Military Spouse JD Network: Celebrating 10 Years Of Removing Military Spouse Career Barriers

Due to MSJDN’s advocacy, more military spouse attorneys have been able to continue to practice law, ultimately keeping families together and retaining quality service members in our Armed Forces.

Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Dawn Gile to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.

“It is great news for military spouses who support their families and country by service in the military and the law.” These were the comments by Reed Larsen, president of the Idaho State Bar, when Idaho became the first state in 2012 to enact a military spouse attorney admission rule. That thrilling news, culminating after many months of letter-writing and discussions with various stakeholders, did not happen overnight and did not occur in a vacuum. Idaho’s military spouse admission rule occurred due to the hard-fought advocacy and grassroots coordination by volunteers of Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN), an organization founded 10 years ago by military spouse attorneys frustrated by setbacks to their professional careers while following their service member spouse from state to state. Since MSJDN’s founding, 42 jurisdictions have enacted similar provisions, recognizing the sacrifices of military spouses.

The military lifestyle often means that a service member must move to a new duty station every couple years, with the service member’s family invariably following. For military spouse attorneys, composed overwhelmingly of women, these moves often require an evaluation of whether to pack up and leave their career in one state to move to another state where they may not be licensed or whether to remain and live apart from their spouse to maintain their career. Most military spouse attorneys also have young children, and given they often find themselves living in new towns and cities, away from their hometowns and extended families, they lack that grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin nearby who can help with child care. Compound those frustrations with a frequently deploying spouse and the expensive costs of having to repeatedly apply for yet another bar exam, and you can see why many military spouse attorneys are unemployed or underemployed. These setbacks create a national security issue as many service members leave military service due to the incompatibility of the military lifestyle with their spouses’ professional careers. Due to MSJDN’s advocacy, more military spouse attorneys have been able to continue to practice law, ultimately keeping families together and retaining quality service members in our Armed Forces.

Since its inception, MSJDN’s mission has been to not only advocate for licensing accommodations for military spouses but also to serve as a network of support for military spouse attorneys by providing professional development training, meaningful job opportunities, and at times, a listening ear and comforting encouragement from other spouses who “get it.” Over the past 10 years, the membership of MSJDN has swelled to more than 1,000 members and supporters.

MSJDN’s focus has also expanded to other programs to support its members as well as the military community. For example, one of the biggest challenges military spouse attorneys face is building a career in the face of geographic instability. Often, military spouse attorneys end up forgoing employment when arriving at a new duty station or taking a job for which they are overqualified. To help, MSJDN identifies corporate and law firm partners who recognize the value in hiring resilient, resourceful military spouse attorneys and connects those partners with MSJDN members through publications, a jobs board, and private hiring events. This program — Homefront to Hired — has been a success story as MSJDN has seen a 24% increase in people who have found jobs through the network.

To further support a military spouse attorney’s career, MSJDN’s annual professional development conference, Making the Right Moves, provides military spouse attorneys with inspiration and guidance as they navigate legal careers. Although typically in person, last year’s conference was held virtually, leading to a turnout three times its usual size, and thrillingly, included First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, military spouse employment champion, as its keynote speaker.

MSJDN also gives back to the military community through pro bono legal services. MSJDN’s Justice for Military Families was founded to connect Gold Star families — families of fallen service members — with pro bono legal services through a partnership with Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. In 2020, MSJDN proudly forged a new partnership with the American Red Cross Military Veteran Caregiver Network to provide free legal services to wounded veterans and their families. Justice for Military Families has assisted over 250 clients since its founding, providing culturally competent legal services to this important population.

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In its 10 years, MSJDN has made great strides and is excited for the road ahead as it remains committed to blazing meaningful, rewarding career paths for military spouse attorneys. To support MSJDN, visit the MSJDN website to learn more about its year-round programming and initiatives.


Dawn Gile is a licensed attorney with an active litigation practice, in addition to being an Army wife and mom of three girls. Dawn currently serves as immediate past president for Military Spouse JD Network, after having served on its Board of Directors for the last several years. Dawn is also a partner with MacDonald Law Group, LLC, where her practice focuses on complex civil litigation defense. A graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Rockford University, Dawn is admitted to practice law in Illinois, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. She enjoys spending time with her family at their home in Maryland and volunteering in her community.

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