Firm Profile: Attorney Scot Sikes

Some lawyers learned their craft in conference rooms. Scot Sikes learned his in courtrooms — many of them military, some of them half a world away. He is a Georgia and military trial lawyer, an Army veteran, and the founder of a Columbus law firm that has represented soldiers, families, and civilians since 2006.

Georgia Roots and a Legacy of Service

Born in Savannah, Scot Sikes is a Georgia native whose family history includes more than 300 years of military and public service. He graduated from Bradwell Institute in 1987 and earned a state military scholarship to the University of North Georgia. While there, he completed airborne training, received the General Douglas MacArthur Award in 1990, served as First Battalion Commander, and was inducted into multiple honor societies.

Mr. Sikes later served for four years on the Corps Advisory Council at the University of North Georgia, his undergraduate alma mater. He has also been selected to serve as Adjunct Faculty at Columbus State University, where he will begin teaching undergraduate Criminal Law in Fall 2026.

From Military Police Officer to Judge Advocate

Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, Mr. Sikes served in all three Army components — the Army National Guard, Active Duty, and the U.S. Army Reserve. His commissioned military service included four years in the Military Police Corps, where he served as a Platoon Leader, S-1/Adjutant, and Company Commander.

His military service included a 1994–95 deployment to Guantanamo Bay during Operation Sea Signal, a humanitarian relief mission. He later earned his J.D. from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law in May 1999 and was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in November 1999.

Appointed as an active-duty Judge Advocate in December 1999, Mr. Sikes completed the 154th Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course as Assistant Class Leader and received the course leadership award. Upon entering the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, he served as a Tort Claims Attorney, Administrative Law Attorney, Trial Counsel — a military prosecutor — Trial Defense Counsel, Senior Defense Counsel, and later as a Deputy Staff Judge Advocate.

His JAG career included the following assignments:

• Fort Benning: Served as a Tort Claims Attorney and Administrative Law Attorney before becoming Trial Counsel — an Army prosecutor.
• Hunter Army Airfield: Joined the U.S. Army Trial Defense Service in 2002, shifting from prosecuting soldiers to defending them.
• Senior Defense Counsel, 3d Infantry Division: Promoted to Major in 2003, supervised five attorneys and three paralegals, and handled high-profile matters, including United States v. Benderman and United States v. Yee.
• Assistant Region Defense Counsel: Assumed this position in 2005 before volunteering to deploy as Senior Defense Counsel for southern Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan through June 2006.
• Deputy Staff Judge Advocate: Later served in a senior legal leadership position advising military commanders and overseeing legal operations.

As Senior Defense Counsel, Mr. Sikes personally conducted more than 40 courts-martial, supervised multiple military defense offices, and handled high-profile matters, including cases with national security implications.

Mr. Sikes is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. He retired in August 2017 after more than 26 years of military service.

More Than 27 Years of Legal Practice

Since his admission to the State Bar of Georgia in November 1999, Mr. Sikes has practiced law for more than 27 years. His experience encompasses military justice, criminal defense, family law, personal injury litigation, administrative law, and complex disputes involving military benefits and property.

Mr. Sikes has been qualified as an expert witness on multiple occasions regarding military property division issues in divorce cases. This experience allows him to address the specialized legal and financial questions that arise when military retirement benefits, property division, and family law intersect.

Mr. Sikes has also been selected and recognized by Georgia Super Lawyers for 2020–2022 and 2024–2026.

Why the Firm Exists

By the summer of 2006, Mr. Sikes knew that representing individuals in the face of government and institutional overreaching would be his life’s work. He founded the Law Offices of Scot Sikes in September 2006 near Fort Benning and the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence.

The practice has grown steadily since then, serving military members, their families, and civilians facing some of the hardest moments of their lives — divorce and family law disputes, criminal charges, courts-martial and military justice matters, and serious injuries.

Through it all, the firm holds to a straightforward standard: the highest ethical principles, a strong commitment to its clients, and a relentless pursuit of legal excellence. A sampling of the firm’s outcomes is available on its case results page, while former clients describe their experiences in their own words on the firm’s testimonials page.

Continuing a Tradition of Service

Although Mr. Sikes retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel in August 2017, his commitment to service continues through his legal practice, teaching, professional organizations, and involvement in the Columbus community.

His professional affiliations include the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Columbus Bar Association, the Chattahoochee Bar Association, the Military/Veterans and Family Law Sections of the State Bar of Georgia, the Association of the United States Army, the Reserve Officers Association, and his university alumni organizations.

Closer to home, Mr. Sikes provides pro bono legal counsel, and he and his wife support their church and local nonprofit organizations. They have two children and live in Midland, Georgia. The judges, courthouses, military installations, and communities his clients face are the same ones he has served throughout his career and continues to call home.