Title: Special Victims’ Counsel
Company: U.S. Army
Education: JD, University of Pittsburgh School of Law (2021); Judicial Intern, Western District of Pennsylvania, United States District Court (2021); Summer Fellow, Pro Bono Center, Allegheny County Bar Foundation (2020); Certified Legal Intern, Securities Arbitration Clinic, University of Pittsburgh (2020); Legal Intern, Criminal Division, United States Attorneys’ Offices (2019); B, Georgetown University (2018)
Career History: Special Victims’ Counsel, United States Army (2022-Present); Legal Services and Claims Attorney, United States Army (2022); Law Clerk, FHAS (2020); Marketing and Content Manager, CMA Global Partners, German Foods, Specialty Food Association, Inc. (2016-2018); Helped Manage a Program in Georgetown That Helped the State Department with Education Grants in Chile
Devin Slaugenhaupt, Special Victims’ Counsel at U.S. Army, has been recognized as a Marquis Emerging Leader for their contributions and achievements in the military field.
A dedicated attorney who takes pride in advocating for his clients, Captain Slaugenhaupt has lent his legal services and expertise to the U.S. Army since 2022—first as a claims attorney and then as special victims’ counsel. He specializes in helping clients who have been through traumatic experiences, such as victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, and has accrued experience prosecuting those who commit sex crimes. Because of the sensitivity of the cases he takes on, his natural empathy and strong ability to connect with people help him build rapport, trust, and understanding with those who seek his counsel. The highlight of his still-young career has been aiding his numerous clients—many of whom have been able to better their lives because of his work.
Captain Slaugenhaupt’s gravitation toward helping the men and women who serve in the military stems from his family history; his grandfather on his father’s side had 16 brothers and sisters, and nearly every one of the men served in either World War II or Korea. In addition, two of his uncles were servicemen. The first in his family to go to college, he attained a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in 2018—during which time he had no aspirations of pursuing law and was helping to manage a program that helped the state department with education grants in Chile. However, during his senior year, his father experienced a terrible accident that made him paraplegic, leading Captain Slaugenhaupt to decline several job offers to care for him.
On a complete whim, he and his friend took the Law School Admission Test, or LSAT, and he applied to some law schools in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived. He was ultimately accepted into the University of Pittsburgh School of Law with a full scholarship, where he learned from a visiting Judge Advocate General that he could be an attorney and a soldier serving his country and clients. Already wanting to help the underserved population, he completed his training at Fort Leonard Wood, where he did legal assistance work involving wills, divorcees, and spousal support. He later accepted an internship at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, specifically in the child sex crimes division, seeking to make a difference. Additionally, on the path toward graduation, he became a certified legal intern in the University of Pittsburgh’s Securities Arbitration Clinic, a summer fellow at the Pro Bono Center within the Allegheny County Bar Foundation, a judicial intern at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and served as the staff editor, senior topics editor, and a contributor for the University of Pittsburgh Law Review. He earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 2021.
Outside of his primary roles, Captain Slaugenhaupt maintains his connection to the field as a member of both the American Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Looking ahead to the future, he wants to become a subject matter expert and help more people, as well as be published on the topic of sex crime prosecution.