John Altenburg
Melady Round of Lectures sponsored by the Knight of Columbus (Potomac Council)
at the Catholic Information Center
“The Battlefield in Iraq and the Rule of Law”
by Major General John D. Altenburg, Jr. USA, Ret.
Former Deputy Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army
Time: June 11, 2003; Mass: 12:05 PM; Lecture: 12:45 PM; Informal buffet: 1:20 PM Place: Catholic Information Center; 1501 K St, NW, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 783 2062 RSVP: call Jim Sebolka (703) 941-1999 or email: sebolka@usa.net for lecture & buffet reservation or fill in the reservation card at the Catholic Information Center, seating is limited
John D. Altenburg, Jr.
Currently, Major General John Altenburg (USA, Retired) focuses his practice at Greenberg Traurig, LLP on contract litigation and international law. Previously, he served as Consultant, Office of the President, World Bank Group. Before that he served 28 years as a lawyer in the Army, where he represented the Army before Congress, state and local governments, and in courts in the United States and Germany.
He served as the Deputy Judge Advocate General for the Department of the Army from 1997 to 2001. In this position he advised senior military and civilian leaders on critical legal and policy issues and directed the day to day operations of approximately 1800 civilian and uniformed attorneys in 70 offices and 3000 National Guard and Army Reserve attorneys in providing comprehensive legal services to more than one million commanders, soldiers, and civilians of the Army worldwide. He advised the Army Vice Chief of Staff and Department of Defense officials on allegations of senior executive misconduct, conflicts of interest issues, and sensitive investigations critical to the Army and Department of Defense. Also, he advised Army staff on counter-terrorism, support to civil authorities, and contingency operations worldwide. The General supervised government appeals in all criminal litigation before appellate courts and the Supreme Court of the United States.
During his Army career, he has served as chief legal advisor on urgent national security issues such as worldwide contingency operations, humanitarian relief operations, and disaster relief operations and other support to civilian authorities.
He is frequently sought out to serve as a distinguished panelist at the national level. For example, he is the U.S. Representative, Experts Panel, International Institute of Humanitarian. Three examples from last year were: (1) as a Panelist on “America’s Safety: At What Price to Civil Liberty?” at the Liberty Lecture Series; (2) as a Panelist at the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security Twelfth Annual Review of the Field for “The Use of Force Against Rogue States: Constitutional and International Law Perspectives”; and (3) as Advocate at the ABA Annual Meeting last August for “Justice and the War Against Terrorism, An Argument Before the Court”.
He is the namesake of an academic award at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York: “The Major General John D. Altenburg, Jr. Award for Outstanding Scholarship in the Study of Law”.
General Altenburg received his J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and has a B.A. in English and International Studies from Wayne State University.