In His Own Words Retired Colonel, Former Army JAG Commander, & Felony Prosecutor. Bill Meili talks about his practice and his focus on saving careers, protecting retirements and reclaiming the reputations and honor of those who serve this country.

Why is having legal advice important in these cases?

It's important because it's hard to tell your own story, if not impossible. I mean, even under the best of circumstances when someone is calm and there's no other outside influences affecting their emotions, their anger or frustration level is very hard to tell your own story effectively.

And in these types of cases, for instance, in security clearance work, when you're talking about past financial troubles, the possibility of a criminal record, or drugs and alcohol playing a part in that person's life, the emotions can run high. And when emotions run high and frustration levels run high, usually anger is not far behind. And you simply cannot tell your story effectively to the decision maker when you're on heightened emotional state like that.

And so, one of the things that a good attorney does for his client, is he just, it's not that he becomes detached, but he brings that level of emotion down. Once that happens and the true story comes out, then that independent third party attorney can go ahead and advocate much, much more effectively for the client.

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