Our Attorneys

Brian Bouffard joined the U.S. Navy JAG Corps while still in law school and began his legal career in 1997 with the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton, California, serving as a trial counsel (prosecutor), defense counsel, and senior defense counsel. He quickly earned the respect of seniors, juniors, and peers as a recognized expert on military justice and trial strategy, and routinely handled the most challenging cases. Brian continued his career as a civilian, starting his own firm in 2006 dedicated to representing service members in courts-martial and clients facing serious felonies in Texas criminal courts. In 2020, Brian closed his practice to join the Military Commissions Defense Organization in Washington D.C., where he served as lead defense counsel for a terrorism/war crimes defendant who had been severely tortured by agents of the United States. In 2024, Brian secured the release of his client from 20 years of confinement without trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and his repatriation to his home country of Malaysia.

Today, as a trial attorney with the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, Brian represents clients in both military and Texas state cases, with experience, skill, and compassion, as well as a fierce dedication to the rule of law and the Constitutional rights we all share. Brian is a tenacious and empathetic advocate who is ready to stand up for you.

Bar Admissions

• State Bar of Texas
• State Bar of North Carolina
• Bar of the District of Columbia
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
• U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

Teaching Experience

• Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College
• Emerging Threats in National Security (2025) (Speaker)
• Temple University, Beasley School of Law - LL.M. in Trial Advocacy Program
• Pre-Trial Strategy and Discovery (2024) (Lecturer/Instructor)
• Bob Chaloupka Trial Skills Seminar (2023) (Speaker)
• State Bar of Texas, Veterans Justice Clinic (2017) (Speaker)
• Texas State Guard Judge Advocate Training (2016) (Speaker)
• Military Defense Trial Litigation (2015) (Course Director, Faculty)
• Marine Corps DSO Worldwide Training Conference (2015) (Faculty)
• Military Defense Trial Litigation (2014) (Course Director, Faculty)
• Military Defense Trial Litigation (2013) (Faculty)
• Military Defense Trial Litigation (2012) (Faculty)

Publications

• “A Weapon Cast Aside”
  • The Warrior: The Magazine of the Trial Lawyers College (Winter 2025)
• “Damned”
  • The Warrior: The Magazine of the Trial Lawyers College (Winter 2023)
• “The Men at Guantanamo Bay are worth defending. Our system of justice demands that we do.”
  • Miami Herald (Mar 13, 2021)
  • https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article249904833.html
• “There’s no justice in Guantanamo Bay. For America’s sake, that must change.”
  • Washington Post (Jan 12, 2021)
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/12/theres-no-justice-guantanamo-bay-americas-sake-that-must-change/