In the US Navy, overseas legal assistance is provided mainly by three offices: Region Legal Service Western Pacific (RLSO WESTPAC), Region Legal Service Office Europe Africa Central (RLSO EURAFCENT), and Region Legal Service Office Southeast (RLSO SOUTHEAST). RLSO WESTPAC’s legal assistance offices are in Yokosuka, Sasebo, Japan, and Guam. RLSO EURAFCENT’s legal assistance offices are in Rota, Spain; Naples, Italy; Sigonella, Italy; Souda Bay, Greece; London, England; and Bahrain. RLSO SOUTHEAST’s overseas legal aid support is centralized in Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Challenges of Getting Legal Support When Overseas
A Foreign Experience
Living overseas can be “a new and exciting experience for many. But it can also be very isolating, especially for service members, their dependents, and Department of Defense (DoD) civilians,” Lieutenant Commander Ray Ferrano, the Civil Law Department Head for RLSO EURAFCENT, observes.
For many, being stationed overseas is often “their first time away from family, friends, or really any support network,” and legal assistance attorneys and paralegals can be “helpful in calming fears or navigating complex processes” that foreign environments raise, describes Lieutenant Adam Bentley, Staff Judge Advocate and Legal Assistance Attorney for Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. Legal assistance offices can also “alleviate some of the strain” posed by language barriers and a general inability to access resources off-base, added Lieutenant Commander Sarah Chi, Legal Assistance Department Head for RLSO WESTPAC.
Resourcing and Staffing
Navigating how to provide legal assistance services overseas can be challenging in its own right for judge advocates and their staff, especially when considering resourcing and the complications raised by being overseas. In Lieutenant Commander Chi’s experience, “[our] three main Navy Legal Assistance offices service a large area of responsibility that spans across four time zones, so we have to find even more creative ways to leverage the resources we have to support our service members and their families while they are serving overseas in nine different locations within the Western Pacific.” Lieutenant Bentley agrees: legal assistance “is often the first area from which resources are pulled to support other mission essential activities. While this is understandable, it is also potentially devastating to deployed and overseas service members” who have nowhere else to go.
Remote Environment
The difficulties in providing these services are compounded by the fact that overseas providers “practice law in a remote environment and in another time zone,” thereby requiring attorneys to resolve issues with limited stateside support, Lieutenant Commander Ferrano remarks. Most stateside legal assistance attorneys are used to working primarily in a specific state's laws, having quick and close access to subject matter experts of those states and getting very comfortable within that lens. Overseas legal assistance, however, requires a broader lens. Lieutenant Bentley describes the overseas provider as having to conduct “legal triage”: when overseas, attorneys have to be able to “direct members to what jurisdiction or forum is most suited to their specific issue.” In doing so, overseas providers must think “creatively and work with different stakeholders to best service the client to the extent permitted,” Lieutenant Commander Chi states.
Common Legal Issues Experienced Overseas
Family Law
The most common area of practice that overseas providers advise on is family law. From assisting with full government-sponsored permanent changes of station for family members of a service member who is remaining overseas to time-sensitive immigration applications to the inability or logistical complications of where to file for divorce while stationed overseas, resolving family law issues raises many issues and accompanying frustrations.
Lieutenant Commander Ferrano points out that many overseas duty stations do not have domestic violence shelters accessible to DoD personnel and “identifying emergency temporary housing requires a bit more coordination” by legal assistance attorneys. Lieutenant Bentley adds that, except for Guam, “there is almost no US court with competent jurisdiction to dissolve the marriage expediently or resolved questions about child custody or family support on a pro se basis.” Resolving family law issues may also require coordination with the command, Fleet and Family Support Centers, the Victim’s Legal Counsel, and off-base entities, Lieutenant Commander Chi remarks. That said, there are rewarding aspects of practicing family law overseas: for Lieutenant Commander Ferrano, “assisting with the foreign marriage application and subsequent immigration components of the marriage is a common and exciting part of family law which practitioners only encounter overseas.”
Immigration
Immigration is the second most common issue, specifically the naturalization of a service member or a family member. Lieutenant Commander Chi explains that living and working “overseas means a higher likelihood of having dependents who are not US citizens. So we are certainly seeing far more immigration issues compared to our stateside counterparts.” Military legal assistance attorneys are trained to help clients submit visa and immigration petitions, conduct their US Citizenship and Immigration Services interviews, and request expedited processing as needed in cases of an upcoming or unexpected permanent change of station (PCS).
Landlord-Tenant and Consumer Law
Landlord-tenant disputes and consumer law violations are also frequently raised in these offices. Lieutenant Bentley notes that service members often still carry legal issues when they PCS overseas, such as a landlord withholding a member’s security deposit or companies failing to release members from contracts or leases under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and overseas providers have to be prepared to advise on these matters, working across time zones and jurisdictions.
How Military Legal Assistance Offices Help
Military legal assistance offices are not just reactive to legal issues but also engage in preventive law. Overseas providers seek to educate Sailors and their families early and often to prevent legal issues from happening. Lieutenant Commander Chi emphasizes that “the stress or concerns that we can help alleviate by simply listening, educating, and empowering an eligible customer or client is significant so that they can get back to focusing on their primary mission, jobs, or families.” Pre-deployment briefs, outreach events, naturalization ceremonies, and estate planning executions are constant evolutions for any overseas office.
The legal assistance mission is an admirable one. Lieutenant Commander Ferrano observes that “when service members and their dependents think of ‘Legal,’ their first thought is usually our offices. Every day, we have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, even if it's just providing some clarity or a resource they needed.” Lieutenant Commander Chi broadens that point: “Being ready to deploy or get underway for an extended period at a moment’s notice is critical to effectuate our national security and defense strategy and mission.” It is the military legal assistance mission that helps to accomplish Sailor and Navy family member readiness, and overseas legal assistance offices provide that for “America’s Away Team.”
