Areas of Practice
We Serve All Branches. World Wide Representation
Whether you are criminally charged, entitled to a military disability pension, and need a medical evaluation board and physical evaluation board or face an administrative hearing, your due process rights must be safeguarded. You need a lawyer who has been in the most difficult and stressful circumstances, fears no one and answers only to the client. Your law firm should offer you some or all of the following:
Medical & Physical Evaluation Boards (MEB/PEBs, Whether Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard or Air Force)
Deployment experience from the beginning of a war, living and working with local officials in the Sunni Triangle and other restive regions.
25 years of Army service, enlisted and officer, with ten of those as a JAG, with active duty, Army Reserve and Army National Guard experience.
Advantages of a military family with 4 Officers having experience in the Marines, Army, and Air Force Special Operations, with countless combat-zone deployments since the 1990s, adding up to almost 80 years of service.
Criminal Charges
After years of experience in State and Municipal courts prosecuting and defending criminal cases, I was Certified as a “Criminal Trial Lawyer,” as determined by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Our firm has decades of experience and can get the best result possible for you.
To learn more about what it takes to achieve “Trial Certification,” visit http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/supreme_doc/njbac/
Courts-Martial and Administrative Separation Boards
Trial experience with homicide cases, and countless other types of charges, as both defense counsel and prosecutor, in military courts-martial and in civilian courts and administrative boards.
Juvenile and Municipal Offenses
Actual experience as an Assistant Prosecutor in Union County trying juvenile cases, handling motions and resolving charges by plea offers.
Law Enforcement and Fire Personnel
Extensive experience representing law enforcement officers and New Jersey Civil Service employees who had been charged either criminally, or with administrative violations. Relationships with members of the law enforcement community and wide-ranging knowledge of the disability pension claims for law enforcement personnel.
Doctors and Health Professionals
We have been privileged to serve the interests of physicians charged with insurance fraud and in other licensing matters, and routinely successful in preserving our clients’ liberty and their licenses to practice.
Social Security Disability Insurance Claims
If you are unable to work because of injuries or due to other medical issues, we are available to advise you on the utility of filing with the Social Security Administration for SSDI, Special Veterans Benefits (SVP) and SSI. We have been privileged to serve the needs of those with an inability to continue working and we will support you through this difficult time with superior legal support.
Other Practice Areas: Real Estate, Estate Planning, Bankruptcy and Foreclosures
People in the military face the same legal issues that everyone else does, but being on active duty can throw an extra wrinkle into legal proceedings, and veteran status can bring extra opportunities when dealing with legal matters. At Citizen Soldier Law, we concentrate our practice on helping active-duty service members, national guard members, reservists and veterans with all the legal matters that impact their lives, from personal injury and criminal defense to other areas such as real estate, estate planning, bankruptcy and foreclosures. Learn more below about the services we offer in these other practice areas and contact Citizen Soldier Law for assistance.
Real Estate
As a service member often on the move, you may be more experienced in buying and selling real estate than the average home buyer. Alternatively, you may have mostly rented until you finally found yourself in a position to put down roots. Residential home purchases are complicated transactions with a great deal of paperwork and preparation required to make sure the transaction concludes successfully with your rights protected and in your best interests. Our real estate attorneys are here for you with advice and professional assistance at every step of your residential real estate purchase or sale. Count on our team for help with title searches, uncovering and dealing with encumbrances, legal review of the purchase and sale agreement, preparing or reviewing closing documents, and more. We can also be there for you at the closing to address any last-minute issues and help conclude the transaction smoothly.
Estate Planning
As a military member, you understand the importance of getting every aspect of your affairs squared away, and that includes deciding who will look after you if you become incapacitated and what will become of your property after you are gone. Our estate planning lawyers take the time to sit down with you, understand your needs and desires, and advise you on your options. We’ll draft the right set of wills, trusts and advance directives to make sure that your estate is distributed according to your wishes. If you ever become unable to care for yourself or manage your affairs, whether temporarily or permanently, we can help you see to it that decisions are made by people you trust to make the right choices consistent with your desires.
Bankruptcy
Military service members, including officers and enlisted personnel alike, can face military discipline under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for failing to pay their debts on time. Also, filing for bankruptcy (or having a large amount of debt without filing for bankruptcy) can sometimes affect your security clearance. Even so, military members have the same legal right as others to file for bankruptcy protection. Our bankruptcy lawyers can help you make a fresh start with Chapter 7 or save your home while adjusting your debts under Chapter 13.
When it comes to bankruptcy or other forms of debt relief, military members may benefit from special legal considerations. For instance, the Service member’s Civil Relief Act allows armed forces’ active-duty members and activated National Guard members to get a six percent cap on interest rates when their ability to repay a loan they took out before they were activated is hampered by their military service. Also, certain disabled veterans may be able to file for Chapter 7 without taking the means test or having to demonstrate they meet the low-income threshold. We can help you determine whether you qualify for this exemption as a disabled veteran or a member of the National Guard or Reserves on active duty after 9/11.
Foreclosures
Your mortgage payment is likely your biggest monthly expense, and it’s likely the bill with the most severe consequences if you fall behind. If you’re in default on your mortgage, the bank may move swiftly to take your home away from you and put you on the street, but you have options. For one thing, the Service member’s Civil Relief Act may give you additional time to respond to legal proceedings for 60 days after returning home from active duty. Even if this law does not apply to you, our foreclosure defense attorneys can help you fight a wrongful foreclosure. When you got your mortgage, your lender may not have disclosed information about your loan required by federal laws like RESPA and the Truth in Lending Act/Regulation Z. Predatory lenders may have put you into a mortgage that you weren’t qualified to get, knowing you would be likely to default. Even something as simple as a bank error can get foreclosure proceedings started; we’ll find the tools to put the brakes on foreclosure while we work out the best solution for you.
Our foreclosure avoidance lawyers may be able to negotiate a loan modification, short sale, or other solution instead of foreclosure. When homeowners negotiate on their own, they may think they have a loan mod in place, but it’s not always binding. We’ll negotiate an effective workout or a short sale that doesn’t leave you liable for any deficiency.
The Legal Help You Need When You Need It
At Citizen Soldier Law, we are here to help active-duty service members and veterans with a variety of military issues, as well as a plethora of other legal issues that can impact their lives. Our firm is a legal resource you can trust for helpful advice and skilled representation in your legal matter. For help with real estate, estate planning, bankruptcy, foreclosures, personal injury or criminal defense, call Citizen Soldier Law at 973-937-6010.
The use within this website of any reference to military assignments, rank, positions, titles, organization names, or any other military-related reference, does not imply an endorsement, or imply that DoD or any of its components endorse, sanction, or treat this LLC, or any of its members, in a preferential manner. Moreover, any views expressed on this website are those of Thomas Roughneen & Associates, Counsellors at Law, LLC, and do not reflect the official policy or position of the New Jersey Army National Guard, the Physical Disability Agency, the Physical Evaluation Board, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
