For base-specific information, including local command culture and regional legal issues, please visit our individual installation pages.
Our offices in Chicago and Connecticut place us within easy reach of Naval Station Great Lakes, the Navy’s largest training installation, and the eastern submarine and surface commands based at New London. From there, our reach extends across the world. Over the past two decades, we’ve represented sailors stationed at a wide variety of commands and locations.
We’ve represented sailors stationed at NAS Jacksonville, NAS Pensacola, and NS Mayport on the Atlantic coast.
We’ve handled cases connected to Naval Weapons Station Charleston at Joint Base Charleston and NAS Lemoore in California’s Central Valley.
On the Pacific side, our work has included Naval Base San Diego, NAS Whidbey Island, Naval Base Kitsap, and Naval Base Bremerton.
We’ve appeared in major fleet and training hubs such as Naval Station Great Lakes, Naval Station Norfolk, and Naval Submarine Base New London.
We’ve also worked cases tied to Tinker AFB’s Navy detachment, the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, NCBC Gulfport, and the Washington Navy Yard in D.C.
We’ve represented sailors stationed overseas at NAS Sigonella in Italy and Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Japan. Our firm follows the fleet wherever it operates.
Our Background
We are former Air Force JAGs who have defended sailors under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for more than twenty years. The code itself is the same across all branches, but each service has its own culture. We’ve adapted to that reality by learning Navy operations and investigative processes. We know how NCIS works, how convening authorities think, and what it takes to defend a sailor caught in the machinery of military justice.
Our external perspective is an advantage. We challenge command pressure and investigative overreach without the career constraints that uniformed counsel face. We’ve represented sailors from submarine crews to surface warfare officers, from enlisted recruits to senior chiefs, in cases ranging from Mast to general courts-martial. We understand the fleet, the shore commands, and the unique pressures that come with life at sea and in port.
Since leaving active duty in 2005, we’ve represented service members from every branch at bases across the United States and overseas. We’ve practiced in every service court and at the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, while also working in federal criminal court for over 20 years. That breadth of experience gives our clients a perspective few firms can match.
Why Sailors Choose Our Firm
The first thing you’ll notice is direct access. You deal with us, not an assistant, chatbot, or answering service. Calls ring to our own phones, day or night. You don’t get passed off to a junior lawyer who’s learning the ropes.
We charge flat fees, not hourly rates. You’ll know the cost of each stage before we begin: no surprise invoices, no time padding, no hidden clauses. We’d rather focus on the case than track billable minutes.
Every move we make is deliberate: protect the sailor, control the flow of information, and keep the command from getting ahead of the facts. Whether your case starts at mast, at the NCIS interview stage, or with a formal referral to court-martial, we’re ready to engage immediately and keep it from spiraling.
Turning the Tables on NCIS
Every NCIS case starts the same way: quiet observation, friendly tone, and a claim that you’re “not in trouble.” By the time they ask for an interview, they already believe they know the truth. Their goal isn’t to just see what you have, it’s to confirm. That’s why we intervene early. Once they know you’re represented, the tone changes overnight.
NCIS relies on confession, contradiction, and carelessness. They look for hesitation, mixed signals, and small inconsistencies to build their version of the story. We know the playbook. We’ve read their manuals, trained investigators under the same system, and seen how easily good sailors get boxed in.
Our job is to reverse the advantage. We protect you from the “voluntary” conversations that aren’t voluntary at all, control the flow of information, and make the agents play by the same rules they expect from everyone else.
The Four Corners of Turning the Tables on NCIS
Corner One: Pregame
When NCIS asks you to “come in and talk,” it isn’t a meeting. It’s a trap framed as cooperation. The order comes through your command so cooperation feels obligatory. That’s how they close the loop: they can’t compel you directly, so they use rank pressure to make it look voluntary. Once you sit down, they already think they know the truth. The delay before the interview isn’t about scheduling, it’s about breaking your resolve.
When the agents greet you, the only safe response is simple: “I’m not making a statement. I want a lawyer.” Then stop talking. Under Article 31(b), you have rights that run deeper than Miranda. Use them early, use them fully, and don’t let charm or a guilty conscience talk you out of silence.
Corner Two: Inside the Box
Interrogation rooms are built to unnerve you, disorient you, and wear you down: no windows, no clocks, and a camera with a beady red eye that never blinks. They’ll start casual, move to vague accusations, and tell you this is your “chance to clear things up.” It isn’t. They can lie about evidence, witnesses, or what your friends said. Every answer gives them something to play with.
They will give you an alternative: you’re either Jack the Ripper or a great guy who had a bad idea for a second. “We talked to your commander and know you’re not a bad person. Maybe your curiosity just got the best of you.” Agree, and you’ve confessed. This is the infamous “just the tip” technique. They might hand you a notepad and ask for a short written version “just for your commander.” That note becomes Exhibit A. The only way to win this game is not to play it.
Corner Three: Electronics
In a case with any electronic evidence, by the time you’re on their radar, your phone and cloud data are already targets. They’ll image your hard drives, trace your accounts, and pull deleted files you forgot existed. Never give voluntary consent to search. Make them show written authority and record who signed it. If they say they have oral authority, remember everything you can about what they say, note the time, get a receipt for what they take, and call a lawyer.
Don’t unlock your phone. Your passcode is protected speech and they can’t make you say it. Your fingerprint and FaceID aren’t. If you suspect trouble, create a secure backup only your lawyer can reach. That may save critical evidence later. NCIS often lets accusers “scroll” their own phones while agents take screenshots. This gives your accuser ample opportunities to delete or conceal evidence that could be helpful to you, but NCIS doesn’t care. Your complete backup might be the only way to prove what they omitted.
Corner Four: Regain Control
Once NCIS learns you’re represented, the tone changes immediately. The interviews stop, the respect returns, and everything runs through counsel. That’s how control is restored. We deal directly with the agents and lawyers, stop the informal contact, and enforce your rights.
Our job is to avoid surprise conversations, unlocked phones, and text chats scripted by NCIS. Turning the tables on NCIS isn’t about combat; it’s about regaining control.
Advantages of Working with UCMJ Lawyers
- Direct Access: You speak with the lawyers who will defend you, not a gatekeeper, chatbot, or junior lawyer. Calls go straight to our cell phones, not a call screener.
- Immediate Control: When service members call, they’re in crisis. Our first job is to calm the chaos and restore order before investigators or OSTC gains more ground.
- No Barriers: We never charge for communication. Texts, calls, and emails are part of the work, not add-ons. Clients should never hesitate to reach their lawyer because they’re worried about what it’ll cost.
- Flat-Fee Clarity: You know the cost of each stage of your case from the start. There are no hidden charges, time sheets, or surprise invoices.
- Security and Trust: Sensitive material (medical data, statements, defense strategy) never passes through assistants or unsecured servers. It stays with the attorneys responsible for the case.
- Operational Availability: We communicate according to the needs of the case, not a marketing slogan. When an urgent development breaks, we answer. When you need to talk, we talk. We stay in touch. We don’t promise 24/7 access, only to funnel you into voice mail or a chatbot program.
- Respect and Candor: The relationship works because it’s built on honesty, realism, and mutual respect, not bullshit, filters, and promises we can’t keep.
We entered the Air Force JAG Corps after 9/11 and spent years trying and defending cases under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Since leaving active duty in 2005, we’ve represented service members from every branch: Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Space Force. We appear in courts-martial across the country and overseas. We’ve practiced in every service court and at the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, while also working in federal criminal court for over 20 years. That reach and continuity give our clients a perspective few firms can match.
Speak directly with UCMJ attorneys instead of an operator. Call 800-319-3134 for a confidential, free consultation.