Making the Right Moves: Celebrate and Educate Military Spouse Attorneys

Every MilSpouseJD (attorney married to a member of our uniformed services) has uttered these seven words at least once:

“I thought I was the only one!”

We have chosen a profession structured in a way that is at odds with the military lifestyle. Our frequently changing geography means that every two or three years we begin again: a new bar, a new legal community, a new fear that we may not find work in our field—on top of the fears faced by every military spouse! Sometimes, that means leaving behind a job and legal community we love, while other times it means saying goodbye to our families because the risk of not finding work in a new place is simply too great. Both decisions are tough. Feeling like we are doing it alone—that is even tougher.

“I thought I was the only one!” Past tense. Though we all believed we were traveling a hard road by ourselves, it turns out that hundreds of us—from all over this country, and several others—are working to build a career in the legal profession while serving our country with military spouses. Now, as the Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN), we are over seven hundred strong, working together not just to build careers in the legal profession, but to make the legal profession more compatible with military service.

On May 22, 2013, in Washington, DC, MSJDN will host Making the Right Moves, sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Making the Right Moves will be a full day of activities designed to educate military spouse attorneys, celebrate MSJDN’s accomplishments, and provide attendees amazing opportunities to connect and network. Events include a day-long education program by American University Washington College of Law, a celebration and Awards Luncheon with special guest speaker U.S. Supreme Court Clerk Major General William Suter, and a networking reception hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Committee on Women in Business.

MSJDN would like to personally invite all Ms. JD readers to join us for Making the Right Moves. Come celebrate with us, connect with some amazing people, and help support military spouses in the legal profession.