ATLANTA, Ga. – More than 200 civilian and military attorneys from across the Army Materiel Command enterprise gathered here May 21-25 for the AMC-hosted Continuing Legal Education Program.
The program ensures AMC-wide attorneys meet their recurring Army and state bar training requirements and maintain currency in areas such as ethics and professional responsibility, fiscal law and contracts; as well as military-specific topics including privatized housing on installations and foreign military sales. In all, the program offered 57 courses of instruction, which included a choice of 45 electives. Topics included new and emerging areas of law such as cyber, intellectual property, and climate and environmental legal concerns.
“As attorneys we have yearly professional education requirements mandated by the state bar associations where we are licensed to practice law,” said Brian Toland, AMC Command Counsel. “In order to maintain good standing to practice law for the Department of the Army we must complete these professional education requirements.”
“Additionally, the law is ever changing and evolving based on new or revised statutes, recent court rulings and administrative forum decisions, and new interpretation of existing law,” he added, “so continuing education is vital for attorneys to stay current in their specialized practice areas such as contract law, labor and employment law, and environmental law.”
Toland said the event was the largest such program the command has hosted and was pre-approved by several state bars for 21 CLE credit hours.
“Most states require CLE to practice law for the Army,” explained Larry Brantley, AMC intellectual property counsel, who taught two courses on that subject. “For example, Alabama requires 12 hours of CLE each year, one of which must be on legal ethics. Tennessee requires 15 hours of CLE each year, three of which must be on legal ethics.”
While AMC conducts the program biennially, COVID restrictions had prevented an in-person CLE in 2021. More than 60 speakers and guest course presenters ensured a wide variety of applicable topics were covered.
Among the participating senior Army representatives were the Honorable Carrie F. Ricci, General Counsel of the Army and Lieutenant General Stuart W. Risch, the Judge Advocate General of the Army.
AMC Commanding General, General Charles R. Hamilton closed the program via MS Teams by placing an emphasis on the importance of CLE in helping attorneys provide the most up-to-date and sound legal counsel on Army and command-related issues.
The complexity and wide-ranging impacts of some of the subjects can be seen in Brantley’s instruction on intellectual property.
“Intellectual property is the key to obtaining the latest and greatest weapons and technologies in a cost-effective manner,” he said. “The U.S. Government pays to develop intellectual property and it is entitled to certain rights in exchange for paying for that development. Military lawyers need to make sure the USG is getting appropriate rights in intellectual property when it pays for development. Industry also pays to develop intellectual property and it is also entitled to reasonable compensation if the USG wants to use it. Military lawyers need to make sure industry is appropriately compensated for use of their intellectual property so industry will continue to innovate and offer new technologies.”
Overall, according to Toland, the program enhanced the professionalism, education, and readiness of Army lawyers.
“Our AMC CLE program allows us to focus on the legal issues that directly impact the command daily,” he summarized. “Our legal practice centers on providing candid, well analyzed, and solution-oriented advice that adds value for our leaders in accomplishing the mission through enhancing readiness, aiding in modernization efforts, and supporting people first initiatives.”
Social Sharing