JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the 633rd Air Base Wing Judge Advocate office has worked tirelessly to provide legal services to 2,637 clients over the past year.
“We saved a total of $868,225 overall the services provided,” said Senior Airman Emily Tiedt, 633rd ABW JA civil law paralegal. “We provided 2,569 consultation appointments, drafted 756 wills, wrote 488 advanced medical directives, and produced 2,469 power of attorney documents.”
Service members and their dependents, and retirees, are eligible for legal assistance for personal matters. The legal office offers services such as drafting trust and estate documents, wills, powers of attorney, and advising clients on personal issues such as pending divorces, real estate contracts, and small disputes.
“We are unable to advise people on any lawsuits or claims they are bringing against the Air Force because it is a conflict of interest,” said Capt. Lisa Passarella, 633rd ABW JA chief of operations, training, and readiness. “We also cannot advise on criminal matters because our office prosecutes those offenses; we direct any individual seeking this type of legal advice to the area defense counsels.”
According to Passarella, if a matter is complicated, the legal office will give general advice but will likely notify the client that they should contact a specialist in that area and connect them with resources that can point them in the right direction for their legal matter.
The 633 ABW JA office consists of 33 active duty and reserve officers and enlisted members, and nine civilian employees.
Legal affairs are categorized into three separate groups: military justice, operations law and civil law. Attorneys and paralegals in the Air Force remain flexible and organized while wearing many different hats to advise clients daily.
Currently, the legal office is appointment-only due to COVID-19 mitigations. Requests are worked as quickly as possible and have attorneys working exclusively on legal assistance to ensure service members don’t have a long wait before scheduling an appointment. Additionally, legal assistance teams work with squadrons to address who may need legal services before their deployment to meet member's legal needs far in advance.
“More of the appointment is done over the phone so that our in-person interaction is limited,” Passarella said. “The level of care and attention is still the same, but it’s in more of a virtual environment instead of in-person to keep the attorneys, paralegals and customers safe.”
COVID-19 has not slowed the 633 ABW JA office or compromised the legal advice provided to the command, despite the required changes to daily operations. Even with virtual meetings and telephonic consultations, they still stand ready to advise the JBLE community on legal matters that may arise.
“The legal office provides a wide range of services that help the everyday function of the base,” Tiedt said. “The legal office helps the JBLE community by providing free legal services to military members and dependents that can be very costly in the civilian world, and we always strive to help any member who is eligible for our services.”