Fort Bragg  Legal

XVIII AIirborne Corps Legal Assistance Office

Changes to the legal assistance office in response to COVID-19:

Effective March 19, 2020, and until further notice, the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg legal assistance office will no longer see walk-in clients. Their focus will be assisting active-duty personnel and their families affected by our installation’s COVID-19 response. A special priority will be placed on service members and their families, handling issues specifically related to delays regarding permanent change of station orders.

The legal assistance office staff will continue to assist clients through emails and telephonically as appropriate. To contact the legal assistance office, email them at
usarmy.bragg.forscom.mbx.legal-assistance-office@mail.mil. Please feel free to reach out for additional questions or concerns. Thank you for your consideration.

The office is located in Building 2-1133 on Macomb and Armistead streets and can be reached by calling 910-396-0396/6113. Appointments only. Please call after 9 a.m. on Mondays.

XVIII Airborne Corps legal assistance programs provide free professional legal help to active-duty and retired military members and their dependents. Legal assistance also helps certain survivors of deceased armed forces members. A legal assistance officer is a licensed attorney, though not always in the state where stationed. Legal assistance attorneys give advice and help prepare legal documents and correspondence.

Everything the client discusses with a legal assistance attorney is confidential and protected by the attorney-client privilege. The entire legal assistance staff zealously protects client confidentiality.

Before making a legal assistance appointment, you should do the following:

• Take logical steps to help yourself. If you find yourself in a legal dispute, try to talk to the other party before consulting an attorney. You can then give the attorney both sides of the story. You may find that the other party is reasonable and willing to resolve the matter. In your approach, be tactful and courteous. Many legal problems arise simply because the parties are discourteous and lose their tempers.

• When you see your attorney, bring along all available documents, records and correspondence about your question or problem. The nature of the information you provide will directly affect the quality of advice you receive.

• If you need a document notarized, or a power of attorney, come in any time during our normal work hours. Most banks will provide notary service for their customers free of charge. Additionally, many stationary stores will provide notary service for a nominal fee. According to North Carolina law, a notary may charge no more than $5 for a notary public service.

Remember, the most help you can give yourself is to use sound judgment and seek legal advice before acting on any legal or business matter.

Eligibility

Legal assistance may be provided to active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces (and reservists scheduled for deployment) and their dependents, retired members of the armed forces and their dependents, and dependent survivors of active-duty and retired members. This statutory authority does not extend to civilian employees. Before our attorneys can talk with you, our staff will have to complete what is called a "conflicts check" to ensure that we do not represent both parties in a dispute.

The staff judge advocate general or legal assistance office offers advice and assistance on legal problems.

These services include:

• Domestic relations

• Non-support, consumer protection

• Immigration

• Taxes

The office also provides assistance in the preparation of documents such as powers of attorney and wills. It is recommended that you bring all leases, agreements, contracts, etc., to the legal assistance office for review before you sign.

82D Airborne Division Legal Assistance

The office is located in Gavin Hall, Room 273, and can be reached by calling 910-432-0195, or fax
910-396-2541. Hours of operation are: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Wednesday,
1-4:30 p.m.; Friday, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Special Services hours of operation:

• Service members only: Monday, 1-3:30 p.m.

• Family members only: Thursday, 9-11:30 a.m.

• Consumer law: Tuesday, 9-11:30 a.m. and 1-3 p.m.

• Will preparation: Wednesday, 1-4:30 p.m.

• Powers of attorney: walk-in basis during normal hours of operation

• Notary services: walk-in basis during normal hours of operation

Clients should bring all documents related to their legal matter with them to their appointment. Arrive at least 10 minutes early for administrative in-processing. Call at least one day in advance to cancel appointments.

Some things to remember:

• Attorney services are by appointment only.

• Procedures regarding scheduled office appointments: Clients need to make child care arrangements for the date and time of their appointment. Children will not be permitted to attend the appointment with the attorney. Child care is not provided by this office. If the client arrives for their appointment with children, their appointment will be canceled and rescheduled to enable the client to make child care arrangements.

• Attorneys will not provide legal advice over the telephone.

• Appointments are available by calling 910-396-6113 after 8 a.m.

• All scheduled appointments are half an hour in length and follow-up appointments will be scheduled accordingly.

• If you cannot make your scheduled appointment, please call to cancel as far in advance as possible.

The Fort Bragg claims division is located in Building 2-1133 at the corner of Macomb and Armistead.  Our business hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, on Wednesdays we open at 1:00 p.m. due to staff judge advocate office training. You can also call the claims division at 910-396-7505. The claims division is closed for federal and corps-training holidays. 

The claims office will be closed until further notice due to COVID-19.

During the closure of the claims office, if you have questions, please call our office at 910-396-7505 and leave a message. We will get back to you.

Thank you for your patience during this time.