After the JAG Corps: Navigating Your Career Progression

Carson Honeycutt was a USMC Sergeant and CH-53 Crew Chief when he left the service after 5 years. He then went onto a sales job, where he failed. Undeterred, he has gone onto get his MBA and JD. In this episode, he passes along his lessons learned, which he uses to mentor people leaving the service. Carson’s LinkedIn profile is found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/carhoney and his website is www.thezenveteran.com. (UPDATE: After prepping this episode for release, Carson received word that he had passed the bar exam. He was admitted to the Alaska bar this week.)

In this episode Immigration Judges Megan Jackler and Jennifer Peyton give an overview of life as Administrative Law Judges for Immigration matters, including the process for becoming one. Hint: if interested, a new posting on USAJOBS is only days away. Judge Jackler serves in the Navy Reserves, while Judge Peyton was in private practice before going to the bench.

Nik Mathews, U.S. Army veteran and Partner at Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe talks about his journey and the upcoming VLCF that Orrick sponsors. Nik's profile can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikmathews. VLCF information and registration available at https://www.veteranslegalcareerfair.com/

Bob Stern is a retired corporate counsel who now volunteers with Candorful, a non-profit organization that provides interview coaching for military transitioning to the civil sector. He also talks about why he believes military JAGs are well suited for work in the corporate world, and has served a mentor to a number of former judge advocates, including individuals previously interviewed on this podcast. Bob’s LinkedIn profile is available at https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertstern1.

Another incredible transition story. When Augustus popped up in my LinkedIn feed, I immediately reached out to him to tell me how he scored his current gig with Amazon Prime. His story has everything: setback, perseverance, adaptability, embracing challenges, self-improvement, a pandemic, and finally, success! You gotta hear his story about Primetime, Amazon style, that is. Augustus’s LI profile can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/augustus-turner-venerablevoice/

Raise your hand if you have looked at a job description and determined that you were not qualified for it? In this episode, my friend, and leadership and performance coach, Dr. Bryan Price, talks about “Imposter Syndrome” and why we talk ourselves out of applying. A must listen for those who still have their hands up! To learn more about Bryan and his work, please visit topmentalgame.com and his LinkedIn Profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-price/.

I first met Toren Mushovic back in 2002.  At the time, he was a Lieutenant Junior Grade Surface Warfare Officer aboard USS PRINCETON (CG 59), which was part of the NIMITZ Strike Group, for which I served as the SJA.  (As a side note, yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the commencement of our deployment.) Toren then attended law school on his own before returning the Navy as a JAG.  After 5 years and for family reasons, he left active service and relocated to Denver, CO, where he has enjoyed a successful career in the healthcare industry.  Toren currently serves as the Vice President and Compliance Officer at Soleo Health.  His LinkedIn profile can be found here. This conversation was recorded on January 6, 2023.

In this episode, David Thompson talks about finding work as a family law attorney and how his background as an SJA, trial counsel, defense counsel, and victims legal counsel has benefited him in his new role.  We also talk compensation and having the right expectations when leaving the service.  David's LinkedIn profile can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-thompson-lawyer/

This week, I catch up with Randy Bagwell, one of the many great Army JAGs with whom I had the honor to serve.  As you will hear in this episode, through networking Randy was an opportunity to leverage his expertise in International Humanitarian Law with the American Red Cross in Washington, DC, before being asked if he would be willing to take a "temporary" posting in Yokota, Japan, where he has been for almost the last two years.  Randy's LinkedIn profile is available at https://www.linkedin.com/in/randybagwell/.

In December, Danny Murphy posted "A Call to Service" on LinkedIn, in which he recounted the tremendous advice and mentorship from which he benefitted leading up to his retirement from the U.S. Army in 2020, and implored former and retired JAGs to help their brethren.  A good friend tagged me in his response, and on January 6th, Danny and I had a conversation about his post.  In this episode, you will hear about Danny's journey from the front office of the TJAGSA to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Southwest Virginia to private practice.  Grab a cup of coffee and listen to what Danny has to say.  Danny's LinkedIn profile can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-j-murphy/