Evan Way, associate with Crowe & Dunlevy, has served 18 years in the Oklahoma Air National Guard. (Courtesy photo/Crowe & Dunlevy)
OKLAHOMA CITY – “I don’t know how I would be where I am today without the military,” said Evan Way, an associate at Crowe & Dunlevy who also serves in the Oklahoma Air National Guard. “I’m sure there were other paths; I’m sure there were other ways I could have done it, but it really just has been life-changing for me.”
Way’s military career spans 18 years. He was enlisted for eight years, full-time, working as an aircraft mechanic, and then as a logistics officer for the past 10 years. On Oct. 31, he came off orders that began mid-July in Montgomery, Alabama, where he was preparing for his next military role by taking the Judge Advocate Staff Officer course.
“It’s the course that Air Force officers go through to qualify to be lawyers in the military,” Way said. “It’s all components – regular Air Force, Reserve, Air National Guard – all of them go through that course for the Air Force.”
The judge advocate program involves submitting a package that includes qualifications, transcripts, legal tenure and expertise, military experience, officer performance reports and letters of recommendation. Only a certain number of judge advocates are then selected, per year, for the Air Force.
“This was a career shift for me, to align my professional, civilian career with my military career,” Way said. At Crowe & Dunlevy, Way focuses on civil litigation, primarily employment law and some administrative law. “On the military side, you do things as needs arise, so you almost serve as general counsel, in many ways, for your wing commanders and your squadron commanders. You serve as the federal prosecutor under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for all infractions, so you’re that disciplinary piece, too, and you advise those commanders on what they can and can’t do, and how those processes work.”
Way enlisted in the Oklahoma Air National Guard in 2003 while still in high school, and he left for basic training about a month later. Throughout his military career, he aspired to attend law school, and the post-9/11 GI Bill helped make those dreams reality. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s College of Law.
“I knew I wanted to do litigation. I like the idea of the courthouse, writing briefs. The focus on employment law – that just kind of happened, through the people I work with. It’s a great group to work with, and very well run. I’m happy that they took me under their wing,” said Way.
Crowe & Dunlevy President and CEO Roger Stong said, “We are extremely proud of Evan and his commitment to service, not only on active duty but also in the Oklahoma Air National Guard. His 18 years of service shows a commitment to which we should all aspire.”
The support from Crowe & Dunlevy has been essential for Way as he balances both his civilian and military careers.
“In Oklahoma, we’re very lucky that it’s a strong military community,” Way said. “You have employers that really support the military and allow military members to do what they need to do. I know that is not true across our other states.”
He has been an advocate for reducing barriers to military service, often being called to answer questions about the 1994 federal Uniform Service Members Employment Rights Act and the 2021 Oklahoma Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
“When I speak to HR professionals, I talk about why this is important, and I run through the military standpoint,” he said. “It is very, very hard for the military to continue to operate because they are getting a smaller and smaller selection pool.”
Notably and often overlooked, Way explained, the Guard supports an overwhelming number of state and federal programs.
“It’s not just deploying overseas to fight these contingency operations. It’s when Tulsa had floods – you had the National Guard out there securing levies and making sure dams didn’t break,” he said. “When we have tornadoes come through, you see the National Guard there. The ice storm last year – stranded motorists were pulled out, in large part, by the response crew through the National Guard.”
Employers need to understand that all these reasons are why service members need to be ready to go when duty calls, said Way.
In his own life balancing civilian and military roles, Way said setting boundaries and expectations from the beginning is key.
“Like most people, I can do anything; I just can’t do everything. It’s a constant balancing act, and I think anyone in the Reserve or Guard would tell you that, regardless of whether they’re a legal professional,” he said. “You’re always trying to find where that balance works and sometimes you do more military stuff, and sometimes you’re doing more civilian stuff.”
Way considers his military experience a valuable part of his life. A deployment to Venice, Italy, and two stints in Antarctica and the South Pole were certainly highlights, along with the opportunity to gain a skill and a trade, avoid student debt and have the benefit of military health care.
“There are a lot of benefits that came to fruition while I was in that I hadn’t considered when I joined,” Way said. “It’s not always easy to pick a path out of high school, and I always feel kind of bad for our young people because you are asking them to make big decisions at 17 and 18 that kind of shape how their lives go for the first few years. I’d say there’s no wrong decision, but I think that the military definitely gives you many options that, later in life, you’ll look back on and say, ‘Wow, I’m really glad I did that.’”
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