Shortburst: Additions to LENS Conference, Duke grads in JAG, and more!
“Shortbursts” is a occasional feature of Lawfire® that aims to bring you up to date with bursts of information/updates on a variety of topics you may find of interest.
More speakers added to the LENS Conference!
MAJ Walkup
As Lawfire® readers know, this year’s conference includes an awesome group of speakers and panelists (check out the agenda here). I’m very pleased to advise you that two JAG officers from the famed 82nd Airborne Division have been added to the stellar roster. They will be making a presentation on “Providing Legal Support at the Speed of America’s Immediate Response Force.” MAJ Rachel L. Walkup, USA, is Brigade Judge Advocate for the 82nd Airborne’s 1st Brigade Combat Team and CPT Hayley J. Boyd, USA, is the Military Justice Advisor for the same unit.
CAPT Boyd
What is especially interesting about these officers is that in August 2021 both were deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan as part of the non-combatant evacuation of 120,000+ U.S. and Afghan citizens from the Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Remember, for this year’s livestreamed conference no registration is required, and there is no cost. Just click on the Panopto links for the presentations you want to experience. The conference website (here) has all the details!
Duke Law grad update: LT Peyton Coleman, USCG
Lieutenant Coleman is a 2021 Duke Law grad and, to my knowledge, is the first grad to become a Coast Guard JAG. I caught up with her recently, and here’s what she said about her experience so far:
It was a whirlwind experience at the start! I packed up my apartment the weekend before the bar exam and hit the road the morning after I finished the exam (and passed!!) to check in with my office in DC and then continue up to Connecticut. I spent five weeks at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, in the Direct Commission Officer course.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, including weathering two hurricanes. I’ve been at Coast Guard Headquarters since then. My first tour is with the Office of Claims and Litigation, where I work closely with the Department of Justice on a range of civil litigation matters from tort claims to Constitutional challenges.
I’m looking forward to spending a few weeks on a cutter this spring and heading to the Basic Lawyer Course at Naval Justice School toward the end of next summer.
Peyton was a star here, and I know we’ll continue to hear great things about her!
Duke Law grad update: Maj Danny Beaulieu, USAF
Long-time readers may recall Danny, a 2015 Duke Law grad. When you last read about him in 2017 (see here) he had completed Squadron officer’s School where he had won the Hinman Critical Analysis Award. He and his lovely wife Brittany were headed to Osan Air Base, Korea. Since then their family has grown, and he was competitively selected to attend the University of Mississippi School of Law to obtain a LLM in space law.
The exciting news is that not only has he graduated, but he was also promoted to major! What’s next adventure for the Beaulieus? Here’s some of what Danny shared with me recently:
Maj Beaulieu (r) with Lt Col Austin Deeney, USAF, who presided over the promotion ceremony.
I was delighted this week to learn that I will be PCS’ing [assigned] to STARCOM/JA [U.S. Space Training and Readiness Command] at Peterson SFB [Space Force Base], CO. I remember creating a space law research guide for one of my first assignments as a 1L at Duke. At the time, I thought it would be so neat to be able to work in that field. But I never could have imagined that a decade later the US Air Force would be paying me to study that exact topic at the University of Mississippi’s Air and Space Law LL.M. program in preparation for serving as an advisor to the US Space Force’s newest field command. What an incredible life! I am so honored to have this opportunity to serve this organization.
The military isn’t for everybody, and there are lots of ways to serve in the civilian world, but – wow – Space Force! Danny and his beautiful family really are living the dream!
Here’s why a Duke 1L is so excited to get a Navy JAG internship
Madison Cash, a Duke Law 1L, just learned the wonderful news that she was accepted into Navy JAG’s summer internship program. This is a terrific accomplishment given how competitive it is to get selected. Maddie was a Wintersession student of mine, and she shared some of her thoughts about her potential JAG career, and the exciting summer she has before her:
I am honored to have been selected for the 2022 Summer Internship with the Navy JAG Corps. As a Navy kid myself, I grew up watching JAG attorneys provide vital legal resources to service members and their families in desperate need of legal counsel, wills, and housing.
I’m inspired by the JAG attorneys I have gotten the chance to speak with, working across the world to advise their commanders, provide legal services to service members, and litigate in court-martial proceedings.
I’m also drawn to service in the JAG Corps because of its collaborative culture, constant adventure, and many incredible opportunities to gain trial experience early in my legal career. I am so excited to explore a career in the JAG Corps this summer!”
Maddie is a very impressive young lawyer-to-be…the Navy is fortunate to have gotten her!
Again, be sure not to miss LENS 27th Annual conference (livestream/no registration required)! Agenda and links to attend virtually are found here.
