Bryan R. Blackmore
Veteran. Attorney. Advocate.
MY STORY
Thirty Years in the Making
I graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1998 with a B.S. in Government. I served 24 years in the Coast Guard, earning my J.D. with honors from Florida State University College of Law in 2006 and an LL.M. in Military Law from The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School. Along the way, I held positions most military attorneys never get: Chief of Military Justice, Staff Judge Advocate, Trial Defense Counsel, and even served as a misdemeanor-level Military Judge and Magistrate.
In 2007, I deployed to Baghdad as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, serving as a Staff Attorney for Task Force 134, one of a handful of Coast Guard JAGs to serve in that theater. I know what it means to serve in harm's way, and I understand in a very personal way the sacrifices veterans and their families make.
After retiring from the Coast Guard, I became an Attorney at the Board of Veterans' Appeals. I spent years on the other side of the table, drafting decisions, working directly with Veterans Law Judges, and learning the BVA's processes from the inside. That experience is the foundation of everything I do for clients now. I don't just know the law; I know how the Board thinks. I am accredited by the VA to represent claimants nationwide, in addition to being licensed to practice law in California and Virginia.
I founded Blackmore Veterans Law because I believe veterans deserve an advocate who has walked the same ground, both in uniform and inside the system. If you've been denied by the VA, or if your rating doesn't reflect the reality of your condition, I want to help.
Credentials
- U.S. Coast Guard Academy, B.S. Government (1998)
- Florida State University College of Law, J.D. with Honors (2006)
- The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School, LL.M. Military Law
- Licensed: California State Bar
- Licensed: Virginia State Bar
- VA Accredited Attorney
- Former Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney
- Former Military Judge, Prosecutor, and Defense Counsel
FAMILY HERITAGE
A Legacy of Service
Service runs in my family, long before I wore the uniform.
The SS LEOPOLDVILLE
One of my grandfathers was a U.S. Army soldier who survived the sinking of the SS LEOPOLDVILLE by a German U-boat on Christmas Eve, 1944. Of the nearly 2,235 soldiers aboard, 763 never came home. He did, and he never stopped carrying that with him.
Bronze Stars in World War II
My other grandfather served in the Army in the European Theater during World War II. He received multiple Bronze Stars for leading his squad through some of the most brutal fighting of the war. His courage under fire is humbling and provides a perspective that grounds me.
My father, stepfather, and multiple uncles also served in the Navy. Military service is not something I chose as a career move, it is the family tradition I was raised in.
"I don't just represent veterans. I am one, and I come from a long line of them."
THE DIFFERENTIATOR
The BVA Difference
I served as an Attorney at the Board of Veterans' Appeals, the very body that decides veterans' appeals when the VA denies claims. Working directly with Veterans Law Judges, I drafted decisions and applied the same legal standards that will determine your case.
I know what evidence moves Veterans Law Judges. I know what legal arguments they find persuasive and what they dismiss. I know the procedural posture that maximizes the chance of a grant versus a remand. Most veterans law attorneys have never sat on the decision-making side of a BVA case.
That experience isn't academic. It directly shapes how I prepare every brief, every oral argument request, and every evidentiary submission. When you hire me, you get the full benefit of that institutional knowledge, turned entirely in your direction.
Awards & Recognition
SCHOLARSHIP
Publications
Sexual Assault Prevention: Reframing the Coast Guard Perspective to Address the Lowest Level of the Sexual Violence Continuum—Sexual Harassment
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