Wait, My Former Lawyer Represents Who - How Lackadaisical Side-Switching in the California National Guard Creates Conflicts of Interest, Imperils Client Confidences, and Erodes Trust in the Militia Legal System
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WAIT, MY FORMER LAWYER REPRESENTS WHO?
HOW LACKADAISICAL SIDE-SWITCHING IN THE
CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD CREATES CONFLICTS
OF INTEREST, IMPERILS CLIENT CONFIDENCES, AND
ERODES TRUST IN THE MILITIA LEGAL SYSTEM
DWIGHT STIRLING* AND COREY LoVATO**
The National Guard of California when not in federal service is a state
force, the command of which is vested in the Governor as Commander-in-
Chief.'
[The California Rules of Professional Conduct] ... shall be binding upon
all members of the State Bar.'2
Individuals who head a government law office occupy a unique posi-
tion .... The attorneys who serve directly under them cannot be entirely insu-
lated from those policy decisions, nor can they be freed from real or perceived
concerns as to what their boss wants. The power to review, hire, and fire is a
potent one.3
* Dwight Stirling is the Chief Executive Officer of Veterans Legal Institute in Santa Ana,
California, a non-profit law firm and think tank he co-founded. He earned a J.D. at the
University of Southern California in 2000, an M.A. in Education at Whittier College in 1996,
and a B.A. at Pomona College in 1992. Corey Lovato is a Staff Attorney at Veterans Legal
Institute, having earned a J.D. at the University of California, Irvine in 2014 and a B.A. at
the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2010. Mr. Stirling, a major, has served in the
California National Guard (CNG) since 2001, the last eleven years as a judge advocate.
Much of the information regarding the CNG's attorney rotation program stems from his
personal experience within the CNG's JAG Corps, where he rotated five times during his
JAG career. The authors would like to thank James Cronn, former CNG judge advocate and
current captain in the Army Reserve JAG Corps, for his insight. The article is dedicated to
the men and women in California's JAG Corps, an exceptional group of officers, non-
commissioned officers, and paralegals.
** This article was prepared or accomplished by Dwight Stirling in his personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the view of the
California National Guard or the State of California.
I I1 Cal. Ops. Att'y. Gen. 253, 259 (1948) (citation omitted).
2 CAL. RuLus OF- PROF'L CONDUCT. r. 1-100 (2015).
3 City and County of San Francisco v. Cobra Solutions, Inc., 38 Cal. 4th 839, 853-54
(2006).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/bupi25&div=17&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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