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Sailors’ Civil Relief Act. Lack of proper enforcement
should be brought to the attention of JAG.
l Immigration and Naturalization Service-The
immigration statutes are of particular importance for
counseling noncitizen service members such as those
who come from the Philippines. The International Law
Division of the Office of the Judge Advocate General
maintains an expertise in this area as well.
. Customs Office—There are many service
members who return from foreign duty stations and
encounter problems with the Customs Service to make
this more than a merely academic interest to the legal
assistance attorney and his or her staff.
. Civilian Health and Medical Program of the
Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS)—Dependents of
active duty service personnel and retired service
members and their dependents are eligible for
CHAMPUS benefits. If a claimant believes that a claim
has been improperly denied (not just returned for further
substantiation), the claimant may send the claim to the
Executive Director, CHAMPUS, Denver, Colorado
80240, for consideration.
l Consumer agencies (federal, state, and
local)—The Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug
Administration, and the Federal Consumer Product
Safety Commission maintain field offices in major cities
in the United States. At the state and local level, many
consumer protection divisions have been created in the
state attorney general’s offices and in the county
prosecuting officer’s agencies.
. State motor vehicle departments—The legal
assistance office staff should be familiar with the
location of the closest motor vehicle department office
and the modus operandi of that office. Also, a supply
of the department’s brochures and forms should be
obtained for use by clients.
COOPERATION WITH OTHER NAVY
AGENCIES
The Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society is
commonly known only for its financial assistance.
However, the society provides other services such as
budget counseling for individuals and families who need
help in managing their financial affairs. The society can
also make a loan to a service member.
The Navy Federal Credit Union provides services
that include debt consolidation loans, savings plans, and
financial advice.
LEGAL ASSISTANCE RECORDS,
FILES, AND REPORTS
Command records showing client contact and the
general nature of assistance are maintained by the legal
assistance office for administrative and statistical
purposes. Although such records should not contain
privileged or confidential information and are,
therefore, not privileged, maintenance of these records
must comply with the Privacy Act. Information in these
records is used to contact clients and former clients
about assistance provided, to guard against conflicts of
interest in providing legal assistance, to develop
statistical evaluation of services provided, and to
provide information for better assisting clients and
administering the office.
Legal assistance case files (for example, those
containing privileged or confidential information)
belong to each legal assistance attorney who is solely
responsible for their content and maintenance. The
legal assistance office will provide storage facilities for
files. Higher authority may from time to time make
suggestions regarding the maintenance of files. Before
transferring from a legal assistance office, the legal
assistance attorney must store, destroy, or, if the client
approves, turn over to another attorney the client case
files.
The legal assistance office filing system should be
simple enough to operate so it takes only a minimum
amount of time for anyone in the office to file papers.
Four types of files should be maintained. They are the
client case file, the office reading file, the reference
material file, and the forms file.
THE CLIENT CASE FILE
An individual client case file should normally be
opened only for those matters that will require follow-up
visits, correspondence, and similar material. Current
active files should contain all documents, papers, notes,
and so on, that relate to the client.
The record of each client’s visit (or telephone call,
i! advice is given in this manner) should consist of, at a
minimum, a completed Legal Assistance Case Record,
NAVJAG 5801.9, or similar locally prepared form. The
file should contain a detailed description of the client’s
problem and the advice given. Where there is
inadequate space on this form, a supplementary sheet
containing the attorney’s notes should be attached. All
action taken by an attorney, including consultation,
telephone calls, research, and his or her opinion and
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