On June 8, 2024, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ordered military spouse attorneys residing with their active-duty spouse be granted admission to practice law within the District. Advocacy efforts by MSJDN and its members influenced this critical change and necessary support for military families. MSJDN is grateful to its many members and supporters who submitted comments in support of this rule change, as well as the advocacy efforts of the State Licensing Committee that aided in the passage of Rule 46-B, Temporary Admission to the Bar for Military Spouse Attorneys. For more inform ..read more

  On October 18, 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court amended the Board of Law Examiners’ Rules, Section .0500, Requirements for Applicants, Rule .0503, Requirements for Military Spouse Comity Applicants, waiving the bar license application fee for military spouses. This amendment comes after 10 months of advocacy by the MSJDN State Licensing Committee and support from the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. North Carolina now allows military spouses who meet comity application requirements to apply for a North Carolina bar license with no fee.  This movement followed th ..read more

  On June 9th, 2023, four Military Spouse J.D. Network members, at the invitation of First Lady of the United States of America, Dr. Jill Biden, had the opportunity to bear witness to the signing of the Strengthen Economic Opportunity for Military and Veteran Spouses, Caregivers and Survivors Executive Order by President Joe Biden. Maj Samantha Sliney (active duty Air Force JAG married to an active duty Soldier), Capt Nichole Timmreck (active duty Air Force JAG married to an active duty Soldier), Jessica Tuttle (Department of the Army federal civilian married to an active duty Soldier) a ..read more

  Dear Members and Supporters, I am pleased to announce our strong support for the Executive Order signed today by the President, aimed at increasing the economic security of military and veteran spouses. This order represents a significant step forward in recognizing the unique challenges faced by military-connected families and addresses key areas that will greatly improve the lives and opportunities of military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors. The Executive Order’s directive to develop a government-wide Strategic Plan on Hiring and Retention for Military and Veteran Spou ..read more

  As details continue to emerge concerning the killing of Tyre Nichols, MSJDN wants to reiterate our commitment to the basic tenets of our profession and our role in condemning actions that grossly violate the rule of law and civility.  As a bar association with the mission to improve the lives of military families from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, we recognize our unique role in advocating for military families who have no choice in where they live or the communities that they will join and thus no way to predict any bias, xenophobia or racism they may encounter. As then-ABA p ..read more

MSJDN’s efforts advocating for licensing accommodations for military spouse attorneys were successful in Louisiana. The Louisiana Supreme Court ordered military spouse attorneys residing with their active-duty spouse be granted a limited admission to practice law within the state. There is a supervision requirement, however, the supervision requirement is broader than those imposed in other states. The supervision requirement states: “An applicant must submit to the Committee on Bar Admissions an affidavit of the LA attorney who will, pursuant to Section 15(b)(6), supervise the application&nb ..read more

The Military Spouse J.D. Network Foundation (MSJDNF), the charitable arm of MSJDN, announced a partnership with the American Bar Association’s Military Pro Bono Project to expand legal resources for Gold Star families. Justice for Military Families (JMF), provides pro bono and low bono legal assistance to Gold Star families, military veterans, and their surviving family members. Cases from all over the United States are referred to JMF through the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), the Red Cross Military Veteran Caregiver Network, and other similar organizations, as well as ..read more

Military Spouse J.D. Network Foundation (MSJDNF), the charitable arm of the Military Spouse J.D. Network, a national organization of military spouse attorneys, is launching the Justice for Military Families (JMF) Grant Program.  The program will provide grants to eligible clients of JMF, based on eligibility, financial need, and available funds, to pay for court filing fees. The Foundation’s existing program, JMF, assists Gold Star Families in finding low or pro bono legal representation and resources. “The JMF Grant Program will be instrumental in helping Gold Star families. It increase ..read more

  On March 11, 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court amended Kentucky Supreme Court Rule 3.040 to include waiver of annual bar dues for military spouses. This exciting new rule is the result of a years-long campaign by MSJDN volunteer Erin Ramey and team. Kentucky waived dues for active duty service members, and now the benefit extends to active duty spouses as well! SCR 3.040 now provides: 2) Any member of the association shall be relieved of the payment of dues for any fiscal year in which the member serves actively in the armed services of the United States of America. The annual waive ..read more

  Military Spouse JD Network was founded with the novel idea of modernizing licensing rules to allow military spouses to continue their legal careers while accompanying their service member spouse from state to state. Since then, through the tireless effort of countless volunteers and with steadfast support from our partners, we have broken down barriers to employment for military spouse attorneys around the world, expanded our advocacy efforts to include providing free legal assistance to Gold Star families, training military spouses to shape their communities through political involveme ..read more