Nicolle Vasquez Del Favero

Assistant Counsel, NAVFAC, Dept of the Navy Office of the General Counsel

Service Member's Branch - Marine Corps

Service Member's Status - 8 years active duty, currently a reservist

What has been your military spouse career/entrepreneur journey so far?

I fell in love with my husband in college and knowing we would be committed to each other early on, I was desperate to carve out a future that fit into his military lifestyle. I was passionate about becoming a lawyer and advocating for women's rights issues. When I graduated in 2014, I was lucky enough to be awarded a Skadden Fellowship which allowed me to provide my own project to serve a disenfranchised population in a new way. I partnered with a nonprofit in Hawaii, and represented victims of domestic violence affiliated with the military (active duty service members, veterans, and spouses). For two years I worked closely with the family advocacy program managers and special victims counsels to address issues on the homefront. My passion for serving the military community started there. At the end of my two year fellowship, I followed my fiance (now husband) to his next duty station, Norfolk, VA. We were hopeful that when he requested VA we would be closer to the beltway, but it never quite works out the way you hope with the military. After a year of un and underemployment in 2016 I was lucky enough to get an assistant counsel position with the Dept of the Navy, and have been able to grow my legal career with them since 2017. I definitely consider myself one of the lucky ones when it comes to employment.

Tell us about yourself.

I am originally from Miami, FL. Met my husband at the University of Florida (Go Gators). He went to the Marine Corps as an infantry officer. I went to law school at Northeastern University in Boston. After five years of long distance, I followed him to Norfolk, and we have stayed in the Hampton Roads area since 2016. We have two children and two rescue dogs. In my spare time I am passionate about advocating for military spouse employment issues with the Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN).

Tell us about a "typical" day in your professional life.

Though I began my career with Military Sealift Command, I have served with the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command since 2019. My current focus is on contract administration issues related to the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP), a program to revitalize our nation's shipyards. I also work government ethics issues and civilian personnel issues (employment law).

What has been your biggest military spouse career struggle and how did you overcome it?

As an attorney, maintaining my career while supporting that of my servicemember's has been my biggest struggle. The legal profession requires you to have and maintain a state license for each state you practice in. That gets hard and costly, when as a military spouse you relocate every 2-3 years, and bar exams can cost upwards of $1,000 each time with bar prep courses costing more than $2,500.

As a military spouse attorney I have faced the overarching struggles of maintaining a career like many other military spouses. I have geo-bached from my spouse (5 years long distance) in order to jump start my legal career only to run into unemployment and underemployment (accepting a job as a paralegal after practicing as an attorney in another state). The uncertainty of maintaining a career I worked so hard to attain has probably been the biggest struggle, and the lack of understanding from others in our profession can be disheartening.

When I followed my spouse to Virginia, I knew I didn't have it in me to sit for another bar exam, and quickly learned that I could qualify for the Virginia Rule 1A:8,Military Spouse Provisional Admission, but I needed a supervisor. I found myself in a pretty terrible underemployment situation, mentioned above, where the partner of the small firm I was working at dangled the supervision requirement in front of me like a carrot, essentially saying if I worked harder (performed additional duties in the office with no additional compensation) then he would sign off on my supervision requirement. This promise was made while also lodging insults at me, reminding me that in his opinion, my bar exam was somehow of lesser value than sitting for and passing the Virginia bar. This was a short lived position for me, thankfully, but it made me realize that the Virginia rule needed to be changed so other military spouses would not have to endure toxic work environments like the one I experienced in an effort to maintain their career and avoid the dreaded resume gaps. I was already a part of the Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN) and decided to reach out to their state licensing committee to change the Virginia rule. After working with the Executive Committee of the Virginia State Bar and writing a lengthy petition to the Virginia Supreme Court, including the experiences of other military spouse attorneys in the state, I achieved success with an amendment to the rule allowing for military spouses with five or more years of practice to waive the onerous supervision requirement the waiver. Removing at least one barrier to employment by allowing spouses to waive into to a state without waiting to take a bar exam- which only happens twice a year, wait for results-which can take six months, and then set out to hunt for a job in a state they have no network in, has been one of my proudest accomplishments as a military spouse attorney.

As for my own career, I have served as an assistant counsel with the Department of the Navy's Office of the General Counsel for just shy of a decade, a position I was able to get with the help of another military spouse attorney.

What role did mentors and sponsors play in your journey?

I would not have gotten my job and began my career as a federal government attorney without the help of another military spouse attorney who I met in passing. I met this attorney while accompanying a friend to their work function. I spoke to her of my struggles to find a position in Virginia and without hesitation she offered to review my resume and sent me attorney positions with the Department of the Navy. With her help and guidance, I nailed my two interviews and obtained the first attorney position I applied for with the Department of the Navy's Office of the General Counsel. Had it not been for the kindness and help of this military spouse who I hadn't known for more than 5 minutes before she dove in to help me find a position in my new home, I don't know that I would have the career I have today as a federal government attorney. Though we lost touch following her move to California, I am forever grateful to her and always try to pay her actions forward by helping other military spouse attorneys find employment with the government if they're interested.

How does your career path differ from what you imagined for yourself?

I always envisioned myself in a policy or advocacy role in DC. Instead, I have built a career as an acquisition attorney for the Dept of the Navy. I am proud of the work I do each day to support the war fighter and our service members, and have been able to advocate for other military spouse attorneys like myself through my work with the Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN).

How did military life (PCSing, deployments, trainings, etc) factor into your career decisions?

My spouse and I met as undergrads at the University of Florida. Upon graduation we knew that he was going to commission as an officer with the US Marine Corps and I was going to follow my own dreams and attend law school at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. We had no idea how we were going to make this relationship work, but we were committed to supporting each other in achieving our own dreams. Three years of law school, a move to Camp Pendleton for my spouse, and one deployment later, I graduated law school in Boston and was awarded a prestigious two-year post-graduate fellowship in Hawaii as a Skadden Fellow, where I represented victims of domestic violence affiliated with the military. I'd be lying if I say I didn't question accepting the fellowship because of what it meant for my relationship, but my spouse was incredibly supportive and encouraging of a move for my career (especially since a second deployment was in the foreseeable future for him). After 5 years of long distance/geo-baching, I finally followed him to Norfolk, Virginia, a location he preferenced hoping to get as close as possible to Washington, D.C. for my career opportunities. While Norfolk wasn't exactly commuting distance to our nation's capital, I was incredibly grateful to him for requesting a location in support of my career first and foremost versus a job he was hoping for.,

Have you ever had to geo-bach due to your career/entrepreneurship?

My husband and I are college sweethearts. We were long distance for five years while I was in law school and pursued the start of my career and he deployed twice with USMC.

What resources have you found to be useful in your career/entrepreneur journey?

The Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN), a bar association for military spouse attorneys, really served as a guiding light for me throughout my journey as an attorney who also happens to be a military spouse. In a profession that is very much resistant to change, being an attorney that moves every few years at the direction of the military is not a concept understood by those who are not in it. MSJDN members just get it. They don't judge. They don't question. They just listen and offer support, both personal and professional. I have found some of my closest friends through this organization--people I would not have met otherwise, and I am grateful everyday for their friendship and support. This is a community that has mentored me, listened to me, and cheered me on at every juncture. I am inspired by our members every day, and grateful for the space this organization creates to uplift and support one another. So much so, that I am excited for the opportunity to give back to this organization that has given me so much, and to serve as their next President-Elect!

Final word: what are your top tips for other military spouses about navigating a career within the military lifestyle?

You are not alone. Reach out and rely on your military community. So many have come before and paved the way to make this life a little easier, and they are always willing to help. I have never encountered a more motivated and servant based leadership community than the military spouse community.

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