J. Blake Kamoroff - Founding Attorney - Major, U.S. Army Ret

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For more than a decade I have focused on the legal field of military justice. I began my career as a JAG Corps officer at Fort Liberty, NC. After two years as a prosecutor, I volunteered to join the Trial Defense Service, where I found my passion in defending Soldiers against military abuses of power. Next, I was hand-selected to be a Senior Defense Counsel. In that role, I supervised defense offices that covered all of South Carolina and Fort Eisenhower, trained defense attorneys throughout the Southeast region, represented senior clients, managed complex cases, and took care of my team (as they took care of me) during a worldwide pandemic. 

I have been at the center of military justice cases across the United States and in the USCENTCOM AOR. Now, I focus all my experience, contacts, and education on representing Servicemembers who are facing adverse administrative action or nonjudicial punishment.

The Need for Experienced, Aggressive Defense against Abuse of Administrative / Nonjudicial Actions

I have always believed in giving my best effort to every Servicemember who entrusts a case to me. In the Army, this meant that I worked just as hard to beat administrative and Article 15 actions as I did to prepare for general courts-martial. I understand that letters of reprimand and NJP can end careers and severely harm other aspects of Servicemembers' lives. This is why I insist on pursuing every legal, moral, and ethical option that is available to strengthen each case.

Sometimes a rebuttal memorandum needs to be 20 pages long and include 150 pages of evidence. Sometimes a CG needs to hear from 10 or more witnesses whom an investigating officer did not interview - but I did. Almost every case requires independent investigation: identifying additional favorable evidence, interviewing witnesses, learning as much as possible about key people, and memorializing it all in a way that is calculated to persuade military staff officers and command teams. 

One of my last accomplishments as Senior Defense Counsel was to recommend that USA TDS refer to military defense counsel as either "Administrative Defense Counsel" (ADC) or "Trial Defense Counsel" (TDC) instead of classifying them by the priority level of their work, i.e. "Priority I" and "Priority II" counsel. The point was to instill in junior ADCs that every case is the top priority for a particular Servicemember, even if they were in the entry-level job. But for me, this area of practice is not a stepping stone to a TDC job -- I have been there and excelled. My mission is to always provide the full benefit of senior-level experience to defending Servicemembers in cases that other attorneys still consider to be a lower priority (and to which the military services assign their junior attorneys).

Doctor of Law - Emory University

Bachelor of Arts - Duke University

Licensed to practice law in the state of Georgia and worldwide for military cases as permitted by laws and rules for representing Servicemembers before courts-martial and commands.

Note: I do not offer legal services for any matter that is not before a military entity or other federal entity, and I do not provide legal representation to anybody who does not have a direct connection, past or present, to a military service.

We're people. Before we put on the uniform, in uniform, after we hang it up for that last time -- still people. At some point, each one of us faces a situation that causes us to fall short of the aspirations of military values and culture. This is a part of our story, and I understand that it's also an inseparable part of persuading command teams to take a step back and reconsider the fuller picture of a case.

I am intentional and creative in highlighting our common humanity because I have personal experience on both sides: I've been that young Officer who judges others' motivation, and I've been that slightly older Officer whose personal circumstances have suddenly taken a turn for the worse. And along that journey I've sat face-to-face with hundreds of Servicemembers who need somebody to believe in them, and this more than anything taught me not to judge the book by its cover.

I cannot promise any particular results. Frankly, each year as I've continued to achieve excellent results for clients, the pressure has become intense to always get that miracle result, knowing that sometimes I won't. I do not have a legal silver bullet for every case, but in every case I remember that a person is counting on me to do my best - not for myself but for that Servicemember, that person, their family, and in recognition of their many sacrifices to support the military mission.

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A note about the picture: I'm on the right; my buddy, who forgot his PC, is on the left. The funny thing about this situation is that buddy was once the CPT that made a young 1LT Kamoroff clean the barracks latrine because I took too long to change out of wet clothes following the CWST. Even he mellowed over the years.