Shortbursts: Hear from Duke Law 1Ls who will work with the Air Force JAG Corps this summer; and upcoming conferences you’ll want to put on your calendar!

“Shortbursts” is a occasional feature of Lawfire^® that aims to bring you up to date with bursts of information on a variety of topics you may find of interest.

In a previous post we highlighted Duke Law 1L Maddie Cash’s selection for a Navy JAG internship.  Today I want to let you know about some more good news: several other Duke Law 1Ls have been competitively selected to work with the Air Force JAG Corps.

Ms. Madison Dunbar has accepted a 2022 Summer Externship with the Air Force JAG Corps.  Here are some of her reflections:

“I am honored to have been selected for the 2022 Summer Externship with the Air Force JAG Corps in Charleston, South Carolina.

Before law school, I worked for three years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York as a criminal trial paralegal and Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney. There, I discovered a passion for prosecution and experienced working as part of an executive staff.

From speaking with JAG attorneys and my own research, I believe working with the JAG Corps will combine what I know I want in a legal career with other exciting areas of law I hope to explore.

I am not from a military background and I am the first in my family to attend law school. For those reasons, I am doubly excited my first legal work experience will come with the Air Force JAG Corps this summer.”

1L Riley Flewelling shared her thoughts:

“I am incredibly excited for my summer externship with the Air Force JAG Corps! I came to law school out of a desire to do meaningful public service, so I am thankful for the opportunity to pursue this passion in my first summer. My father’s own Air Force career definitely influenced my decision to apply. He is an incredible leader and has always attributed this to the mentorship he experienced early in his time in the service. 

I find the JAG Corps appealing because I am seeking a legal career filled with diverse experiences and challenges. Every Judge Advocate I have interacted with speaks with passion about the wide breadth of issues they get to tackle. The enthusiasm they all have for their work is infectious, and I am looking forward to soaking up as much as I can this summer!”

Here’s 1L Katie Retzbach’s reaction to her selection:

“I am incredibly honored to have been selected for a 2022 Summer Internship with the Air Force JAG Corps. I have always had an interest in national security issues and a passion for public service, so I am excited to learn more about the JAG Corps and the services they provide to Airmen and their families. 

After General Dunlap’s Wintersession course and speaking with JAG attorneys, the Air Force JAG Corps internship seemed like the perfect place to spend my summer. I am looking forward to learning more about the legal aspects and challenges of military operations and getting hands-on experience with trial preparation and litigation. I am excited to be exposed to a wide range of legal issues and exploring a future career in public service!”

It’s wonderful to see these really talented young lawyers-to-be starting their professional careers with such enthusiasm!

Unmanned aircraft workshop

Frequent LENS speaker (and Lawfire^® contributor!) retired Air Force colonel Dawn Zoldi advises that P3 Tech, which she founded and heads, is launching its inaugural Law-Tech Connect™ Workshop, co-located with AUVSI XPONENTIAL ’22, on Monday, April 25th at the Orange County Convention Center-West, Orlando, Florida. 

Here’s some more about the workshop:

The Law-Tech Connect™ Workshop is an educational event that connects attorneys and thought leaders in the unmanned ecosystem in a dynamic one-day session to elevate each other and the industry through world-class legal, regulatory and policy knowledge relating to unmanned aircraft systems, autonomy and advanced air mobility. It is a Florida-bar accredited Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program (*7 General credits, 1 Substance Abuse credit, transferable to other states) for attorneys and top-tier legal and policy event for all! Topics covered include global drone regulations, artificial intelligence policy, public-private partnership legal authorities, the law of the air/land/sea, intellectual property, privacy law and more.

I don’t know anyone who knows more about the commercial unmanned aircraft “ecosystem” than Dawn!  The agenda and registration instructions can be found here.

US Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) conference

Lt Col Kurt Sanger, USMC, (also a Lawfire^® contributor!) alerts us to another ‘don’t miss’ event:

US Cyber Command’s annual legal conference will be a virtual event held Thursday 10 March 2022 from 10am to 3:30pm EST.  We invite you to register here.  All are welcome to join and this invitation may be shared freely. 

Each year the conference presents operators, policy makers, academics and attorneys discussing the complex topics confronting cyberspace operations.  Next month’s event will bring together USCYBERCOM representatives with leading professors, members of the press, and other commentators to discuss those operations and the strategic environment in which they are evaluated.

Please save the date and join us!

I registered and recommend you do as well!

Save the date for the AU Cyber Law symposium!

Retired Army colonel turned law professor Gary Corn, (another friend of LENS and a 2021 conference participant!), asks us to ‘save the date’ for American University’s Washington College of Law’s symposium on the “The Evolving Face of Cyber Conflict and International Law” set for June 15-17. 

Obviously, the topic could not be more timely!  Once a registration link is available, we’ll let you know.  Meanwhile, put this one on your calendar for sure!

UPDATE:  Ryan Rowell of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) contacted me about a unique internship opportunity for law students.  Here’s what he said:

As a legal intern at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), your student would gain experience working for an organization that provides military intelligence to warfighters, defense policymakers and force planners in the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community, in support of U.S. military planning and operations and weapon systems acquisition. We plan, manage, and execute intelligence operations during peacetime, crisis, and war.

DIA attorneys support an array of clients and mission areas. Whatever your students’ interests, our agency can help them gain on-the-job expertise. We have attorneys supporting counterintelligence, intelligence oversight, information technology, science and technology, security and law enforcement, human intelligence operations and clandestine operations, employment litigation, fiscal law, and government acquisition and contracting.

Individuals selected for the position will be required to favorably undergo the DIA special security background investigation, counterintelligence-scope polygraph examination, psychological assessment, and drug testing to be granted a Top Secret security clearance prior to receiving a final offer of employment. Applications must be received by midnight (EST) on Monday, February 28, 2022  Please use this link to navigate to the internship posting: https://diajobs.dia.mil/psp/recnprod/APPLICANT/HRMS/c/DI_HOME.DI_SIGNIN.USF?

Again, be sure not to miss LENS 27th Annual conference (livestream/no registration required)!  Agenda and links to attend virtually are found here.