Matthew Thomas, Esq.

Matthew Thomas served as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps before transitioning to private practice. As an active-duty defense counsel at Camp Lejeune, he represented Marines in courts-martial, administrative separations, boards of inquiry, and NJP proceedings. He left active duty after earning the USMC Defense Counsel of the Year award twice in 2021, winning both the Eastern Region and the National recognition. Matthew still serves in the Marine Corps Reserves as a Major.

In private practice, Matthew built a security clearance defense practice that extends into territory most clearance attorneys have never entered: NSA adjudications. NSA operates a separate adjudication office, the Access Appeals Panel, with its own adjudicators, directives, and procedures. Matthew has represented clients through every stage of that process and understands how to present cases effectively before the Access Appeals Panel. Consistent, effective advocacy before the Access Appeals Panel makes a meaningful difference in these cases.

His practice is deliberately broad because military legal matters do not always arrive as single issues. A Marine facing drug charges may also have a clearance implication. A federal contractor who loses a clearance may have ancillary employment law concerns. Matthew handles the full range of military and security clearance law from his offices in Jacksonville, NC and Washington, D.C., with clients nationwide.