The Navy JAG Community proudly nominated five legal assistance attorneys and three commands for the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel (LAMP) 2014 Distinguished Service Awards. We are pleased to announce that the LAMP Committee acknowledged the Navy's outstanding legal assistance program by making Navy the only service to receive three 2014 LAMP Distinguished Service Awards. The following recipients received 2014 LAMP Distinguished Service Awards:
Nicholas King, Region Legal Service Office Southwest (RLSO SW) - 2014 LAMP Distinguished Service Individual Award recipient. In addition to serving as Assistant Legal Assistance Department Head and subject matter expert, King demonstrated superb vision and innovation by creating an innovative two-week training module for new attorneys, which has been incorporated into Navy-wide Legal Assistance Professional Development Standards. King also developed new training and standard operating procedures tailored for non-legal personnel at RLSO SW, significantly enhancing the overall effectiveness and productivity of the RLSO SW Legal Assistance Team.
Region Legal Service Office Japan - 2014 LAMP Distinguished Service Command Award recipient. Serving a vast geographic area that includes 36 maritime countries, RLSO Japan set a new standard of excellence for Legal Assistance. To reduce processing time in obtaining green cards by non-U.S. citizen dependents, RLSO Japan collaborated with the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Customs and Immigration Service to allow the local U.S. Embassy to issue green cards. RLSO Japan further supported the armed forces legal assistance effort by assisting 98 service members achieve U.S. citizenship. Displaying diverse knowledge and professional ability, RLSO Japan provided subject matter expertise by participating in a working group concerning the Hague Convention on Child Abduction.
Region Legal Service Office Northwest - 2014 LAMP Distinguished Service Command Award Recipient. Despite manning shortages and facility renovations at three of their four offices, RLSO NW skillfully managed to provide more than 30,000 legal services to Sailors, retirees, and their families. Demonstrating their dedication to providing the best possible client services, RLSO NW established an aggressive training program featuring instruction by local subject matter experts, training paralegals to draft estate planning documents, and leveraging the expertise of our Reserve force by including Reserve attorneys in critical training.