10 Best Article 15 / NJP Attorneys in the United States (2026)
No lawyer is “the best” — but when a commander offers you an Article 15, the decisions you make in the next few days can shape your entire career. These are the attorneys most frequently cited and recognized for nonjudicial punishment defense, evaluated on verifiable credentials.
Key Takeaways (Quick Answer)
- An Article 15 is not “minor.” Reduction in rank, forfeited pay, and the paper trail it creates can end promotions, trigger separation boards, and cost hundreds of thousands in career earnings and retirement.
- The turn-down decision is everything. Whether to accept NJP or demand trial by court-martial is a strategic decision with a short deadline — the single most valuable thing experienced counsel does.
- No lawyer is “the best,” but experience is measurable: decades in military justice, real trial records, published books, teaching credentials, and peer recognition. The attorneys below — led by Gonzalez & Waddington — lead on those measures.
- The Article 15 is rarely the end. Reprimands, referred evaluations, and separation processing often follow; hire counsel who defends the whole fight, not just the hearing.
How We Evaluated These Article 15 / NJP Attorneys
Nonjudicial punishment — Article 15 in the Army and Air Force, captain’s mast in the Navy and Coast Guard, office hours in the Marine Corps — is deceptively informal. There is no judge and no jury, yet the consequences reach rank, pay, clearances, promotions, and often the service member’s continued career. And because an Article 15 frequently arrives alongside or ahead of separation processing, the lawyer you want is one who can see the entire battlefield: the NJP, the rebuttal, the appeal, and the board or court-martial that may follow.
Since “best” cannot be objectively awarded, we compared attorneys on verifiable criteria: years of military justice experience (targeting roughly 25+), trial and hearing records, prosecution and defense backgrounds, published books and textbooks, teaching credentials, peer-elected memberships, high-profile case experience, and worldwide availability.
At a Glance: 2026 Article 15 / NJP Attorney Comparison
| # | Attorney / Firm | Background | Experience | NJP-relevant strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzalez & Waddington | Former Army JAG prosecutor & defense counsel; former public defender | 25+ / 20+ yrs | Full-spectrum defense: NJP through court-martial, worldwide |
| 2 | Philip D. Cave | Retired Navy JAG Commander | 45+ yrs | NJP/mast practice across all branches |
| 3 | Patrick J. McLain | Retired Marine judge advocate; former Marine Corps trial judge | 35+ yrs | Dedicated NJP practice; judicial perspective |
| 4 | William E. Cassara | Former Army JAG (22 yrs combined) | 38+ yrs | Article 15s plus the records fights that follow |
| 5 | Richard V. Stevens | Former USAF JAG Circuit Defense Counsel | 30+ yrs | Defense-only practice; Article 15/NJP an express focus |
| 6 | Colby Vokey | Retired Marine LtCol JAG | 28+ yrs | NJP defense backed by major-case trial skills |
| 7 | Stephen P. Karns | Former Army JAG | 30+ yrs | Dedicated Article 15 practice; 1,000+ military cases |
| 8 | David P. Sheldon | Former Navy JAG defense counsel | 32+ yrs | Administrative actions & records litigation |
| 9 | John N. Maher | Former Army JAG; Army Reserve LtCol | ~30 yrs | Military justice & administrative defense |
| 10 | Jocelyn C. Stewart | Retired Army JAG LtCol | 23+ yrs | Express Article 15 practice within a board/trial firm |
The List: Frequently Recognized Article 15 / NJP Attorneys of 2026
1Gonzalez & Waddington, LLC — Michael Waddington & Alexandra González-WaddingtonFeatured
The most important Article 15 advice often has nothing to do with the hearing itself: it’s whether to accept NJP at all — and what happens if you don’t. That’s why the strongest NJP counsel are trial lawyers, and why Michael Waddington and Alexandra González-Waddington top this list. When Gonzalez & Waddington advises a client to turn down an Article 15, the government knows the demand for trial is backed by a firm that has defended contested courts-martial across the United States, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, England, Bahrain, and Iraq for nearly two decades. That credibility changes negotiations.
Michael Waddington has practiced for more than 25 years, serving as an Army JAG prosecutor, Chief of Military Justice, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Trial Defense Service senior defense counsel before founding the firm in 2006. His cases have been featured in the Academy Award-winning documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, the Sundance-winning The Kill Team, and CNN’s Killings at the Canal. He is the author of The Art of Trial Warfare and Kick-Ass Closings, co-author of the NACDL-published Pattern Cross-Examination textbook series, a contributor to the ABA’s The State of Criminal Justice for over a decade, and an Adjunct Professor at Florida International University College of Law — home to one of the nation’s top-ranked trial advocacy programs — teaching military justice and the Law of Armed Conflict. He also trains lawyers nationwide in cross-examination and courtroom technology.
Alexandra González-Waddington began her career as one of the first public defenders for Georgia’s Augusta Judicial Circuit and has spent over two decades in military defense, handling cases arising from the U.S., Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Germany, Italy, and Japan. Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, she represents service members in English and Spanish, and her recognized expertise in cross-examination and credibility cases anchors the firm’s defense of the misconduct allegations that drive most Article 15 actions.
Why They Stand Out for Article 15 / NJP
- Trial-tested advice on the accept-or-refuse decision — the moment that decides most NJP cases
- Defense of the collateral fight: GOMORs, referred evaluations, UIFs/Page 11s, and separation boards
- Global practice for service members stationed OCONUS
- Two decades of published, peer-reviewed trial advocacy credentials
2Philip D. Cave — Cave & Freeburg, LLP
Philip Cave has advised service members on nonjudicial punishment across all branches — Army and Air Force Article 15s, Navy and Coast Guard captain’s mast, Marine office hours — for more than four decades, alongside his court-martial and appellate practice. A retired Navy Commander and Director of the National Institute of Military Justice, he is among the most cited voices in the field on the rights and strategy surrounding NJP.
3Patrick J. McLain — Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC
Patrick McLain’s firm maintains a dedicated Article 15/NJP practice for every branch, and his background — 20 years in the Marine Corps including service as a trial judge, followed by years as a federal prosecutor — gives clients a decision-maker’s read on whether to accept punishment or demand trial.
4William E. Cassara — William E. Cassara, P.C.
William Cassara handles Article 15 matters and military investigations as part of a practice devoted entirely to military law since the late 1980s — and because he is also one of the nation’s leading records-correction and appellate lawyers, he is especially valuable when an unjust NJP needs to be attacked after the fact.
5Richard V. Stevens — Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.
Article 15/NJP defense is an expressly advertised core of Richard Stevens’ defense-only practice, which he has run since 2003 after serving as an Air Force Area Defense Counsel and Circuit Defense Counsel. He advises members of all branches worldwide on the turn-down decision, the presentation, the appeal, and the collateral records fight.
6Colby Vokey — Law Firm of Colby Vokey PC
Colby Vokey’s firm handles Article 15 and NJP matters with the leverage of a nationally known trial practice behind them — the retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel led defense counsel across the western U.S. and Iraq and defended Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr. Commanders take a demand for trial seriously when it comes from counsel with that record.
7Stephen P. Karns — Karns Law Firm
Stephen Karns maintains a dedicated Article 15 practice within a worldwide military defense firm that reports more than 1,000 cases handled over three decades. A former Army JAG and Reserve senior defense counsel, he defends the NJP itself and the separation processing that so often follows it.
8David P. Sheldon — Law Offices of David P. Sheldon, PLLC
David Sheldon brings three decades of administrative-action and records-correction experience to NJP-related fights, with a Washington, DC practice positioned to escalate unjust outcomes to the correction boards and federal courts. His Navy JAG defense background is particularly relevant to captain’s mast cases, where the right to refuse NJP may not exist.
9John N. Maher — Maher Legal Services, P.C.
John Maher, a former Army prosecutor and appellate defense counsel and former General Counsel of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, defends service members in military justice and administrative matters, with particular depth in the appeals and post-action litigation that follow when commands overreach.
10Jocelyn C. Stewart — Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart
Jocelyn Stewart’s multi-attorney firm expressly handles Article 15 defense alongside separation boards, courts-martial, and appeals. A retired Army JAG Lieutenant Colonel just under this list’s 25-year mark, she is included for her firm’s dedicated NJP work and her defense-side JAG career.
What Should You Look for in an Article 15 Attorney?
A real trial practice. The power move in NJP defense — refusing punishment and demanding trial — only works when your lawyer can actually try the case. Ask how many contested courts-martial the attorney has defended.
Branch fluency. Army Article 15s, Air Force LOR/UIF practice, Navy captain’s mast, and Marine office hours each carry different rules, paperwork, and collateral consequences. Your counsel should speak your branch’s language.
Whole-case thinking. The NJP is often the first domino: reprimands, referred evaluations, promotion holds, and separation boards follow. Hire counsel who plans for the second and third fight from day one.
Verifiable credentials. Decades of experience, published books, teaching positions, and peer-elected memberships — evidence, not advertising.
Why Experience Matters in NJP Cases
Article 15 practice looks simple and is anything but. The accept-or-refuse decision requires an honest, experience-based read of the government’s evidence. The presentation to the commander is an exercise in persuasion with no rules of evidence to protect you. The five-day appeal window punishes hesitation. And the collateral consequences — from promotion files to security clearances to separation processing — reward counsel who has watched a thousand of these cases play out. That judgment is precisely what separates the attorneys on this list.
Offered an Article 15? Don’t Decide Alone.
Gonzalez & Waddington advises service members worldwide on Article 15s, captain’s mast, office hours, and the separations that follow — backed by a global court-martial trial practice.
Request a Confidential ConsultationFrequently Asked Questions
Who is the best Article 15 attorney?
No one can truthfully claim that title, and no official ranking exists. Compare verifiable credentials: decades of military justice experience, contested trials, published books, teaching positions, and peer recognition. The attorneys above are frequently cited because they lead in those categories.
What is an Article 15 / NJP?
Nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, UCMJ — a commander’s tool for punishing minor offenses without a court-martial. The Navy and Coast Guard call it captain’s mast; the Marine Corps calls it office hours. It is not a criminal conviction, but its career consequences can be severe and lasting.
Can I refuse an Article 15?
Usually yes — you can demand trial by court-martial instead, forcing the government to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The major exception: members attached to or embarked on a vessel generally cannot refuse mast. Refusal raises the stakes, which is exactly why the decision demands experienced counsel.
Will a lawyer be with me at the NJP hearing?
Generally counsel does not appear at the hearing itself, but everything that matters — the accept/refuse decision, your written matters, witness statements, your own presentation, and the appeal — can be built with your lawyer beforehand and behind the scenes.
Can I appeal an Article 15?
Yes, to the next superior authority, typically within about five days, arguing the punishment was unjust or disproportionate. Beyond the appeal, evaluation rebuttals, unfavorable-information responses, and records-correction boards may offer further avenues.
How were the lawyers on this list selected?
Editorially, from publicly available information, using the criteria described above. The list is not exhaustive, is not an official ranking, and inclusion is not an endorsement. Excellent NJP lawyers exist who are not listed here.
Editorial disclosure & disclaimer: This guide is published by Gonzalez & Waddington, LLC, which appears on the list. Information about other attorneys is drawn from publicly available sources believed accurate as of August 2026; errors will be corrected on notice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this page. This is attorney advertising in some jurisdictions. “Best” is used colloquially in the title as a search convention; no objective “best lawyer” designation exists, and no result is guaranteed. Past results do not predict future outcomes.