NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- 1-800-ASK-A-LAWYER? Not at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD).

For the past 10 years until he retired in July, James Carr was the NAWCAD lead counsel solving legal issues at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. Carr didn't have requirements to take a case, and, unlike some billboard lawyers, he didn't ask anyone to open their wallets.

"I like working for the government because you aren't motivated by fees or money," he said just before his retirement. "You are simply there as a resource, and the challenge is to make yourself accessible."

For more than 30 years, Carr represented the Department of Defense, a career that began in the Army as a member of the Judge Advocate General Corps with duty stations spanning two continents.

The NAWCAD lawyers like to say if someone really likes their support or they win a case, their "fee" is a tour of what that person does, which helps them to connect to the work they are doing, Carr said.

MAY THE RECORD REFLECT

Carr’s legal career started at Fort Belvoir in 1983, where his duty assignments took him to Germany and back to the U.S. after four years of active duty in the Army. He returned to the U.S. for good in January 2004 when his experience and qualifications made him a perfect fit to take over as head counsel here at Patuxent River.

So, how did an “Army lawyer” find himself at a Navy base? Carr said it was the quality of the people.

“Over the years, I had the pleasure of working with a lot of Navy attorneys,” Carr said. “Everyone I’d worked with I was really impressed by and I thought ‘You know, that’s a first class organization, somewhere I’d want to work.’”

Carr led a team of 23 attorneys and paralegals here and at Naval Air Engineering Station, Lakehurst, N.J. “Every single one of them was top notch,” he said.

NAWCAD Executive Director Gary Kessler said Carr “was one of those lawyers that anyone would want to have on their team. He always provided wise counsel and was truly interested in the things we are doing … He understood what our needs are and he developed solutions, which is something I valued from day one.”

NAWCAD is primarily focused on research and engineering and Carr said he saw the legal department as more on the business and corporate operations side. “Most people here are engineers, scientists, test pilots … People on the operating end are the smartest group of people I’ve ever worked with,” Carr said. “Our job was to assist and facilitate them getting what they want and what they need.”

NO OBJECTIONS

One of the biggest challenges Carr said he faced was getting that message across. He said he impressed upon people that legal counsel wasn’t like getting your teeth pulled. Lawyers are not the enemy, he said. They are a resource, and will find a legal way for clients to do what they want, if it is possible.

“Getting to the point where clients trust you and include you as part of the team was important for us,” he said. “I tried to convey that feeling as the boss, so people aren’t adverse to coming and talking to us.”

The only thing typical about his workday, Carr said, was that it was always atypical.  Cases ranged from the normal to the quirky, including his last case dealing with protecting radar programs from a new wind energy project on the Eastern Shore, to a crazy one where a man claimed to be the long-lost illegitimate son of Howard Hughes harboring secrets about the Glomar Explorer, to a favorite one where he ensured the Point No Point Lighthouse located in the Atlantic Test Ranges territory wasn’t sold to a buyer intending to set up a bed and breakfast.

“Things stayed interesting,” Carr said.

UPDATE: Carr has spent his first days of retirement enjoying every sunrise with his wife, Judy, and Australian shepherd, Scout, as he explores opportunities for the next adventure.

Bio Box

NAME: James Carr, former Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division lead counsel

EDUCATION: Bachelor of Science degree from Johns Hopkins University; juris doctorate degree from University of Maryland School of Law; and Master of Laws degree in environmental law from George Washington University

CAREER: 30 years as a DoD lawyer. Began career in the Army JAG Corps, then Army civilian attorney in Germany and lead environmental counsel for the Defense Logistics Agency in Alexandria, Va. He also worked for a defense agency in Europe before working as the NAWCAD counsel for almost 10 years.

FAMILY: Wife Judy and dog Scout, a rescued Australian shepherd

HOBBIES: Kayaking, hiking and traveling

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAMS: Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Capitals.