'Lunch with a Lawyer' offers advice

  • Published
  • By Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Wolf
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  A new opportunity is now available for Soldiers and Airmen at the Iditarod Dining Facility on JBER, and it's not a new choice in food.

The 673d Air Base Wing legal office is starting a program they call "Lunch with a Lawyer."
"It's an outreach program our legal office has started so we can connect with the JBER community," said Air Force Capt. Quiana McCarthy, 673d Air Base Wing Judge Advocate, chief of preventative law. "We want to let people know we are also here for legal assistance, if you are having trouble we are there to advise."

The lunch is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A representative from the legal office will be on hand not only to eat with service members, but also to answer any general legal questions they may have and
provide information on how to obtain confidential legal services.

"We want to be there for our Airmen and Soldiers, all of our troops, so that they know they can go somewhere when they need (legal) advice," McCarthy said.

McCarthy wants to remind service members that they are available for them, and their advice and time is totally free.

"In the civilian community, to get an appointment with a lawyer, it could cost a lot of money, but here you can come and have as much access to the legal office as you like," McCarthy said. "It's an entirely free service, and we are here to help (service members)."
When some people think of the legal office, they may attach a stigma of punishment and getting in trouble to it.

"It's important for the community to know that we are here to do more than get you in trouble," said Russell Leavitt, JBER legal assistance chief. "We spend a lot of time answering people's questions and helping them with their problems, and a lot of people in our community don't realize you can go and talk to a lawyer for free."

The "Lunch with a Lawyer" will be held every Tuesday.

In the future, they hope to also host lunches at the Wilderness Inn Dining Facility on JBER-Richardson, where they will alternate Tuesdays.

The legal office is also open to ideas people have.

"We are here for our JBER community, so we would like feedback from them and what
they would like to see," McCarthy said. "We would like to know how we can make these two hours better."