New Jersey Military Lawyer
Service members, veterans, and their families in New Jersey face legal challenges that most civilian attorneys have never encountered. The intersection of federal military law, Department of Defense regulations, New Jersey state law, and the administrative machinery of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard creates a legal environment that demands a very specific kind of representation. A New Jersey military lawyer who has actually worn the uniform, served in a JAG capacity, and navigated these systems from the inside brings something that no amount of book study can replicate.
Citizen Soldier Law was founded in 2013 specifically to serve this need. The firm grew directly from the recognition that service members, particularly National Guard and Reserve personnel, were being left without competent legal counsel when their military careers or benefits were on the line. What began as a focus on Medical Evaluation Boards and the Integrated Disability Evaluation System has expanded into a full-spectrum military law practice serving clients across New Jersey and nationally for military-specific matters.
Attorney Thomas Roughneen earned his law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law and later completed a master’s degree in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University. He is a retired, part-time JAG lawyer with direct experience in the systems he now helps clients fight. The firm’s team includes additional retired JAG attorneys, a retired Army National Guard human resources NCO, and Dr. Alice Tzeng, M.D., a board-certified physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation who supports clients navigating medical disability evaluations. That combination of legal and medical expertise on a single team is genuinely unusual in military law practice.
What Military Legal Representation in New Jersey Actually Covers
New Jersey has a substantial military and veteran population. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, one of the largest military installations in the country, sits at the center of significant active duty and reserve component activity. The New Jersey Army National Guard operates across the state, and thousands of veterans and Reserve component members live throughout Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and other counties. The legal issues that arise from military service do not stop at the base gate, and they often require someone who understands both the military system and New Jersey’s civilian courts.
Military law practice is not a single thing. A court-martial defense is nothing like an MEB appeal, which is nothing like a National Guard administrative separation. A New Jersey military attorney needs to understand each of these areas distinctly, because the rules, timelines, forums, and consequences differ substantially. Lumping them together as “military law” the way a general practice firm might is one of the first signs that a firm does not truly practice in this space.
- Medical Evaluation Boards (MEB) and Physical Evaluation Boards (PEB): When a service member is found unfit for duty due to a medical condition, the MEB and PEB process determines whether they are separated or retired, and at what disability rating. These decisions carry enormous financial and benefits consequences, and service members have the right to legal representation throughout the process, including at formal PEB hearings.
- IDES (Integrated Disability Evaluation System): The IDES is the joint DoD and VA process that combines the military disability rating with the VA rating in a single evaluation. Citizen Soldier Law has specifically represented clients in IDES proceedings for all branches, active duty and reserve component, because all IDES decisions are processed in Title 10 active duty settings regardless of the service member’s component.
- National Guard and Reserve Enlisted Administrative Actions: Enlisted Guard and Reserve members facing adverse administrative actions, including separation proceedings, reprimands, and bars to reenlistment, need representation that understands both the federal and state dimensions of National Guard service, which is unique compared to active duty.
- National Guard and Reserve Officer Administrative Actions: Officers facing elimination proceedings, show cause boards, or other adverse personnel actions have a limited window to respond and must do so effectively. The stakes include loss of commission, retirement eligibility, and benefits accumulated over a career.
- Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC): CRSC allows veterans whose disabilities are combat-related to receive both retirement pay and disability compensation without offset. Applications require specific documentation linking conditions to combat or combat-training activities, and denials can be appealed.
- Courts-Martial Defense: Military criminal proceedings operate under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Military Rules of Evidence, which are distinct from civilian criminal law. A service member facing court-martial deserves counsel who has worked within that system.
- Discharge Upgrades and Military Records Corrections: Veterans who received characterizations of service that affect their benefits eligibility can petition the appropriate Boards for Correction of Military Records. These petitions require persuasive legal writing and a clear understanding of what the board looks for.
- Weapons Possession Advocacy for Law Enforcement: Citizen Soldier Law also supports and defends the rights of law enforcement officers to carry weapons off-duty under applicable federal and state law, a practice area that grows naturally from the firm’s military and public safety focus.
Why Citizen Soldier Law Handles These Cases Differently
Founding this firm in 2013 around the specific problem of injured Guard and Reserve members lacking legal representation was not an accident. The attorneys at Citizen Soldier Law have been deployed. They have personally navigated many of the same bureaucratic and institutional challenges their clients now face. That is not marketing language; it is the actual history of how this firm came to exist.
The team brings over one hundred years of combined military service, including veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Having both active duty and reserve JAG experience means the attorneys understand how the same regulation can apply differently depending on whether a service member is in a Title 10 or Title 32 status, which is a distinction that trips up attorneys who parachute into military law without that background.
Dr. Alice Tzeng’s presence on the team as a board-certified physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is significant for MEB, PEB, and IDES clients specifically. Medical disability determinations hinge on clinical findings, diagnostic evidence, and medical opinions. Having a physician who can review records, identify errors in military medical evaluations, and help frame the medical narrative is a concrete advantage in proceedings where the government’s medical conclusions are often accepted without challenge.
The firm’s reach is also national for military and disability matters. Service members do not always have convenient access to qualified military counsel near their installation or home, and Citizen Soldier Law has built its practice to be available across the country for these specific matters. New Jersey clients have the additional benefit of the firm’s deep familiarity with the state’s veteran and Guard community.
When to Act and What to Do First
Timing in military legal matters is not flexible. MEB and PEB proceedings have specific deadlines for submitting rebuttal statements, requesting formal hearings, and filing appeals. An officer facing an administrative elimination board typically has a defined period to respond in writing, submit supporting documentation, and request a personal appearance. Missing these windows can forfeit rights that cannot be recovered.
If you receive any notice related to a Medical Evaluation Board, a fitness determination, or an administrative action against your military status, the first step is to preserve everything in writing. Gather your entire service record, medical records, and any communications from your command or the relevant military department. Do not respond informally or orally to your chain of command about the substance of the action before you have spoken with a military law attorney.
For veterans pursuing discharge upgrades or records corrections, the process runs through the relevant Board for Correction of Military Records, whether that is the Army Board (ABCMR), the Air Force Board (AFBCMR), or their counterparts in other branches. These petitions are reviewed on the written record, which means the quality of the initial submission matters enormously. Veterans in New Jersey can also access services through the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which maintains resources in Lawrenceville, and through Veterans Service Organizations across the state, but legal representation before these boards is a separate matter.
For active duty or Reserve service members at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst or elsewhere in New Jersey, military legal assistance offices can provide basic guidance, but they do not represent service members in adversarial proceedings the way private counsel does. Understanding that distinction early, before a proceeding is already underway, is one of the more important pieces of practical knowledge a service member can have.
For CRSC applications, gather all documentation connecting your disability to combat, combat training, or an instrumentality of war. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service processes CRSC, and initial denials are common. The appeal process exists specifically to allow for additional evidence and legal argument.
Questions New Jersey Service Members and Veterans Ask Most
What is the difference between the MEB process and the PEB process?
The Medical Evaluation Board is the first step, where military physicians evaluate whether a service member’s condition meets the standards for continued service. If the MEB finds the condition does not meet those standards, it refers the case to the Physical Evaluation Board, which makes the actual fitness and disability rating determination. The PEB can be informal, where a paper review is conducted, or formal, where the service member appears in person. The right to contest MEB findings and to request a formal PEB are among the most important procedural rights in this process.
Can a National Guard member get legal representation for MEB proceedings if they are not on active orders?
This is one of the more complicated aspects of Reserve component disability law. Guard and Reserve members who are injured or become ill during a period of federal service, whether a deployment, annual training, or other Title 10 orders, can be retained on active duty for medical treatment and processing through the disability evaluation system. Whether and how they access that system depends on the specific circumstances of their injury or illness and the orders under which they were serving. Private counsel becomes especially valuable in these cases because the military administrative system does not always apply these rules consistently.
How does the IDES differ from the older LDES system, and does it apply to Reserve members?
The Integrated Disability Evaluation System replaced the Legacy Disability Evaluation System across the services to create a unified process that coordinates the military’s fitness and rating determination with the VA’s disability rating. The result is intended to produce a single, combined determination rather than two separate processes after separation. Reserve component members who qualify for processing through the disability evaluation system do go through the IDES, and the proceedings are handled in a Title 10 active duty context even for those who were Reserve or Guard members at the time of injury.
What are the consequences of accepting a General Discharge under Honorable Conditions versus fighting for a fully Honorable Discharge?
The distinction matters more than many service members realize at the time of separation. A General Discharge affects eligibility for certain GI Bill education benefits, limits access to some VA programs, and can affect civilian employment in ways that are not always immediately obvious. For service members facing administrative separation, the characterization of service is often negotiable, and fighting for a fully Honorable characterization through the separation process is almost always worth the effort.
Can a court-martial conviction be appealed, and how does that process work?
Courts-martial convictions can be appealed through the military appellate courts. Special and general courts-martial with significant sentences are reviewed as a matter of right. The appellate process in military law runs through service-specific Courts of Criminal Appeals and can proceed to the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) and, in some cases, to the U.S. Supreme Court. The grounds for appeal include legal errors, factual sufficiency, and constitutional violations. Post-conviction relief also remains available through the Boards for Correction of Military Records for matters affecting the underlying record.
Does New Jersey have any specific programs for veterans facing criminal charges?
New Jersey operates a Veterans Criminal Diversion program that creates an alternative path for veterans charged with certain offenses. Eligibility and program structure have specific requirements, and participation can result in avoiding a criminal conviction on the service member’s or veteran’s record. The firm has direct experience with this program and can evaluate whether a client qualifies and how to position their case for diversion consideration.
What happens if I disagree with my disability rating from the Physical Evaluation Board?
A service member who disagrees with an informal PEB’s findings can request a formal hearing, where they can appear in person, present evidence, and have counsel represent them. After a formal PEB, further reconsideration and appeal options exist through the service’s Physical Disability Board of Review and ultimately through the Board for Correction of Military Records. Each of these levels has specific procedures and deadlines. The rating assigned at the PEB also determines retirement eligibility versus separation with severance pay, so the stakes in contesting an incorrect rating are real and immediate.
Can a combat-related disability rating affect both my military retirement and my VA benefits?
Yes, and understanding how these two systems interact is critical for any medically retiring service member. Without a CRSC award or Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) eligibility, there is an offset between military retired pay and VA disability compensation that can significantly reduce the combined benefit. CRSC applies specifically to combat-related disabilities and allows those benefits to be paid concurrently. An attorney who handles both the military disability side and the VA side of these matters can help a client understand the full picture before agreeing to separation terms.
My command says I do not need a lawyer for an administrative board. Is that accurate?
You are not legally required to have counsel at many administrative proceedings, but that is very different from saying counsel does not help. Administrative boards are adversarial. The government or command is presenting a case against you, and your response, the evidence you submit, and how you present your position all affect the outcome. Having a military attorney who has actually sat on the other side of these proceedings is a concrete advantage, not a formality.
Does Citizen Soldier Law only handle cases in New Jersey, or can they represent clients at installations elsewhere?
The firm handles military and disability matters nationally. Service members at installations across the country, and veterans located anywhere in the United States, can seek representation. For MEB, PEB, IDES, and administrative matters, the proceedings occur at a federal level regardless of where the client is physically located, which means geography is not a limiting factor for these specific cases.
Military and Veteran Legal Representation Across New Jersey
Citizen Soldier Law serves military members, veterans, and their families throughout the state of New Jersey. From the communities surrounding Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County, including Wrightstown, Browns Mills, and Pemberton, to the large veteran populations in Middlesex County cities like New Brunswick and Woodbridge, the firm’s representation reaches wherever the need exists. Clients come from all corners of the state, including Essex County communities such as Newark, Montclair, and West Orange, as well as Bergen County towns like Hackensack, Paramus, and Fort Lee. In Monmouth County, the firm serves veterans and service members in Freehold, Red Bank, Asbury Park, and the surrounding townships. Hudson County communities including Jersey City, Bayonne, and Hoboken are home to significant veteran populations who have called on the firm for representation. In Union County, clients have come from Elizabeth, Plainfield, and Westfield. Somerset County veterans in Bridgewater, Somerville, and Bound Brook are within the firm’s reach, as are those in Ocean County communities including Toms River, Lakewood, and Brick. South Jersey veterans in Camden, Cherry Hill, and Vineland, as well as those in Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland counties, are part of the population the firm is equipped to serve. For military-specific and disability matters, Citizen Soldier Law handles cases nationally, meaning a service member stationed at Fort Liberty, Fort Campbell, Fort Wainwright, or any other installation can access representation without being limited by state boundaries.
Speaking With a New Jersey Military Attorney
When a military career, a disability rating, or a veteran’s benefits are on the line, the quality of legal representation directly shapes the outcome. Citizen Soldier Law operates as a New Jersey military attorney practice that was built from the ground up by people who understand military service from the inside, not as a general practice firm that added military law to a list of services. Thomas Roughneen and the team at Citizen Soldier Law bring real JAG experience, a physician on staff, and over a century of combined military service to every client they represent. Whether you are a Guard member facing administrative separation, an active duty service member questioning your MEB findings, or a veteran who was never given a fair accounting of your disability, the firm is available to take your call. Reach out directly to discuss your situation and understand your options before any deadlines pass.
