MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Boom! An enemy rocket propelled grenade lands 50 yards from your platoon, you run take cover, locate the enemy and begin firing ...
Now is not a good time to think about that fancy new hot-rod you can’t afford back home because you rushed into signing the contract.
If only you knew about the services that Camp Pendleton’s Joint Legal Assistance Office offers you may have used them before you left for your deployment.
The goal of the base’s JLAO is to provide timely and accurate legal services in the areas of military justice, legal assistance, military rights and benefits, immigration, and family law.
According to 1st Lt. Mike McCarthy, an attorney at the base’s JLAO, service members should not handle their consumer law issues alone. The legal assistance office ensures that all eligible clients are benefiting from all federal and state law protections.
Marines often end up with high interest loans because they are pressured to sign contracts without the advice of an attorney.
If clients are purchasing a car, house, cell phone or electronics an attorney can review the purchase agreement before they sign the bottom line.
The JLAO also provides assistance in regards to family law services by offering help when dealing with an adoption, custody agreement, paternity and uncontested divorces.
“An instructional brief on divorce is offered every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 7 a.m. covering our divorce services, types of divorces, the divorce process, as well as assistance with completing and filing court forms and documents” said McCarthy.
According to McCarthy, other legal services JLAO offers include wills and powers of attorney, notaries and answers to general legal questions. Appointments are made in person on Fridays starting at 7:30 a.m. and are scheduled for the following week. If service members need documents notarized, they can do so Monday-Friday from 1p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The legal assistance office also offers unit briefs on Preventive Law, Wills and Powers of Attorney, and Pre-Deployment legal guidance before troops go overseas. Units requesting a pre-deployment brief should contact the legal assistance office for scheduling details.
According to McCarthy, if clients have questions that require the assistance of an attorney, walk-in hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. If you would like to make an appointment, appear in person at 7 a.m. on Fridays or call 760-725-6558.
The Joint Legal Assistance Office is located in Building 22161 in the 22 Area, off 11th St. across from the Marine Corps Air Station. For more information, log on to www.pendleton.usmc.mil/base/legalassistance.