Prof. David Coombs named Fellow of the National Institute of Military Justice

A longtime trial litigator in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, Coombs joins a distinguished group of military justice experts who are committed to promoting fairness and justice for all members of the military community. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., and affiliated with

American University’s Washington College of Law, the nonprofit institute works on a pro bono basis in advocacy and education in the area of military law.

Coombs, who joined the UB Law faculty this academic year, teaches Evidence, Criminal Procedure, Military Justice and National Security Law. Before entering academia, he had a distinguished 21-year career in military justice, serving as a prosecutor, defense attorney, professor and defense appellate attorney.

He has represented hundreds of soldiers and defended two of the most high-profile and complex cases in military history: United States v. Manning (involving the disclosure of hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the website WikiLeaks) and United States v. Akbar (a military death penalty case).

“I’m honored to be appointed a Fellow of NIMJ,” Coombs says. “I look forward to working with the others in NIMJ to promote the study and improvement of the military justice system.”

Fellows of the National Institute of Military Justice (nimj.org), which was founded in 1991, address critical military justice issues and propose reform through amicus curiae briefs, reports, scholarship, expert commentary to news media, and academic conferences. The institute’s leadership includes former judge advocates, private practitioners and legal scholars.