Alyssa Adams is a seasoned attorney with over 26 years of experience in litigation, military justice, and federal administrative law. A Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, she currently serves as the Commander of a Legal Operations Detachment, where she leads a team of 45 experienced legal personnel. Her legal experience encompasses all stages of complex criminal trials under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including cases involving sexual assault, child exploitation, and national security offenses. She is recognized by the U.S. Army as an Expert Military Justice Practitioner.
Colonel Adams has held a broad range of senior legal positions within the Department of Defense and the Department of the Army, including as Senior Associate General Counsel at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and as Legal Advisor to the Office of Military Commissions. In these roles, she has advised on high-profile litigation, Guantanamo Bay military commissions, FOIA, labor and employment law, ethics, and administrative investigations. She has represented the government before the EEOC, MSPB, and in U.S. District Courts, and has taught criminal and constitutional law as an Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point and other academic institutions. In 2005, she deployed to Iraq for one year as the senior attorney for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. In that role, she advised the Brigade Commander and Staff on a daily basis on all legal matters. She also regularly met with the Chief Judge of Diyala Province and conducted inspections of Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army detention facilities in order to ensure application of the rule of law.
She holds an LL.M. in Military Law with a specialty in International and Operational Law, a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, a J.D. from Vermont Law School, and a B.A. from Colby College. Colonel Adams is admitted to practice before the New York Bar, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the Army Court of Criminal Appeals. Her extensive background and proven leadership make her a highly respected authority in military and federal legal practice.