For those of you who know me, you know that 2009-10 marked a big year in the Walker household. I left five years of private civilian practice to come into the Coast Guard as a Judge Advocate. It is a very, very exciting career. Even though there have been ups and downs, particularly with being away from the family and moving the wife and child to a new place, I do not regret making the decision.
When I first came into the job, my office-designated mentor suggested some useful web sites. After looking them over, I searched on my own. Now, here is my list of useful websites for every new judge advocate, subject to future revision:
Court Martial and Trial Practice:
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (official site) - Great website overall, but the best part is the digest, which summarizes cases on specific military trial practice issues.
CAAFlog - a blog on military justice practice focused on decisions of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and military trial and appellate courts, generally. A good "daily digest" if you will.
Court Martial Trial Practice Blog - another good trial practice site.
Legal Assistance:
U.S. Armed Forces Legal Assistance site - ran by the Air Force. I particularly like the legal assitance office locator, which allows you to search for legal assitance offices, regardless of service.
American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Assitance for Military Personnel (LAMP) - Another useful site.
General:
Library of Congress (LOC's) Military Legal Resources Site - just a great clearinghouse of information on the military lawyer, regardless of one's specific practice area.
Should I find more stuff, I'll post it. After all, I use this post as a starting point for some of my work too.
