Michael J. Lebowitz (born August 21, 1977 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a Washington, D.C., attorney and expert in the field of military law and Military Expression.[1] Along with being an advocate for veterans' issues, he is known to be at the forefront of First Amendment issues pertaining to the military.[2][3] In 2009, he was appointed to serve as a terror trial prosecutor in the Military Commissions system with the task of prosecuting high value terrorism and war crimes suspects that are currently being detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.[4]
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Mike Lebowitz earned his journalism degree from Kent State University in 1999 and a law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2003.[5] From there, he was a legal and media consultant in East Africa and a wrote a weekly newspaper column for the Jerusalem Post called "Wednesday's Call."[6] In 2005-2006, he served in Iraq with the elite Pathfinder Company of the 101st Airborne Division. After returning home from Iraq, he began publicly advocating on behalf of military families and veterans.[7] Lebowitz continues to serve as a JAG officer in the National Guard. In addition, he lectures at top universities and serves as an attorney at the Washington, DC law firm of Greenberg & Lieberman where he practices military law, along with media law and intellectual property.[8]
Mike Lebowitz is regarded as a top attorney in the field of military law and specializes in military free speech.[9] He regularly lectures on the subject and frequently is asked to serve as a media resource on the burgeoning impact technology continues to play in the field of military free speech.[10] He receives numerous emails per week from soldiers or their families seeking legal advice.[11] [12] Lebowitz also has testified as a legal expert on Capitol Hill relating to military law issues.[13] Moreover, he has handled numerous military expression issues that have captured international attention[14] While his work often includes the representation of prominent anti-war protesters, Lebowitz has acknowledged that he is not a member of any of these groups and does not necessarily agree with his clients, but nonetheless, he has publicly stated that he will always support the veteran.[15] Besides military law and First Amendment/media law, Lebowitz also engages in intellectual property litigation at the Washington, DC law firm of Greenberg & Lieberman.[16] This intellectual property expertise has contributed to his reputation as being on the forefront of the issue of how technological advancements are reconciled with the First Amendment and free speech.[17]
Mike Lebowitz is a founder of the Modern Whig Party, a mainstream organization that was originally created in 2008 as an advocacy forum for military families and veterans.[18] This centrist organization professes to offer common-sense approaches to government, rather than ideology.[19] In just a few months of its existence, this grassroots movement built 26 state chapters and attracted 25,000 to 30,000 members.[20] In March 2010, the organization that he founded was named by TIME Magazine as among the "top 10 most popular political movements worldwide." [21]
An editorial in one newspaper referred to the Modern Whig Party as the "fastest-growing mainstream political movement in the nation."[22] A Sunday op-ed piece written by a prominent North Carolina political columnist quoted Lebowitz as stating that "We saw how ideology on both sides was getting in the way of common sense."[23] Through his law firm, Lebowitz also works with John B. Anderson, who was a 10-term Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives while also garnering 6.6 percent of the general election vote during a 1980 run for President of the United States as an independent.[24]