About Gagne, Scherer & Associates, LLC · Chicago
Gagne, Scherer & Associates, LLC is a Chicago-based national military defense firm (also known as UCMJ Lawyers) founded and run by two former Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) officers. Partners Keith Scherer (based in Chicago) and Greg Gagne (based in Connecticut) have worked together on military criminal defense full-time since leaving active duty in 2005. The firm handles courts-martial, military investigations, and federal criminal cases for active-duty, reserve, and guard members of every branch — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard — at installations across the United States and overseas. Their office is at 6585 N. Avondale Avenue, Suite D, in Chicago's Edison Park neighborhood (ZIP 60631).
Gagne, Scherer & Associates, LLC traces its origins to December 2006, when four former Air Force JAG trial attorneys — Greg Gagne, Keith Scherer, Tory Langemo, and Doug Rawald — merged their practices to form Gagne, Scherer & Langemo, LLC, a national firm dedicated to defending service members charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The firm has since narrowed to its two founding-name partners and now operates as Gagne, Scherer & Associates, LLC. Both Keith Scherer and Greg Gagne joined the Air Force JAG Corps in 2001 after the events of 9/11, served first as prosecutors and then as defense counsel, and left active duty in 2005 to build a civilian practice devoted exclusively to military and federal criminal defense. Scherer — a former Air Force Russian linguist who served in England — prosecutorial and defense tours at Ellsworth AFB and Keesler AFB, earned his J.D. at Chicago-Kent College of Law (1998) and a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago (1995), and is admitted to the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, service appellate courts, the Seventh Circuit, the Northern District of Illinois, the Federal Trial Bar, and Illinois state courts. He has been peer-selected as a Leading Lawyer in Criminal Law and Military Law (top 5% of Illinois attorneys). Gagne earned his B.A. at Trinity College in Hartford and his J.D. at the University of Connecticut School of Law (2001), served as a prosecutor and supervisory prosecutor in Europe and the Middle East, and is admitted in Connecticut, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the Air Force Court of Appeals. The two partners consult with each other on every case, prepare together, and travel routinely to military installations worldwide. The firm focuses on the highest-stakes UCMJ matters — sexual assault (Article 120), child sexual abuse material (Article 134), domestic violence (Article 128b), child abuse (Article 119b), homicide (Articles 118 and 119), drug offenses (Article 112a), fraud and financial crimes (Articles 121 and 132), officer misconduct, AWOL and desertion, and conduct unbecoming an officer (Article 133) — as well as related federal criminal matters including mail and wire fraud, mortgage fraud, money laundering, tax fraud, RICO actions, and grand jury representations. They have secured full acquittals, dismissals, and favorable resolutions in cases that looked unwinnable on paper, and have preserved millions of dollars in retirement and disability benefits for clients facing discharge or reduction in grade. The firm's stated specialty is adapting to the post-2023 Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) era, in which independent military prosecutors — not unit commanders — make charging decisions for the most serious offenses.
- In business
- Founded 2005 / 2006 (firm traces its military defense work to its founders' active-duty JAG service beginning in 2001; the LLC under the current two-partner configuration has been operating continuously since the mid-2000s)
- Owner
- Founding partners: Greg Gagne and Keith Scherer (the firm originated in 2006 as Gagne, Scherer & Langemo, LLC with partners Greg Gagne, Keith Scherer, Tory Langemo, and Doug Rawald; it now operates as Gagne, Scherer & Associates, LLC with Gagne and Scherer as the two named partners)
- Serves
- Chicago (Edison Park neighborhood) — firm office; cases handled at military installations across the United States (Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas, Virginia, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska, Oklahoma, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, the Dakotas, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C.) and overseas (Japan, South Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, England, Europe, the Middle East). Greg Gagne also maintains a civilian practice in Connecticut.
- Rating
- Keith Scherer: 4.4/5 across 28 reviews on Lawbamba (aggregated from Avvo, Yelp, Google, and Lawyers.com). Firm-level Google/Yelp rating not independently confirmed.
About the Firm
Gagne, Scherer & Associates, LLC is a national military defense firm built around two partners who have worked together since leaving active duty in 2005. Both Keith Scherer and Greg Gagne joined the Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps in 2001, shortly after 9/11, and spent their active-duty years exclusively in the courtroom — first as prosecutors, then as defense counsel. They never moved into administrative or policy roles. After separating, they founded the firm (originally Gagne, Scherer & Langemo, LLC, with two additional partners) in December 2006 to keep doing military defense full-time, and have done nothing but UCMJ and federal criminal defense work since. Today the firm is known in the marketplace as UCMJ Lawyers, with the marketing domain ucmjlawyers.com and legacy domain militarytriallawyers.com, and the office is in Chicago's Edison Park neighborhood at 6585 N. Avondale Avenue, Suite D. Greg Gagne is based in Connecticut but travels to cases as a matter of routine; physical proximity to a client's installation is described by the firm as irrelevant compared with courtroom experience and preparation.
- Former Air Force JAG prosecutors turned full-time civilian defense counsel
- Founded as Gagne, Scherer & Langemo, LLC in December 2006
- Markets itself today as 'UCMJ Lawyers' at ucmjlawyers.com / militarytriallawyers.com
- Office: 6585 N. Avondale Avenue, Suite D, Chicago, IL 60631 (Edison Park)
- Two named partners only — every case gets the attention of both
Practice Areas
The firm handles every category of serious UCMJ offense that can be charged at a general or special court-martial, plus the federal criminal matters that overlap with them. Their stated focus is on cases with the highest stakes: sexual assault, child exploitation, domestic violence, homicide, drug offenses, fraud, and officer misconduct. They have defended Article 120 cases in every branch of service, at bases across the country and overseas, for over two decades. Below is the firm's outline of the practice, drawn directly from the practice-areas page.
- Sexual Assault and Sex Offenses (Article 120 — 'center of gravity' in military criminal law)
- Child Sexual Abuse Material / CSAM (Article 134; NCMEC-tipped cases, ICAC investigations, AI-generated imagery, sextortion)
- Violent Crimes: Assault (Article 128), Domestic Violence (Article 128b), Child Abuse (Article 119b), Homicide (Articles 118 and 119)
- Drug Offenses (Article 112a — use, possession, distribution, manufacture, importation; positive urinalysis defense)
- Fraud and Financial Crimes (Articles 121, 132, 107 — BAH fraud, travel voucher fraud, false official statements)
- Officer Misconduct / Conduct Unbecoming an Officer (Article 133)
- Disobedience, AWOL, and Desertion (Articles 86, 85)
Federal Criminal Defense
Beyond the military practice, the partners handle federal criminal cases in the Northern District of Illinois, the Seventh Circuit, and Illinois state courts. Their federal experience is described by the firm as directly relevant to the post-2023 Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) era, in which independent prosecutors — modeled on the federal system — now make charging decisions for covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse.
- Mail and wire fraud
- Mortgage fraud
- Money laundering
- Tax fraud
- RICO actions
- CSAM and child exploitation cases
- Grand jury representations
Court-Martial Defense & Article 32 Hearings
The firm's core offering is representation at general and special courts-martial and at the Article 32 preliminary hearing that precedes them. Keith Scherer has publicly argued that Article 32 hearings are 'the most underutilized tool in military defense,' and that waiving them is almost never in the client's interest. The firm's published testimonials include multiple cases in which the Article 32 investigating officer recommended that charges not be referred to court-martial.
- Lead counsel in courts-martial, administrative hearings, and appellate proceedings for over two decades
- Article 32 preliminary hearing advocacy
- Appeals before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and service appellate courts
- Motions practice, expert-witness development, and trial preparation
Keith Scherer — Partner (Chicago)
Keith Scherer is a former Air Force JAG who served as a Russian linguist with Air Force Intelligence Command in England before attending law school. He joined the JAG Corps in 2001, prosecuted cases at Ellsworth AFB and Keesler AFB, switched to defense at Keesler, and separated in 2005 to co-found the firm. He holds a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago (1995) and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law (1998). He is admitted to the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the service appellate courts, the Seventh Circuit, the Northern District of Illinois, the Federal Trial Bar, and Illinois state courts, and has been peer-selected as a Leading Lawyer in Criminal Law and Military Law (top 5% of Illinois attorneys). His cases span the full range of UCMJ offenses — from murder and rape to CSAM, ICAC investigations, fraud, and officer misconduct — and he has developed particular expertise in medical, toxicological, and psychological evidence, digital forensics, and expert testimony in sex-offense and conspiracy cases. He has appeared as a media commentator on military justice issues and is also a published baseball analyst and researcher (Baseball Prospectus, ESPN, The Hardball Times, SABR, Bill James Online, STATS Inc.).
- Direct line: (224) 935-6172
- Email: [email protected]
- Leading Lawyer — Criminal Law and Military Law (top 5%, Illinois)
Greg Gagne — Partner (Connecticut)
Greg Gagne served as a trial attorney in the Air Force JAG Corps from 2002 to 2005, beginning as a prosecutor at Hurlburt Field, moving to defense, and being selected as a supervisory prosecutor with responsibility for Europe and the Middle East before choosing to return to Connecticut. Born and raised in Wolcott, Connecticut, he earned his B.A. in Political Science at Trinity College in Hartford and his J.D. at the University of Connecticut School of Law (2001), where he was an editor of the Connecticut Insurance Law Journal. He is admitted in Connecticut state and federal courts, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the Air Force Court of Appeals. Outside his military practice, he advises Connecticut businesses on compliance, employment disputes, and liability exposure, and has served on the board of the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center and in the Connecticut Bar Association's Veterans and Military Affairs Section.
- Direct line: (800) 319-3134
- Email: [email protected]
- Former supervisory prosecutor, U.S. Air Force JAG Corps (Europe and the Middle East)
Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) Era Defense
The firm highlights that the most significant structural change to military justice in decades took effect in 2023 with the creation of the Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC). For covered offenses — sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and other serious crimes — the decision to refer charges to court-martial is no longer made by a commander but by an independent special trial counsel. The firm argues that this federal-style independent-prosecution model is one they have been working in for over twenty years through their federal criminal practice, giving them a head start relative to military-only firms.
- Covered offenses: sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, other serious crimes
- Independent prosecutors replace commanders as charging authorities
- Federal-style prosecution model the firm has worked in for 20+ years
Locations Served & Geographic Reach
Although the firm's office is in Chicago's Edison Park neighborhood, its practice is national and worldwide. The partners travel to military installations as a matter of routine and have tried cases in the United States and overseas. Locations publicly identified include Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas, Virginia, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska, Oklahoma, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, the Dakotas, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Japan, South Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, England, Europe, and the Middle East.
- All U.S. military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, plus Guard and Reserves
- CONUS and OCONUS installations
- Worldwide trial experience including Europe and Asia
Testimonials & Client Feedback
The firm's published testimonials include cases ranging from false criminal accusations carrying 30-year sentences (resolved with full acquittal) to Article 32 hearings that resulted in recommendations against referral, to Article 120 sexual-assault defenses, to HIPAA / Joint-Ethics investigations of medical officers that ended with the client returning to patient care and promotable status. Spouses and family members describe the firm's communication, sensitivity, and willingness to 'remind me to calm down and try to find peace.' One client spouse wrote: 'I really thank God for putting this firm in my path to save my husband's career.' Keith Scherer carries a 4.4/5 average across 28 reviews on Lawbamba (aggregated from Avvo, Yelp, Google, and Lawyers.com).
- Sexual assault / Article 120 acquittals
- Article 32 hearings resulting in no referral
- HIPAA / Joint-Ethics investigations resolved without separation
- Family-member praise for communication and emotional support
Frequently Asked Questions
The firm's resources page covers the structural changes to military justice brought by the 2023 creation of the Office of Special Trial Counsel and explains how their two decades of federal criminal practice map onto the new independent-prosecution model. They note that while other military defense firms are 'adjusting to a paradigm they have never operated in,' they have been doing it for twenty years.
- What is the OSTC and how does it change the defense calculus?
- Do you handle federal criminal cases too?
- Do I need a lawyer near my installation?
- What kinds of cases do you handle?
Contact & Getting Started
The firm offers initial consultations and asks prospective clients to call to inquire about fee structure. Both partners can be reached directly by phone and email.
- Office: 6585 N. Avondale Avenue, Suite D, Chicago, IL 60631
- Main phone: 773-774-6741
- Keith Scherer: (224) 935-6172 / [email protected]
- Greg Gagne: (800) 319-3134 / [email protected]
- Websites: militarytriallawyers.com and ucmjlawyers.com