Experience as military prosecutor, general counsel, criminal defense attorney
and civil defense litigator.
I come to Greenville and Whalen Montalvo after spending more than twenty years in the Marine Corps as a leader and Judge Advocate—retiring in June 2019 as a Lieutenant Colonel. Those twenty years included eight moves across six states, ten different homes, marriage to my college sweetheart, and the birth of our three girls. It also included two deployments in support of counterterrorism and crisis-response operations in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
I attended the University of South Caroline School of Law, finishing in the top 10% of my graduating class and serving as the Associate Managing Editor of the South Carolina Law Review. During law school I was a summer law clerk for the Honorable Cameron Currie, U.S. District Court Judge, District of South Carolina; a professorial research assistant, and a founding member of the student organization, Servicemembers and Veterans in Law.
After graduating law school, I served as a military trial counsel prosecuting servicemembers accused of crimes in military federal court. Cases I handled involved negligent homicide; assault; use, possession, and distribution of illegal drugs; theft; criminal domestic violence; and driving under the influence. Later in my career, I served as the Senior Prosecutor for the Eastern Region Complex Trial Team, which was responsible for investigating, charging, and prosecuting the most serious military offenses, including murder, manslaughter, sexual assault, crimes against children, and other felony-level offenses.
My other role as a Judge Advocate in the Marine Corps was that of a General Counsel, providing legal and policy advice to senior military leaders on criminal law matters, international and operational law, ethics, administrative and criminal investigations, and compliance with federal, state, and Department of Defense policy. While serving as a Judge Advocate I was privileged to earn a Masters in Law in Military Law with a specialization in International and Operational Law.
In addition to my legal experience, I have operated a small business in South Carolina employing more than 50 people in the Greenville area, which has given me first-hand experience navigating issues of business structure, employee discipline, liability insurance, worker’s compensation, and unemployment insurance.
Get the best legal representation possible. Give the Greenville, SC attorneys at Whalen Montalvo a call today at (864) 770-7710 or use our online form.
