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Attorney Greg McCormack is dedicated to assisting military personnel in the assorted legal problems that may arise. Our paralegal support staff is exceptionally talented and has extensive military law experience. Frequently, former military lawyers set up private practice after leaving active duty or retiring from the military after years of being in an administrative job with minimal trial experience – they may have one paralegal who may be shared between a couple of attorneys, or may actually handle much of the support work themselves. Our law firm is NOT one that was recently established – Greg McCormack is a former Army JAG and he has been in private practice as a civilian military attorney since 1982 – we are also not a law firm with minimal support staff as many other firms are. Of crucial significance is the fact that Mr. McCormack’s 28 plus years of military law experience has been IN THE COURT-ROOM, defending clients against military charges! Other lawyers may present themselves of having many years of military law experience, however you really need to look at what their assignments were while on active duty. Twenty (20) plus years of “military law experience” does not equate to what you may think it means, if the lawyer spent the vast majority of that time sitting behind a desk, handling administrative matters. If you are facing a court-martial, or administrative separation proceeding, you need an attorney with ACTIVE TRIAL LITIGATION EXPERIENCE. Since leaving active duty in 1982, he has dedicated himself to providing aggressive representation to military members who face judicial or administrative action and has secured many acquittals and very favorable results in many of his cases. Over the years, Mr. McCormack’s military law practice has expanded and our firm is well-equipped to take on the government and handle any military legal problem that may exist at any U.S. military installation in the world.
One of our military paralegals, Gary Lemmons, retired from the Navy in 2002 as a Master Chief Legalman (Surface Warfare), last serving as the Command Master Chief for the Judge Advocate General and Commander Naval Legal Service Command. Our other military paralegals Theresa Jackson, Kat Hensley, and Melody Daniels each have extensive military experience and will work closely with our clients to assist Greg McCormack in his effort to secure the best result.
Over the years,
hundreds of military clients have been cleared of allegations
of criminal activity in both Courts-Martial and administrative
separation actions as a direct result of the aggressive
representation of Greg McCormack. We
invite you to review our list of representative
cases which we believe demonstrate the scope of
our experience and capabilities. These are just a
few of the military criminal and administrative cases
that Greg McCormack
has handled at U.S. military bases throughout the
world. Remember, of course, that the facts of each
case are different and no outcome can be guaranteed
in any criminal or administrative case. |
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The decision
as to whether or not you should hire a civilian attorney
is one that very well may affect the ultimate outcome of
your case, as well as your future, and should be made as
soon as possible. You are entitled, by law, to have a military
attorney appointed to represent you in any criminal or administrative
action which has been initiated against you. You also have
a right to request a specific military attorney in a Court-Martial,
although that request can be easily denied. While each situation
may be different, frequently the military attorney who will
be assigned to your case will have less than two or three
years of actual trial experience. In actuality, your case
may be the attorney’s first contested case or members
(jury) trial. Any military attorney is fully “qualified”
under the law to represent you. It is commonly recognized,
however, that the actual experience level of your attorney
will likely have a tremendous impact upon the final result,
especially in complex cases. You should question your military
attorney about his experience. Determine how long the attorney
has been practicing law (you can look at his certificates
on the wall of his office – when did he graduate from
law school?). How many contested cases has the attorney
taken to trial? How many jury trials has the attorney had?
Has he ever handled a case like yours before? What kind
of results has the attorney obtained? Pay close attention
to the attorney, since your career and future will be in
his hands. How does the attorney come across to you –
as a confident lawyer who will not hesitate to stand up
to someone of higher rank, or as someone who is unsure of
himself, uncertain or insecure? Will he fight for you? Is
he going to take the “easy way” out of the case,
which regrettably can result in your going to jail or losing
your career? Are you comfortable placing your future in
his hands? WE WILL FIGHT FOR YOU IF YOU RETAIN OUR FIRM!
We will provide you an honest and fair appraisal of your
situation and will aggressively represent you. |
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| 3. |
If you are going
to be questioned by an investigator, it is best to assume
that you very well might end up getting charged with a criminal
offense. Even if you did not commit the offense that is
being investigated, you have to understand that you can
be charged with a criminal offense, go to court and possibly
be convicted. It is a well established fact that our civilian
and military criminal justice system is not perfect. Mistakes
are made – people are falsely accused and innocent
people can be convicted and sentenced to prison for crimes
they never committed.
Whether you committed
the offense being investigated or not, when you are being
questioned, the best thing for you to do is to immediately
invoke your rights to counsel and to remain silent. Frequently,
a person who is being questioned will agree to talk to the
investigators, with the belief that he can keep the upper
hand. That is not a wise move. The investigators are highly
experienced and are permitted by law to use tactics such
as lying to the suspect in their investigation. The more
a person talks to the investigators, the more risk he takes
that what he says is being misconstrued or is otherwise
being used to build a case against him. If you are an officer
or senior NCO, you may feel you are under pressure to talk
to the investigator, with the belief that by invoking your
rights you are indicating you are guilty. You need to be
real careful! Once you agree to talk, you are putting yourself
at the mercy of the investigator. Even a totally innocent
statement can end up being misconstrued or re-worded by
an investigator, and later considered in Court as an admission
of a criminal act. Furthermore, your denial of the crime
can itself be used as a basis of a charge of making a false
official statement to the investigator.
So, even if you
have done nothing wrong, if you are ever questioned by an
investigator, or a member of your command about a criminal
act, the best thing for you to do is to remain totally silent.
If you have committed a crime, it is extremely important
for you to invoke your rights. Although you may be told
that it will help you in the long run if you admit what
you did, that is rarely the case. You should invoke your
right to remain silent and to speak to an attorney and give
us a call for help. |
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| 4. |
Over the last
23 plus years, we have assisted countless military personnel
in all branches of the U.S. military who were classified
as deserters, or being absent without authority and who
wanted to get out of the military. These are difficult cases,
since the military’s argument is that it must maintain
good order and discipline within its ranks and cannot let
the soldiers and sailors decide when they want to go home.
Remember, if you have been away from your command for more
than 30 days there is likely a Federal warrant outstanding
for your arrest and even a traffic stop can put you in jail
until you are transferred back to the military and possibly
for many months thereafter. In many of these cases, we have
been able to secure an administrative discharge from the
service, without any criminal conviction or record, for
extended periods of desertion, even up to several years.
In most cases, it will be necessary for the service member
to return to the military to get things resolved and it
may take several months for this to occur. If our legal
services are retained while you are in an absentee or deserter
status, we will assist in coordinating your return to the
military and once you are back with your command or the
deserter processing facility, we will negotiate your case
and closely monitor the situation. We will endeavor to bring
the situation to a prompt conclusion, hopefully without
a Federal conviction, confinement or punitive discharge
on your record. If the command is intent on taking you to
a Court-Martial, we are prepared to litigate your case to
minimize the long term consequences of what has occurred
and to get you back to your family as quickly as possible. |
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| 5. |
The military’s
judicial system is in many respects far superior to the
criminal justice system of other jurisdictions. However,
it is a very unique system that can easily trump upon the
rights of the service member if he does not have competent
legal counsel who is highly experienced in military law.
So the first step in your quest to get a fair trial in the
military is to ensure that you are properly represented! |
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| 6. |
While we are
not tax attorneys and will not give any tax related advice,
we encourage our clients to seek proper tax advice as to
the deductibility of legal expenses. Under some circumstances,
you may be able to deduct legal expenses that you incur
which are related to your job, such as those you paid to
defend yourself against criminal charges arising out of
your trade or business. Arguably, if you are court-martialed
and retain a lawyer to defend you against charges in an
effort to remain in the military, a portion of the legal
fees you pay may in fact be deductible on your tax return.
Again, you should discuss this with an accountant or tax
attorney. |
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