James T. Dawkins IV

It is a significant transition to change practice areas from a military criminal practice to civil litigation, but if I have learned anything from my service, it is how to embrace and adapt to new challenges and changing landscapes. As a military prosecutor, being active in the courtroom is not just an expectation, it is a requirement. Consequently, my litigation opportunities were robust while I was on active duty, and I took advantage whenever I could because I enjoy the challenge and the exposure to new areas of the law. Even though moving to a civilian civil practice is a significant change, that challenge remains the same, only with opportunities to gain exposure to an even greater variety of practice areas and legal issues. I am excited to start this new chapter in my practice and cannot wait to leverage my unique experience and drive to learn in order to advance client objectives.

The military justice system is unique in that prosecutors do not decide whether to press charges when a servicemember is suspected of a crime, commanders do. So even as a prosecutor, you still have a "client:" the unit commander, who has his or her own set of objectives they want to pursue or results he or she wants from a court-martial. As a result, it has always been a part of my litigation practice to ensure I have a complete understanding of the client's goals and to make sure my trial strategies are as closely aligned with the client's wishes as possible. Moreover, commanders do not speak legalese and they do not have time for long explanations of trial developments. In the military, we call it "BLUF"--bottom line up front-- it is of paramount importance to ensure the clients get a clear and concise description of the status of a given case and exactly how their objectives are being promoted.

The challenge of competition. Litigation is, by its nature, an adversarial field in which to work; there is always someone on the other side who has an objective that is, for the most part, inconsistent with your client's. In every communication, filing, and motion, you have to be on your toes and be the best attorney you can be in order to attain the best possible result for your client because there is another team on the other side working hard to make sure they stay at their best to get the result their client wants. That kind of competition makes being your best a habit, which in turn helps you to continually improve and develop better skills.

I have recently passed the United States Patent and Trademark Office Registration Exam, so I am looking to expand my practice in patent litigation and other complex intellectual property issues.