About William C. Meili, Military Law Attorney

Military Affiliation

Bill Meili first served on active duty as a military defense lawyer with the Army’s Trial Defense Service in Korea, then transferred to the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii where he served as Brigade Legal Advisor and prosecuted Uniform Code of Military Justice, UCMJ, offenses as a military lawyer and court-martial trial counsel. His last active reserve assignment was as Commander, 2D Legal Support Organization, (LSO), New Orleans, Louisiana.


Bill received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He studied law and graduated with a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from The College of William and Mary in Virginia. He then went on for further Military Law studies at the United States Army’s Judge Advocate General’s School in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he became certified as an Army Judge Advocate and Military Lawyer.

Bill Meili is a graduate of the Army Judge Advocate General’s Basic and Advanced Courses, The Army Command and General Staff College, the Army Civil Affairs Officer Advanced Course and was selected to attend the Army War College before he retired in December 2007 with the rank of Colonel. He served more than 28 years as an active duty and reserve Judge Advocate.

Bill Meili Resume


Courts-Martial, Administrative Separations and Discharges: Bill Meili has practiced as both a Trial Counsel and Trial Defense Counsel while on active duty and in the Reserves, and as an Administrative Eliminations Attorney, and as an Administrative Discharge Attorney defending administrative separations and handling all manner and types of Administrative Discharges in all service branches as a military lawyer at posts, bases and units both active and reserve throughout the United States, and at overseas military installations worldwide. Bill has defended administrative separations and administrative discharges for alleged misconduct, including positive urinalysis cases, for substandard duty performance, for elimination actions stemming from the loss of or proposed revocation of a Security Clearance.

Bill Meili has also successfully defended pilots being brought before Flight Evaluation Boards for alleged rules violations, misconduct or other adverse allegations, and he has successfully defended both officers and enlisted service members being brought administratively before Medical Evaluation Boards, Physical Evaluation Boards and Fit for Duty Reviews and Boards where the ultimate result could have been administrative elimination from service prior to receiving a twenty-year letter for retirement purposes.

IRR Recall Delays and Exemptions and AWOL Attorney: Recently Bill Meili has successfully represented Soldiers charged with AWOL and Desertion, and he has successfully defended officers and enlisted members who have been involuntarily recalled to active duty from the Individual Ready Reserve, or IRR, and from out of their Troop Program Units or TPU. [See the Case Study Section for recent examples and summaries of his work as both an AWOL Attorney and as an IRR Recall Attorney fighting Involuntary Callups to active duty.]

Defending service members' rights as an AWOL Attorney and as an IRR Recall Attorney, Bill Meili has successfully returned Soldiers safely back to military control and then secured, in most all cases, an honorable or general discharge for his clients. Likewise, as an IRR Recall Attorney for those members facing involuntary recall from the IRR to active duty, Bill has repeatedly and successfully fought to have the member's request for an IRR Delay and Exemption granted, and for a subsequent Honorable Discharge. [ Please read IRR Delay and Exemption Client Testimonial #29 for one of the most recent client’s experience with this type of case].


Bill is currently admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Texas, and the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He is licensed to handle military law cases throughout the United States and globally.

Bill Meili is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court, the State Bar of Texas, the Pennsylvania State Bar, as well as the Federal Bar for the Northern District of Texas. He is a Life Member of the Reserve Officer's Association of the United States, a former member of the State Bar of Texas Grievance Committee for the Dallas District, and a Life Member of the National Eagle Scout Association.

Bill is a Former Chief Prosecutor and Assistant District Attorney with the Dallas District Attorney’s Office. Here, he further developed and honed the trial skills he learned in the military as an active duty Judge Advocate. As a civilian Assistant District Attorney, Bill Meili successfully prosecuted major violent crimes, including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated sexual assault, drug offenses, child sexual abuse and child molestation cases. He presented hundreds of felony cases for grand jury review and indictment, and in addition, he successfully prosecuted scores of violent and habitual juvenile offenders through the Adult Certification, or Cert, and Determinate Sentencing, or D-40 process.

Bill Meili now uses the experience and background training he received as both a military and civilian prosecutor to enhance his defense of military and civilian clients charged with all manner of offenses, both criminal and administrative in nature. He is currently in his 28th year of private practice as a civilian defense counsel and military lawyer in his civilian capacity.


Bill Meili has lectured before various Texas State Bar and Continuing Legal Education audiences on the attorney grievance process, legal ethics and military law related topics.


Bill is married and has two daughters.

When you need help, call on Bill Meili. His years of experience and military law background are your strategic advantage.


As an experienced military attorney and criminal defense lawyer, Bill Meili has the capability, resources, and networks to handle cases throughout the United States and globally.

I contacted Col. Meili as a fellow practitioner to gain some context and perspective on a pretty complex set of issues. Because I practice in a different field of law, Col. Meili's extensive expertise was invaluable and he was more than generous with his time. A skilled and dedicated professional who cares deeply about obtaining the best possible outcome for his clients, Bill's a leader in this field.

- Steffen Chapin


After an exhaustive search of military attorneys, I came across the name of Bill Meili. From my first email exchange and telephone call, I knew that Bill was the right person to handle my case. I had discussed my unique circumstance with a handful of other attorneys who felt it may be too difficult to achieve the outcome that I was seeking - but Bill was interested in me and my case, and wholeheartedly believed that we had the ball in our court. I could tell that Bill cared about me as a person and soldier, not just viewing me as a paycheck.

- Anonymous