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.

What do you offer in terms of attention and responsiveness to your clients that sets your practice apart?

The single most important thing that I hear from clients and others, prospective clients, is that they have trouble reaching their attorney, or their attorney won't call them back, or they just don't feel connected enough up with that other individual. And so, I like to be called back when I have, you know, when I have a problem, when I'm dealing with a professional, when I'm dealing with anybody in a service position, I like to know what's going on. I like to be kept informed. You know, even if it's to say, "Hey, we don't have anything in particular going on right now, but we haven't forgotten about you." And that's the thing, I mean, people just want to know that who they're working with, the person they're working with cares, and cares enough to be in touch with them.

What I do, whether it's in a phone call or whether it's by email or . . . I text, I even text clients now. You stay in contact throughout the course of the representation. I'm not saying I'm constantly in contact with that person, but if I get a question, or if I feel like I haven't been in touch with a client for a while, and there's been a little gap in time, I'll reach out. And what happens is, you establish a relationship with a person like that. And once again, we've talked about it before, you establish trust. They know that I'm out here doing what I do in order to advance their interests.

The types of cases we deal with are packed with emotion, and they're packed with feelings, all sorts of feelings. And if a person feels like the advocate, the lawyer, is not concerned enough about that, they're not happy. I like to keep my clients happy. I like to get good results and I find that the two go hand in hand.

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