Michael J. Adams

Guest Author

Commander (ret.), U.S. Navy
Mike is a Partner at McGuireWoods. He previously served as Special Adviser to the Judge Advocate General for International and Operational Law and as Deputy Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he advised Chairmen Dempsey and Dunford and the Joint Staff on matters of international and national security law affecting military operations, including the law of armed conflict and cyberspace, intelligence, special operations, maritime, and other U.S. Department of Defense activities and technologies.  He is a graduate of Harvard Law School (LL.M), Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.), and the United States Naval Academy (B.S.).

Mike served as a line officer, engineer, and navigator aboard two U.S. warships before transitioning to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps and the practice of law.  He has been assigned as legal counsel for U.S. Pacific Command, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, U.S. Forces – Afghanistan, Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Naval Legal Service Office Mid-Atlantic, and Joint Special Operations Task Forces conducting U.S. national missions abroad.  He deployed on multiple occasions, including a Western Pacific deployment, six deployments to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom, and one deployment to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also surged forward in support of contingency operations to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean, as well as to Central America.  While a judge advocate, Mike parachuted into the maritime domain and served as the afloat legal advisor for successful hostage rescue operations executed under orders of the President of the United States.

The views expressed in Commander Adams’ written works are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or the United States.