As a probationary employee with the Navy Office of General Counsel in 2025, Joe was informed he would likely be laid off as part of the Trump Administration’s efforts to curb the size of the Federal Government. When offered deferred resignation, Joe saw it as an opportunity to join private practice to enable him to return to doing the things he enjoyed doing as a Marine Corps JAG, including Legal Assistance and Litigation.

In this episode, Joe takes us through his journey, including waving into the Virginia bar.

Joe mentions a few of Slack-type groups that he finds helpful, including:

1. ​ LawyerSmack (sidebar.net), a private community for attorneys interested in discussing practice-related issues with their peers in real time. ($199/year);

1. ​ Best Era (https://bestera.com/)($365/year).

1. ​ InnerCircle (inner circle.ernietheattorney.net/feed), which deals with legal tech issues.