Richard V Stevens III

I am a military officer who faced an involuntary administrative discharge board in which the military was attempting to end my career based on alleged misconduct. Mr. Stevens represented me in this case. Mr. Stevens assisted with all aspects of defending this case. He reviewed the evidence, he int...erviewed witnesses, he gathered evidence and statements, and he assisted me in preparing my rebuttal, and he prepared and submitted a rebuttal of his own. In Mr. Stevens' rebuttal, he attacked the claims of misconduct, arguing forcefully that I did not commit the alleged offense. He attacked the procedural errors and the government's incorrect legal interpretation of the situation. Ultimately, the board hearing recommended that I be retained, and the command concurred. Throughout the process, Mr. Stevens was highly responsive, professional, and reassuring during an extremely stressful period. He explained each step clearly, answered questions promptly, and provided candid, sound advice that allowed me to make informed decisions. His preparation and advocacy gave me confidence that my case was being handled with the highest level of care and competence. I would absolutely recommend Mr. Stevens to any service member facing adverse administrative or disciplinary action. His expertise, dedication, and professionalism made a decisive difference in my case.

I hired Attorney Richard V. Stevens because he was straight with me during the consultation about our chances of success (not great) and how knowledgeable he was of my situation. I appreciated him giving it to me straight and not over promising like the other lawyers I interviewed. However, this did... not impact how hard he fought for me and tirelessly worked on my behalf. It is because of his understanding of the regulations and experience that I am being promoted! I am a field grade military officer who was accused of misconduct and I received an adverse action based on the allegation. That adverse action could have resulted in my not being promoted, and ending my career progression. This would then have impacted my retirement grade/pay. Attorney Stevens explained the adverse action process to me, and provided me with advice as we prepared the rebuttal package. He assisted me with all aspects of preparing and submitting my rebuttal package. He assisted in gathering the evidence we used, and putting it in proper form. He contacted and interviewed character witnesses, and gathered supporting statements from them for my submission. We went back and forth on drafts of his attorney memo, and my respondent memo until we were satisfied with the final drafts. This included discussing tone, strategy, and supporting military law/regulations. Ultimately, we submitted a comprehensive and compelling rebuttal package, and he assisted me with preparing to present myself to my commander to further argue my case. After my rebuttal package was reviewed and my personal presentation was considered, my commander determined that the adverse action should be dropped. This cleared my record and will allow me to promote and continue my career. If you face a disciplinary/adverse action in the military I would highly recommend hiring Attorney Stevens.

Richard was a fantastic resource. I had a complex situation that was years old and required someone who had great organizational skills and tenacity to help guide me. I have no legal background and so did not know how to properly negotiate the process. Had Richard not been there, I am not confident t...hat I would’ve been successful in my appeal process. He worked around my very busy schedule, guiding me and making sure that I understood what needed to get done and how to do it. He listened carefully to my words, never injecting his opinion only Making sure that the facts were logically organized and ultimately presented. He was professional, thoughtful, and honest in his deliberations While I hope to never need someone again, I would go and hire him again without any hesitation. His prior military background combined with his tenacity is an asset when you need a lawyer to represent you and make sure that the facts logically presented to help you prevail

TL; DR: Thanks to the experience, guidance, and work product of Mr. Stevens, my leadership concluded it should drop the unfair disciplinary action pending against me, and fully cleared my record of any allegation of wrongdoing. Details: I am a field grade military officer who was falsely accu...sed of professional misconduct, for which I received a formal administrative disciplinary action, open to a rebuttal. Devastated, I hired Attorney Richard V. Stevens to assist and represent me during the investigation, and in rebutting the disciplinary action I received. Upon consultation, Attorney Stevens explained the military discipline process to me, and provided me with advice during the investigation. Then, when I received the disciplinary action, I chose to hire him after consulting with various attorneys, as I felt he had been both (1) the most candid about the uphill challenge, rather than telling me what I wanted to hear, and (2) clearly had the enthusiasm to fight with me up that hill to secure the optimal outcome of clearing me name, despite the odds against us. He assisted me with all aspects of preparing and submitting my rebuttal, including gathering and organizing the evidence, contacting and interviewing character witnesses, and readying supporting statements from those interviews for my submission. We iterated on drafts of both his attorney memo and my respondent memo until we had the strongest possible arguments ready. This included discussing tone, strategy, and supporting military law. Ultimately, we submitted an extremely comprehensive and compelling rebuttal package. After my rebuttal package was reviewed by the JAG and by the general who issued the disciplinary action, the general determined that I did not commit the alleged misconduct, that my conduct was protected under the law, and that any other decision other than dropping the disciplinary action and clearing my military record would be unjust. Mr. Stevens' assistance in the process was pivotal tactically and technically, but also helped me mentally steady myself for my own responsibilities to attain the outcome we sought. If you face disciplinary action in the military, I would highly recommend hiring Attorney Stevens to navigate you through the process and provide you the greatest chance of success. His knowledge of the system was unrivaled. His advice was sage. And his work product could not have been more persuasive, as it successfully persuaded the decision-maker to understand the very argument in my defense pivotal to the outcome.

I am a retired military officer. During my career, I faced a disciplinary action that triggered an Officer Grade Determination (OGD) as part of my retirement process. In short, this meant the military could have reduced my retired rank based on that action. To protect my retirement grade, I retained ...Attorney Richard V. Stevens to guide and represent me in responding to the OGD notification. Attorney Stevens clearly explained the OGD process and worked closely with me to prepare my written submission. He helped identify and contact witnesses, secure strong support letters, and gather key documentation from my military records. Together, we refined multiple drafts until we had a final, thorough, and compelling submission. The strength of that package ultimately persuaded the Board to approve my retirement at my highest rank. Thanks to Attorney Stevens’ guidance, I was able to retire at the rank I had earned. His expertise, professionalism, and support were critical to achieving that outcome. If you are facing a military disciplinary action or OGD, I strongly recommend Attorney Stevens. His deep understanding of the military disciplinary system, clear advice, and polished products make him an invaluable advocate.