MAJ Kier Elmonairy, Editor-in-Chief of The Army Lawyer from June 2022 to August 2023, is currently a student in the 72d Graduate Course. (Photo courtesy of author)
Editor’s Note
A Note from the Editor
By Major Kier M. Elmonairy
Since its inception in 1971, The Army Lawyer (TAL)has served as a premiere messaging platform for the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps), providing practical how-to articles alongside items of interest to the field. That has not changed. How TAL accomplishes its role, however, does change. Information on promotions and awards were staples of the publication until the early 1980s. Book reviews debuted in 2004. The “Lore of the Corps” department launched in 2010. In its most significant overhaul to date, TAL shed its designation as an Army pamphlet, printed in black and white with a three-ring punch, and moved to its current, color-photo format in 2018. Editors past made these changes to keep the publication responsive to the needs of our Corps and to improve the publication. As TAL begins a new publishing year, we are introducing some additional changes aimed at making this publication a reflection of the tremendous achievement, experience, and scholarship of our Corps.
New Departments
While “Practice Notes” and “Features” make up the bulk of TAL, the publication has always included additional recurring pieces like the “Book Review” or “Court Is Assembled.” We are introducing two new recurring pieces to put a spotlight on the JAG Corps’s greatest resource: its people. “Pivotal Perspective” brings us reflections on key moments of change in a JAG Corps career such as accession, retirement, or moving to the Reserves from active duty. “What’s It Like?” follows Judge Advocate Legal Services personnel in their jobs and highlights the many unique opportunities available in our Corps. Between these two new departments, TAL will ensure that our practitioners receive as much attention as our practice.
Image Sponsorship
Since TAL’s redesign in 2018, photographs have been an integral part of the publication. They not only enhance the articles in which they appear but also help tell the story of what our Corps has been up to between issues. Starting with this issue, TAL images in places like “News & Notes” and “Around the Corps” will come from offices that volunteer to sponsor the issue by providing the bulk of the images. This issue’s sponsor is the First Corps Office of the Staff Judge Advocate. If you are interested in having your office sponsor an upcoming issue, please reach out to our Managing Editor, Ms. Jani Riley. You can reach her at jani.l.riley.civ@army.mil or (434) 971-3368.
Endnotes
We have also updated how TAL handles notes. Our “Practice Notes” and “Features” will see no change. Each factual assertion in those pieces will still have a note that provides citations to the sources our authors relied on. This points our readers to useful resources as they conduct further research into the topics our authors explore in those pieces. In our other pieces, such as “Lore of the Corps” or “Azimuth Check,” however, we will now only require notes for direct quotations and direct references to authority. This change will help delineate between our more legal-focused departments and pieces focusing on other aspects of the JAG Corps experience.
These changes are all aimed at providing a first-class publication, worthy of legal professionals engaged in the most consequential practice of law in the world. Although TAL is always evolving, that goal remains constant.