Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Awards and Accomplishments
Timeline
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BRIAN PALMER

Colorado Springs,CO

Summary

Results-oriented legal operations and program management professional with 19+ years of leadership experience overseeing legal, compliance, and administrative programs within the U.S. Air Force. Skilled in process optimization, team development, and cross-functional collaboration. Recognized for driving operational excellence, maintaining compliance, and fostering high-performing teams under demanding conditions.

Overview

21
21
years of professional experience

Work History

Law Office Manager / Senior Legal Operations Manager

AFELM NORTHCOM
06.2024 - Current
  • Lead a 24-member legal and compliance team supporting NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, coordinating operations across 10 sites in 5 states and ensuring seamless support for national defense missions.
  • Directed enterprise-wide program management and workforce optimization, executing a 12-month manpower study of 8.4K tasks that preserved staffing and sustained readiness through a 40% mission surge.
  • Oversaw $226K in fiscal and travel operations, implementing policy, risk, and process improvements that enhanced cross-functional efficiency, cut onboarding time 20%, and increased productivity 35%.

Senior Paralegal Program Manager / Victims’ Legal Support Manager

Air Force Legal Operations Agency
06.2020 - 06.2024
  • Directed two legal divisions and 36 personnel supporting 1.2M clients worldwide, managing $63K in program funds and ensuring compliance, accountability, and continuity across 18 global offices.
  • Spearheaded major operational initiatives during 50% workforce turnover, leading onboarding, mentoring, and process realignment that enhanced case response efficiency for 300K clients across 24 locations.
  • Managed $100K in security modernization and $50K in infrastructure restoration, overseeing $120K in assets and coordinating cross-agency projects that strengthened facilities and mission readiness.

Regional Legal Operations Manager

20th Air Force / AFGSC
12.2017 - 02.2020
  • Led 37 legal professionals across four wings, standardizing administrative and legal operations for 10 subordinate units and delivering timely support to over 100 clients and 32 attorneys under Air Force Global Strike Command.
  • Optimized program oversight and compliance, resolving a $84K pay backlog, eliminating redundant submissions that saved $4K annually, and improving document accuracy by 100% through process redesign.
  • Streamlined case management and reporting, reducing non-judicial processing time by 15 days and increasing inspection readiness by 60%, earning the unit an “excellent” rating during higher-headquarters review.

Prosecution Paralegal / Legal Analyst

Office of the Secretary of Defense
11.2014 - 11.2017
  • Provided litigation and evidence management support to seven attorneys and four intelligence agencies, coordinating discovery for national security and high-visibility military commission trials.
  • Processed and declassified 20,000+ pages of case material and 38 key exhibits, enabling timely hearings while safeguarding classified evidence across multiple federal and defense agencies.
  • Led document control, translation, and witness coordination for 60+ critical statements, ensuring full compliance with judicial deadlines and maintaining evidentiary integrity.

Early Career Highlights

U.S. Air Force
01.2005 - 2014
  • Supervised security and law enforcement operations across U.S. and European bases.
  • Managed armory operations ensuring full weapons accountability and readiness.

Education

MBA - Business Management

Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, Kentucky, KY
12-2026

Bachelor of Business Administration And Management - Management

Saint Leo University
Saint Leo, FL
01.2017

Associate of Applied Science - Paralegal Studies

Community College of The Air Force
Montgomery, AL
01.2013

Associate of Applied Science - Police Science

Community College of The Air Force
Montgomery, AL
01.2012

Skills

  • Security Clearance: Active DoD Top Secret/SCI
  • Microsoft Office Suite, SharePoint, Data Analytics Tools, Workflow Automation Platforms
  • Operations management
  • Program management
  • Team leadership
  • Budget management
  • Process improvement
  • Workforce optimization
  • Training and development
  • Multitasking capacity
  • Project management

Awards and Accomplishments

2023 - Division Senior Manager of the Year

2023 - Division Senior Manager of the Third Quarter

2023 - Division Senior Manager of the Second Quarter

2023 - Division Senior Manager of the First Quarter

2022 - Regional Senior Manager of the Year

2019 - Deployed Legal Office Senior Manager of the First Quarter

2019 - Unit Supervisor of the First Quarter

2018 - Joint Program Specialist of the Year

2016 - Joint Program Specialist of the of the Quarter

Timeline

Law Office Manager / Senior Legal Operations Manager

AFELM NORTHCOM
06.2024 - Current

Senior Paralegal Program Manager / Victims’ Legal Support Manager

Air Force Legal Operations Agency
06.2020 - 06.2024

Regional Legal Operations Manager

20th Air Force / AFGSC
12.2017 - 02.2020

Prosecution Paralegal / Legal Analyst

Office of the Secretary of Defense
11.2014 - 11.2017

Early Career Highlights

U.S. Air Force
01.2005 - 2014

MBA - Business Management

Western Kentucky University

Bachelor of Business Administration And Management - Management

Saint Leo University

Associate of Applied Science - Paralegal Studies

Community College of The Air Force

Associate of Applied Science - Police Science

Community College of The Air Force
BRIAN PALMER