Legal assistance programs in
the military were established in the early days of World War II
to respond to the increased legal problems created as civilians
and their families abruptly entered military service. During
this period the military establishment also created a permanent
framework to respond to the ongoing civil legal requirements of
its uniformed members. In 1943, a joint program with the
American Bar Association was undertaken to make legal advice and
assistance available to military personnel for their civil legal
problems. The program provided for the establishment of legal
assistance offices at each command, staffed by military
attorneys licensed to practice law and augmented by civilian
attorney volunteers assigned by state bar associations. The
military attorneys assigned to these offices were not authorized
to appear before civilian courts in the representation of their
clients. Such cases were to be referred to civilian attorneys.
Today, legal assistance is
offered on a discretionary basis by each Military Service to its
own personnel. Legal assistance is often, by necessity, not
afforded the personnel and budget support needed to make the
program a significant benefit to members of the Armed Forces.
The scope of legal assistance programs and the volume of
military clients served varies greatly by location and branch of
service. Resources for legal assistance are allocated at the
discretion of the area command, and some locations are unable to
provide even minimum legal services within certain branches of
service. Depending on the locale of the installation, a program
is sometimes extended by one Military Service to all eligible
individuals in the area regardless of their Service affiliation.
This places an unacceptable burden on the already strained
resources of local legal assistance attorneys, and further
reduces the service member's access to needed legal assistance.
The need for legal assistance
in the Armed Services has been increasing for many years. Demand
for routine legal services such as wills and powers of attorney
has grown, but more significantly, an increasing number of
clients have serious family law, contractual, tax, and estate
planning problems.
