SSG Brandon P. Labue (Image courtesy of author)
What’s It Like?
What Does It Mean to Be a Special Trial Counsel Noncommissioned Officer
By Staff Sergeant Brandon P. Labue
What does it mean to be a special trial counsel (STC) noncommissioned officer (NCO)? What does it mean to be an Army paralegal? While there are many characteristics, traits, and work philosophies that could answer these questions, it is personally meaningful to be able to articulate exactly what it means to be a paralegal within the Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) and what qualities best serve an aspiring NCO. My military journey as a litigation and brigade paralegal has led to a significant amount of self-reflection and constant re-examination of my priorities. It has definitely informed my view on what makes an exemplary STC NCO.
Partnership with Your Trial Counsel
The relationship between a paralegal and their trial counsel must be a partnership like that of a first sergeant and their commander. Though the commissioned officer has command over everyone in a unit, the first sergeant is just as responsible for ensuring mission accomplishment. Both the commander and the first sergeant feel the pains of failure and the elation of success. To create a similar partnership, the paralegal must take on the burden of empowerment and be as invested as their trial counsel in the disposition of every case. The paralegal must take ownership of their role and realize that what they do is just as impactful as their partner’s role in the pursuit of justice.
As a junior paralegal, I always placed judge advocates (JAs) on a pedestal and intuitively placed their decisions and opinions above my own. I discovered I had some serious issues with imposter syndrome and low self-esteem that took time and effort to overcome. However, the biggest issue that I saw in myself—and what I often see in many developing paralegals—was the fear of accountability. I believed that as long as I stayed in my lane, only did what I was ordered to do, and did not value myself or my role as one of importance to the team, then I would never have to take responsibility for the failures in a case. I feared that if I took responsibility occasionally, or if I achieved occasional success, then I would be forced to always handle responsibility and achieve success. Under the weight of that pressure, I was afraid that I would fail stupendously, and everyone would find out that I was a fraud. In time I recognized that I am only human just like everyone else, even the attorneys who I supported. Ultimately, to form a partnership with my trial counsel, I had to commit as much as they did. I had to own the successes and failures of our combined efforts. Once I took that leap of faith, I realized that no one belongs on a pedestal and that I can form partnerships with anyone.
The partnership between a paralegal and their trial counsel is vital to ensuring that the team divides and distributes responsibilities equitably. While there is no perfect partnership, we approach perfection through patience, managing expectations, and trust. There will always be mistakes and lapses in judgment, but these can be managed if everyone is duly invested. This type of partnership is what previously drew me to the Special Victim Prosecution Program and what inspires me to continue my military career with OSTC.
Steward of Procedures
Taking lead on every case that involves a special victim can quickly become an overwhelming task. Every case is different and requires its own tailored touch, which can lead to chaos if unstructured. One of the most important responsibilities of an STC NCO is to establish and maintain a system of checks and balances and to ensure that no case falls through the cracks—to ultimately provide structure and calmness in a volatile environment.
My experience in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps has shown me that organization and foresight are crucial for success; the ability to track steps, anticipate future needs, and take initiative is essential to succeeding as a litigation paralegal. Being able to do those things well can elevate an average paralegal into a highly regarded one. This can be incredibly difficult, especially given the volume of work that ligation paralegals perform. Tracking more than one hundred to two hundred plus cases—each with their own steps and sub-steps—can be tedious and disorienting. It is vital to have systems in place to field every reported case and to actively manage that system. In this regard, OSTC paralegals will have an abundance of support. The OSTC leadership, both at the circuit and higher levels, constantly develops and improves systems, trackers, and resources that can be tailored to the team’s needs.
I freely admit that my memory is imperfect and that I am not always able to remember how to do everything at a moment’s notice. Fortunately, my memory does not need to be perfect to do my job well. I employ a living tracker and a series of checklists that allow me to intake data and to action directives. These tools give me the confidence I need to be a good steward of the profession and to give solid guidance to those who are involved with each case. Everyone in the JAG Corps knows how complex a trial can be, and they all want to be a part of the solution. The difficult part is identifying what is truly important and what is merely nice to have. One of the biggest impacts I have on my teammates is that I enforce the tailored standards of operations and maintain their cases’ momentum.
Be Involved, Be Daring
If you have a passion for litigation, the investigative process, and for working with individuals who are growing experts in their field while growing your own expertise, then be bold and submit an OSTC nomination packet today. It is that boldness and willingness to dive into cases, gather evidence, canvass witnesses, testify in court, and tackle a myriad of other trial-related tasks that increase the quality of each case. Being proactive and bold is that impactful. Mistakes may occasionally occur, especially while proactively pursuing new challenges, but no mistake will be as grave as the mistake of being inactive.
Preparing cases for litigation will always be a long and arduous road. The temptation to ignore an obstacle and pretend it does not exist will always be present. However, the inaction always constructs a bigger and more difficult obstacle to climb over. Worst case, the obstacle crashes to the floor, destroying the case all together. It can be something as simple as a victim who felt neglected and now does not want to participate or not gathering corroborating evidence to support a testimony. These examples of inaction commonly plague several jurisdictions and result in cases that fail to be adequately reviewed and considered on their merits. Being bold and inspiring other members of your team is the best remedy. Being accountable, constantly growing, and elevating your space of operations is what allows everyone the chance to ensure no case is left behind and has the highest likelihood of review under our administrative and judicial systems.
Proactiveness is one of the greatest attributes needed for an STC NCO or a trial counsel. However, it can be draining and lead to burnout. That is why if there is a desire to work in litigation, it is important to form partnerships with individuals who are going through the same obstacles and to be a part of an organization that will give you both the space to hone your skills and the time to process everything this job entails.
Conclusion
Again, what does it mean to be an STC NCO? What does it mean to be an Army paralegal? It means stepping up to the plate and being a starter. It is constantly growing your skills and mastery of trial and case procedures and tracking their every update. It is being armed with all the resources and surrounded by aspiring litigation experts. It is growing and developing your own expertise. Becoming an OSTC paralegal means that you are committed to honing your craft and to developing your capacities as a legal professional.
Being an STC NCO and Army paralegal means what it has always meant: an opportunity to make a significant impact on the U.S. Army. It is an opportunity to make a lasting difference in yourself. TAL
SSG LaBue is the Special Trial Counsel Noncommissioned Officer serving the Military District of Washington at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.