Which Attorney to Hire?

If you’re a veteran with a legal issue, hiring a fellow veteran as your attorney seems like a no-brainer.  But in addition to the comradery and relatability factors, you may not realize that there are significant legal advantages to having a veteran handle your legal matter.

Here at Citizen Solider Law, we focus in military, administrative and criminal law.  Our experience cover a vast range of veteran-centric law which only serves to your advantage.  We have had plenty of clients come to us for assistance with one matter and not even realize legal implications that carry over to other issue areas that we were also able to assist them with.  This was not necessarily due to their ignorance as a lay-person, but often times, there were legal issues that could have been very well over-looked by talented attorneys who have no military experience or training in military law.  For instance, minor criminal offenses can have implications on your career and jeopardize your disability or pension eligibility and civilian attorneys may not even think to inquire about your military career or benefits you are receiving.

Having lawyers from Citizen Solider Law handle your legal affairs can also save you money as it much less costly for the same attorney to handle multiple matters than having separate civilian attorneys for separate specialties.  Attorneys bill by a fraction of the hour.  It can easily take hours for an attorney to review your records and become familiar with the facts of your case.  Having an attorney who is already familiar with your records and history while handling a separate but related legal matter can nearly cut your legal bills in half.

Additionally, if you are a veteran, you most likely have an extensive record of treatment from the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Knowing how to navigate the VA is not only a legal expertise but an artform in and of itself and can make or break of your case.  Reviewing your medical records can lead to things like discovering legal defenses to civil or criminal liability that your civilian attorney would have otherwise been unaware of.  Similarly, a review of VA records can lead to discovery of benefits you are being denied or are failing to claim.  Plenty of civilian attorneys may attempt to resolve a criminal matter without even thinking to order your VA records especially in cases where you have sought medical treatment through independent providers after the conclusion of your military career.  Lawyers have an ethical duty to be competent.

While ordering VA medical records may seem like a simple task, in practice, it is not.  Orders can get misplaced or in time sensitive matters, knowledge of how to expedite obtaining records can be crucial.  Having personal relationships with VA staff can also prove to be invaluable for quick and efficient resolution of your case.  Likewise, the same advantages can be said for having a veteran attorney know how to order and read your military personnel records.

Even if we find an issue in your case that has implications in an area of law that we do not fully understand, here at Citizen Solider Law, we have relationships with other veteran attorneys to whom we can refer your matter and we often do so.  Trust Citizen Soldier Law for all your legal needs – we are veterans helping veterans.