Lawyers as Leaders: A View from the 41st Judge Advocate General of the Army

Lieutenant General Risch, a native of Orange/West Orange, NJ, was initially commissioned  a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery in 1984. He served as a Platoon Leader,  Executive Officer, and Company Commander in the 78th Infantry Division, U.S. Army  Reserve, while attending law school. He entered active duty and the Judge Advocate  General's Corps in1988.  
Prior to assuming duty as The Judge Advocate General on July 10, 2021, Lieutenant  General Risch recently served as the Deputy Judge Advocate General, from August 2,  2017, until July 9, 2021. His previous assignments as a General Officer include service as  the Commander, United States Army Legal Services Agency and Chief Judge, United  States Army Court of Criminal Appeals, Fort Belvoir, Virginia; the Assistant Judge  Advocate General for Military Law and Operations, Headquarters, Department of the Army,  Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; and as the Commanding General/Commandant of The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, Virginia. Prior to that, he served as the Staff Judge Advocate, III Armored Corps and Fort Hood, Fort Hood, Texas  (duty with U.S. Forces-Iraq during OPERATIONS IRAQI FREEDOM and NEW DAWN);  Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence, Fort Sill, Oklahoma;  Legislative Counsel in the Army’s Office of the Chief Legislative Liaison, Pentagon; Staff Judge Advocate, 1st Infantry Division, Wuerzburg, Germany (with duty in Iraq during  OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM II); Director, Center for Law and Military Operations, The  Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center & School, Charlottesville, Virginia; Deputy Staff  Judge Advocate, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; Litigation Attorney, U.S. Army Litigation Division, Arlington, Virginia; Instructor and Law Review Editor at The Judge  Advocate General’s School, Charlottesville, Virginia; and as the Chief, Military Justice,  Senior Trial Counsel and Brigade Legal Advisor, 2d (Blackjack) Brigade, 1st Cavalry  Division, Fort Hood, Texas (with service in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq during  OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD/STORM). He also practiced civil litigation in the private  sector with the law firm of Dwyer, Connell, and Lisbona, in Montclair, NJ, prior to entering active duty. 

Lieutenant General Risch received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Law  and History from Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1984; a Juris Doctor degree  from Seton Hall University School of Law, Newark, New Jersey, in 1987; a Master’s degree  in Law from The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, U.S. Army,  Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1996, and a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S.  Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 2007.  

Lieutenant General Risch’s military education includes the Judge Advocate Officer Basic  and Advanced Courses, the Combined Arms and Services Staff School, the Command and  General Staff Officer’s Course, and the Army War College. He is a member of the Bar of  the State of New Jersey, and is admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court  and numerous federal and military courts. His military awards include the Legion of Merit  with three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. Lieutenant  General Risch is married and he and his wife have three children and seven grandchildren.