system moves on its own timeline and does not wait for a sailor to feel ready. If you are facing any formal proceeding, the most important thing you can do is stop communicating with investigators, command representatives, or anyone in an official capacity about the facts of your situation until you have spoken with an attorney. Rights under Article 31 of the UCMJ are analogous to civilian Miranda rights but apply differently in the military context, and many sailors unknowingly waive them by speaking freely because they trust their chain of command or believe cooperation will help.
For sailors going through a Medical Evaluation Board, the timeline begins with a referral from your treating physician at a Military Treatment Facility. From that point, you have defined windows to respond to the MEB’s findings, to request a formal PEB hearing rather than accepting an informal determination, and to submit rebuttal evidence. Missing any of these deadlines has real consequences. The IDES process runs through Title 10 active duty settings regardless of whether you are active duty, Guard, or Reserve, which means the same legal framework governs sailors across components. A Navy legal attorney who understands that framework can help you ensure your medical records accurately reflect the severity of your condition, identify diagnoses that the MEB may have overlooked, and prepare a rebuttal that actually addresses what the board will be evaluating.
For administrative separations, the command must follow specific procedural requirements before a board convenes. If those requirements are not met, that procedural failure can be raised as a substantive argument. Evidence of prior positive service, character witness statements from fellow sailors and officers, and documentation of any mitigating circumstances all matter and must be organized and presented in a form that a separation board can act on. Gathering service records, medical records, performance evaluations, and relevant command communications should begin immediately, before those records become harder to access.
Sailors seeking a discharge upgrade through the Board for Correction of Naval Records or the Naval Discharge Review Board need to understand that these are administrative proceedings, not courts, and that the standards for relief differ from what you might expect. Recent policy shifts have expanded the grounds for relief available to veterans who served under now-repealed policies or whose discharges did not account for conditions like PTSD or traumatic brain injury. The window for certain review processes has a statutory outer limit, so the timing of when you pursue a correction matters.
The Intersection of Navy Service, Disability Claims, and Long-Term Benefits
A sailor’s military service does not end cleanly. The benefits a veteran carries forward, including disability compensation, healthcare access, retirement pay, and eligibility for programs like CRSC, depend heavily on how their separation was processed and documented. A rating that was assigned quickly during an MEB without thorough review of the full medical record can leave a veteran significantly undercompensated for conditions that will affect them for the rest of their life.
The presence of Dr. Alice Tzeng, M.D., board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, within the Citizen Soldier Law team changes the analysis for any Navy service member dealing with physical disability claims. Physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists evaluate exactly the kinds of musculoskeletal injuries, chronic pain conditions, and functional limitations that are most commonly at issue in military disability cases. Having that clinical perspective embedded in the legal team means that when the firm reviews an MEB narrative summary or a proposed disability rating, it is doing so with medical expertise, not just legal expertise.
For sailors who believe their disability arose from combat-related activity, the CRSC program offers significant financial advantages over standard disability retirement offsets. But the application requires establishing a nexus between the disability and a qualifying combat-related event or circumstance, and the branch-level review boards apply specific standards that vary in how they interpret that nexus. An attorney who has worked with these applications understands what documentation makes the difference between approval and denial.
Questions Navy Service Members Ask Before Calling an Attorney
What is the difference between a JAG attorney and a civilian military lawyer?
JAG officers are uniformed military attorneys provided by the government, and their representation is free but comes with limitations. They are assigned, not chosen, and their caseloads can be substantial. A private attorney who is also a retired or former JAG has the same foundational knowledge of military law but works exclusively for you, can dedicate more time to your case, and carries none of the institutional pressures that come with serving inside the same command structure.
Can I hire a private attorney for a court-martial even if the Navy assigns me a JAG?
Yes. A service member facing court-martial has the right to retain civilian defense counsel at their own expense, and that civilian attorney works alongside or instead of the assigned JAG. Many service members choose to retain private counsel for serious charges precisely because of the level of individualized attention and preparation that the assignment system may not allow a JAG to provide.
What happens if the MEB gives me a disability rating I believe is too low?
You have the right to submit a written rebuttal to the MEB’s findings and to request a formal Physical Evaluation Board hearing rather than accepting the informal determination. At the formal PEB, you can appear in person, present evidence, and have an attorney represent you. If you remain dissatisfied after the PEB, the Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officer and the Disability Advisory Council processes provide additional layers of review before you exhaust internal remedies.
Does a general discharge affect my VA benefits?
A general discharge under honorable conditions preserves most VA benefits, though some programs specifically require an honorable characterization. An other-than-honorable discharge can result in a VA characterization of service determination that denies benefit eligibility entirely, which is why fighting the characterization of a separation, or pursuing an upgrade, can have enormous long-term financial consequences.
Can service in the Navy Reserve or Navy National Guard component affect how my MEB is handled?
Reserve component sailors who are injured on active duty orders go through the same IDES process as active duty sailors, because all IDES determinations are processed in a Title 10 active duty framework. However, the activation status at the time of injury and the nature of the orders matter significantly for determining eligibility and applicable benefits. Reserve sailors who develop conditions during inactive duty training face a more complex eligibility analysis.
What is Article 32, and do I need an attorney present for that hearing?
An Article 32 preliminary hearing is the military’s equivalent of a grand jury proceeding, required before a general court-martial. A defense attorney’s presence at an Article 32 is not merely procedural. It is an opportunity to cross-examine witnesses, identify weaknesses in the government’s evidence, and create a record that can be used at trial. Waiving or underutilizing this proceeding is a strategic mistake that experienced Navy defense counsel avoid.
How does a court-martial conviction affect civilian employment and professional licensing?
A conviction at a general or special court-martial that includes a punitive discharge is a federal conviction and may carry the same consequences as a felony conviction in the civilian world, including restrictions on firearms ownership, professional license eligibility, and security clearance. Some state licensing boards ask specifically about military courts-martial convictions. Understanding these downstream consequences before deciding how to respond to charges is essential.
Can Citizen Soldier Law help with a Navy case if I am not in New Jersey?
Yes. The firm’s military and disability practice is national in scope. IDES proceedings, MEB and PEB processes, administrative boards, and discharge upgrade applications are handled under federal military law and do not depend on the state where a sailor is stationed or lives. The firm actively supports service members and veterans across the country and can find local counsel when a physical presence in a specific jurisdiction is needed.
What if my medical condition was not listed in my MEB narrative summary?
Conditions that are not referred into the IDES cannot be rated, and conditions that are not documented in the narrative summary effectively do not exist for purposes of the disability determination. This is one of the most consequential oversights in the MEB process. A thorough review of your complete medical record, with an eye toward identifying ratable conditions that the reviewing physician may have missed or decided not to refer, can result in additional diagnoses and a higher combined disability rating.
How long does the IDES process typically take, and can it be extended?
The IDES has defined regulatory timelines, but in practice, delays are common at several stages, particularly when VA rating determinations take longer than scheduled. Extensions do occur, and service members generally remain on active duty status with full pay and benefits during the process. Understanding how to use that time productively, including pursuing additional medical treatment, gathering supporting evidence, and preparing for the PEB, is part of what experienced representation provides.
Navy Legal Representation Across the Country Through Citizen Soldier Law
Citizen Soldier Law serves Navy service members, veterans, and Reserve component sailors from every corner of the country. Sailors stationed at Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia, Naval Base San Diego and Point Loma in California, Naval Station Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida, and Naval Station Everett and Naval Base Kitsap in Washington have all reached out to this firm for military legal counsel. The firm’s geographic reach extends across the mid-Atlantic corridor through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, as well as into the broader Northeast region including New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Beyond the coasts, the firm represents clients in the interior states where Reserve and National Guard sailors live and serve between deployments, including Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, and Georgia. Veterans who have separated and returned to their home states in the South, the Midwest, or the Mountain West dealing with discharge upgrade proceedings or delayed disability appeals are within this firm’s reach. The national scope of military law is precisely what makes a firm with genuine military experience, rather than geographic proximity to a base, the right choice for Navy legal matters.
Speak With a Navy Attorney Who Understands Military Service From the Inside
A Navy attorney who has served, who has processed through military legal systems from the inside, and who has a physician on staff to evaluate disability claims is a fundamentally different resource than a general practice lawyer who happens to take military cases. Citizen Soldier Law was built for exactly this work, and the firm approaches every Navy case with the same commitment to integrity, accuracy, and substantive preparation that serious military legal matters require. Whether your situation involves the IDES, an administrative board, a court-martial, or a benefits dispute that has dragged on longer than it should, the team at Citizen Soldier Law is ready to evaluate your case and tell you honestly what your options are. Reach out today and speak with a Navy military attorney who treats your service record with the seriousness it deserves.
