The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) 101: What Every Attorney and Judge Needs to Know

Paul Kantwill joined the School of Law in 2018 after a long and distinguished career in public service. Most recently he served as an Assistant Director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), leading the Office of Servicemember Affairs, which, among other things, partners with the Department of Defense and other Government Agencies to assist military consumers with financial education, complaints regarding financial products and services, and state and federal consumer protection measures.

Prior to joining the BCFP, Kantwill served as the Director of the Office of Legal Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel & Readiness. In that capacity, he served as the principal advisor to Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness, and the Secretary of Defense on a wide variety of legal and policy issues, including the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Military Lending Act, and financial/consumer issues affecting all members of the armed forces and their family members.

Kantwill had a distinguished 25-year military career as an active duty officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he served in locations around the world, including Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. He is the recipient of the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, and numerous military awards and decorations. He is a recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service.

Colonel John Odom, U.S. Air Force, Retired. Engaged in private practice of law in Shreveport, Louisiana (Jones & Odom, L.L.P.), since 1978. Military service: U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps (active duty), 1973–78; U.S. Air Force Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps, 1978–2005, 2010. Education: J.D., Louisiana State University Law School, 1973 (Order of the Coif); B.A., Baylor University, 1970 (cum laude). Born 1949. Member of the Bar of the State of Louisiana. Admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Circuits, and numerous state and federal district courts throughout the country. Member of the Shreveport, Louisiana, and American Bar Associations and Harry Booth-Henry Politz Chapter of American Inns of Court.

Military assignments in the continental United States and Germany at the wing, numbered air force, and major command levels, concluding with assignment as Mobilization Assistant to the Staff Judge Advocate, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, from 2001 through 2005. Member of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel, 2006–09.

Recipient of the American Bar Association Distinguished Service Award in 2002, the ABA Family Law Section Compass Award in 2010 for his work with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), and the ABA Grassroots Advocacy Award in 2011 in recognition of his work with the 111th Congress on SCRA matters. Recalled to active duty from retirement in 2010 and assigned to the Office of Legal Policy, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness, The Pentagon, to author reports to the U.S. Congress on child custody matters related to the SCRA and international intra-familial abductions of children of members of the Armed Forces. Author, A Judge’s Benchbook for the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, American Bar Association Publishing, 2011.