Liberty alumna, JAG attorney earns Top 40 Young Lawyers Award for support of female servicemembers

Liberty University School of Law alumna U.S. Army Captain Dominique Dove (’15) has been an inspiration to many who are suffering from hardship; as an attorney serving her country in the Army.

Dove is a Government Appellate Attorney for the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps and was recently recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) Young Lawyers Division as an honoree for its 2024 On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers Award. Through her advocacy work to support female service members, veterans, and survivors of sexual trauma, Dove has impacted hundreds of thousands of lives for the better.

Born in Lynchburg, Va., Dove grew up in an Army family and moved throughout her childhood, spending most of it in Europe. After graduating high school, she returned to America and studied sociology at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., where she joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).

“Everything that I did was pretty much on my own,” she said. “I had help from family members and friends sometimes, but overall, I had to do it by myself, including paying for school. I didn’t even have a cell phone when I (moved to America).”

She was homeless for a semester during her undergraduate in Norfolk, and she lived out of her car to afford school. After graduation, she joined the Army Reserves.

“I joined the Army to help pay for law school so that I could reach my calling of becoming an attorney and advocate for survivors (of abuse),” Dove said. “My journey is proof that overcoming challenges can lead to empowering others to find their own strength.”

Dove said she experienced a very difficult childhood. By the time she was 6 years old, she knew she wanted to become an attorney. The suffering she endured prompted a strong desire to advocate for those with similar backgrounds of trauma.

While Dove grew up as a Christian, she had not attended church regularly until her move to Virginia. Her relationship with Christ grew after finding a church family in Hampton, Virginia, and she knew she wanted to attend a law school that held a strong biblical foundation.

“I did my interview (with Liberty Law), and when I hung up, I just knew that I didn’t get accepted because they were asking me questions (about my grades),” said Dove, who struggled academically due to working full time during school. “I said, ‘God, I guess this is not your plan for me, and I’m just going to have to figure out how to become an advocate another way.’ I knew I could do that, but I really wanted to be an attorney so that I could represent victims. It was two weeks later when I got accepted.”

On top of accepting her, Liberty Law also offered Dove a scholarship so she could afford to enroll and become an advocate for the hurting.

“Liberty took a chance on me that no other law school did,” she said.

Dove said she benefited from Liberty Law’s rigorous curriculum and lawyering skills program. Despite working throughout law school, serving in the Army Reserves, and holding a research assistant position, she passed the bar exam on her first try.

“My journey to becoming an attorney was not a straight path,” Dove said. “What God has for you is for you, and it doesn’t matter who tries to stand in your way.”

After graduating, Dove married her husband, Aaron, and continued to work with the Army in various ways, including being a human resources officer and doing pro bono work for soldiers who were dishonorably discharged due to mental health issues from post-traumatic stress disorder and sexual trauma. She advocated for soldiers to be given an upgraded discharge when the basis for the discharge was mental health issues. She also assisted allies from Afghanistan who desired to immigrate to the United States.

Dove also worked with five other women to write and implement Army Directive 2022-06, modifying policies in the Army for operational deferment, postpartum fitness requirements, and increasing family care plan flexibility. The directive included maternity pay for Reservists and allowed for pregnant soldiers to receive temporary promotions without going to military schools and passing physical requirements. While originally mothers were at risk for deployment within six weeks after their child was born, the directive now makes postpartum mothers and adoptive parents nondeployable for a year, so they can focus on raising their child.

“It (impacted) a lot of different things, and they called it a grassroots effort because we did it on our own,” Dove said.

She considers the directive her biggest accomplishment in her career, with an estimated 400,000 soldiers impacted by her efforts.

In November, Dove will be sworn before the United States Supreme Court with her current position in the JAG Corps. She continues to advocate for the voiceless even outside of her career, as she placed in the Top 10 for Miss Veteran America, a competition where proceeds go toward benefiting homeless female veterans. She competes in a variety of competitions and pageants, with her work focusing on homelessness, sexual trauma, and research and policies that directly impact female soldiers. Earlier this month, she walked for fashion designer Marc DeFang in New York Fashion Week as Dr. Nation’s Capital 2024, which is a symbol of empowerment to provoke positive change for women in the military.

Dove desires to help others coming from hard beginnings to see that the Lord has a plan for them. At the Liberty Law Symposium on Aug. 30, part of the law school’s 20^th anniversary events, Dove joined a panel of alumni who spoke about Liberty Law and the value of Christian legal education.

“I carry the scars of a painful childhood, and those experiences could have broken me,” she said at the event. “I used my pain to become an advocate for those who couldn’t speak for themselves, to stand up for the voiceless, to turn my pain into power. My life is a testament to the belief that what God has for you is indeed for you. No matter how many people try to push you off your path, if that path is meant for you, it will remain yours. I want to tell you today that there is a purpose behind your pain, a reward behind your resilience, and a destiny behind your determination.”