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DONALD KING

Don was born in Centralia and grew up in Oregon and spent his adult life in the military, beginning in the Marine Corps, where he served five years as an infantryman. He spent most of those years providing security for the U.S. Department of State at various U.S. Embassies around the world. In this capacity, Don was selected to augment Secret Service protective details for the President and Vice-President as well as providing diplomatic security for Secretaries of State and U.S. Ambassadors.

Once his enlistment ended, Don was honorably discharged and attended the University of Oregon, where he earned both his college and law degrees in under six years. In 1996, he returned to active duty as a Judge Advocate in the Navy where he dedicated himself to a career in criminal law, serving in every job relevant to military criminal litigation, including several tours as senior prosecutor and senior defense counsel–litigating and supervising lawyers in hundreds of trials and separation boards, most of them before juries, and involving nearly every crime under the UCMJ.

Don also served as the Director of the Navy’s Defense Counsel Assistance Program, where he was responsible for providing litigation training and experienced trial assistance to military defense counsel world-wide. In this capacity, Don lectured extensively on all facets of defending servicemembers, from Administrative Separations and Boards of Inquiry, to pretrial tactics, to trial techniques, to effectively pursuing clemency and appeals. In 2010, Don was one of the first military attorneys to ever be board-selected by the U.S. Navy as an “Expert” in military justice litigation–the highest rating possible.

Don also served several tours as a Staff Judge Advocate, the legal advisor to the Commanders responsible for making decisions regarding non-judicial punishment, security clearance access, administrative separation, whether to bring criminal charges, and how to dispose of those charges.

Not only did Don spend years litigating cases and administrative hearings, he served multiple tours as a military judge, at both the trial and appellate levels, including two tours as a Senior Judge on the Navy Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. Don was also appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve as an appellate judge on the Court of Military Commission Review. He also serves as an instructor and judge for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), the nation’s premier training organization for trial lawyers. When Don recently retired after nearly 30 years of active duty, he was one of the most experienced military criminal lawyers on active duty.

After retiring, Don moved to Clark County and founded King Military Law, a practice focused on defending and assisting servicemembers and veterans. Don also remains active in the local community, volunteering with the ABA’s Military Pro Bono Program, teaching and judging NITA, college, and high school mock trial competitions, as well as providing pro bono services to those in need.