Eric S. Montalvo, a Founding Partner of the Federal Practice Group, has earned an international reputation as an aggressive, thorough, and respected trial attorney. He is familiar with the overwhelming nature of complex litigation and associated media strategies. Mr. Montalvo currently maintains a Top Secret/SCI security clearance. He has been recognized as a national leader in military law.

Mr. Montalvo, a “Mustang”, retired from active duty after serving 21 years in the United States Marine Corps which included combat tours during Desert Shield/Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, deployments to Afghanistan and duties which ranged from prosecution, defense, command advisor, representing the U.S. Department of Justice as a Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney for Parris Island before the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, and service before the Military Commissions.

Mr. Montalvo focuses his practice on complex litigation matters, government contracts, military law, and international dispute resolution.

Mr. Montalvo undertakes work in Afghanistan and abroad, navigating language and cultural barriers, interpreting complex international law and unprecedented issues, working directly with members of Congress, foreign embassies, foreign governmental ministries, Department of Justice attorneys, and Former President Obama’s Guantanamo Bay Task Force and Detainee Review team.

After graduating with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of South Carolina, Mr. Montalvo received his Juris Doctor degree from Temple University School of Law with honors. While pursuing his law degree, he served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro and interned with the Legal Clinic for the Disabled, the Camden Public Defender’s Office, and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Mr. Montalvo also participated in Temple University’s study abroad program in Greece, where he focused his studies on international law.

Ms. Thompson is a partner with the Federal Practice Group. Her practice is focused on criminal and civil litigation, military defense, national security law, FOIA litigation, and government contracting. Within these fields, she represents active duty, reserve and guard, former servicemembers, and federal employees and contractors, with her representation ranging from assistance with adjudication of security clearances, administrative matters, disciplinary action, courts-martial, appeals, and contract disputes. 

Ms. Thompson’s representation includes assistance with applications for, and responses to denial or revocations of, security clearances with all respective agencies. She also assists with appeals of courts-martial and federal convictions; she has successfully over-turned convictions in both the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. As a judge advocate in the Marine Corps and former Special Assistant to the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, she has a first-hand working knowledge of the unique administrative and legal systems within the intelligence communities, military, Department of Defense, and federal systems, and knows how to navigate each system respectively. Ms. Thompson has extensive experience with wrongful discharge claims before the various military correction boards and the Court of Federal Claims and has successfully petitioned for the removal of adverse documentation from servicemembers’ personnel files and for the upgrade of less than honorable characterizations of service. 

Ms. Thompson is a graduate of The University of Tulsa College of Law and Texas A&M University and has a Masters in the Study of Law with a focus on Government Contracting and Procurement Law from the University of Dayton’s School of Law. She is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the United States Court of Federal Claims, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals. She is admitted to practice in Washington, D.C., Ohio, and Oklahoma.

Mr. John J. Michels Jr. is a veteran trial lawyer with litigation experience in both military and civilian courts, as well as substantial international business experience in Russia and the CIS.
The bulk of his litigation work is in the area of federal and state employment law, including EEO, wage and hour, and union litigation.

He also has a substantial and diverse background in so-called “quasi-commercial cases,” including intellectual property and trade secret claims, stock option grants and entitlements, and benefits litigation.  A member of the Illinois, D.C., and Tennessee bars, he has appeared before the District of Columbia, Fourth, Sixth, Tenth, and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeal, and before a variety of Federal District and state courts, including the Virginia Supreme Court.

An honors graduate of the Air Force Academy and Duke Law School, Mr. Michels has some 2800 hours of flying time in Strategic Air Command aircraft, as well as some 100 hours of crew member time on Aeroflot aircraft.

Mr. McMillan is a Senior Associate with the Federal Practice Group. Mr. McMillan is experienced in civil and criminal litigation, military law, government investigations, and government contracting.

Mr. McMillan retired from active duty after serving 20 years in the United States Marine Corps which included two combat deployments to Iraq and duties which ranged from prosecution, defense, legal assistance, command advisor for operational and installation commands, and service before the Military Commissions. Mr. McMillan further provided command legal advice during a historic period of transition to a gender-integrated training environment at Parris Island, South Carolina, and also delivered experienced legal counsel while operating in a pandemic environment which presented novel legal issues pertaining to courts-martial litigation, installation access, federal/state jurisdiction, media inquiries, congressional inquiries, and religious accommodation requests. After retirement from active duty in 2021, Mr. McMillan entered private practice in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Mr. McMillan is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Campbell University School of Law. He also received a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) from the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School with a specialty in International and Operations Law.

Mr. McMillan is admitted to practice before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the state of North Carolina.

Ms. Daisy Chung is a Paralegal at the Federal Practice Group. In this capacity, she provides assistance working closely with the attorneys in drafting and preparing legal correspondence and pleadings. She also organizes relevant documents for attorney review and case preparation and files all court documents. Additionally, she coordinates all communication between clients and attorneys.

Prior to coming to the Federal Practice Group, Ms. Chung was a legal and administrative assistant at two different Washington D.C. firms where she supported attorneys by drafting documents, meeting preparation and preparing responses to opposing counsel. She also worked as an intern for the International Conference of Asian Political Parties in South Korea. Here, she assisted members of the South Korean National Assembly as well as worked with other political leaders from throughout the world. In addition to this she acted as a Korean-to-English translator during meetings and forums alongside preparing conclusion documents with transcripts of conferences, assemblies and meetings. Ms. Chung was also an intern for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps Program. She provided translation services and helped numerous startup companies successfully launch their business.

Ms. Chung received her Bachelor of the Arts in Criminal Justice and Pre-Law Association with a minor in Sustainability from George Washington University College of the Arts and Sciences in 2020.