John P. Scherer II, general counsel for University of North Carolina)

John Scherer II, general counsel of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, has left the U.S. Army, but he hasn't forgotten his commitment to his former military colleagues. Scherer accepted an appointment to the North Carolina Veterans Affairs Commission Wednesday.

Scherer said in a statement, “As a veteran, I'm deeply dedicated to helping North Carolina and our nation honor their commitment to them—a commitment that, in my opinion, should ensure each veteran has the opportunity to gain an education, find a rewarding and productive job and receive excellent physical and mental health care.”

He and the commission are responsible for reviewing existing programs for veterans and their dependents and promoting scholarship guidelines to the children of North Carolina veterans. His appointment runs through June 2021.

A former major in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, Scherer served in various active duty positions from 1992 to 1996 and reserve positions through 2003, according to his university bio. From 1996 to 1999, he litigated employment and civil rights cases as assistant general counsel for the Defense Commissary Agency.

Scherer told Corporate Counsel Thursday that he highly recommends the JAG Corps to new attorneys or law students. “It provides immediate legal experience in multiple areas of law, committed and talented colleagues, an important mission and invaluable, immediate client interaction to hone counselor skills,” he explained.

After Scherer left active duty, he became an assistant attorney general in the North Carolina Department of Justice from 1999 to 2010, where he began defending the University of North Carolina and its constituent institutions. He went to law school at one of those schools—UNC at Chapel Hill.

In 2010, he became associate general counsel at the university branch in Wilmington and was promoted to general counsel in September 2015.

In a 2016 university profile, Scherer described himself as a “recovering litigator” who spent much of his career representing military, federal and state agencies in court.

“While I enjoyed litigation and was successful,” Scherer said in the profile, “I began looking for the opportunity to develop the counseling role, particularly the chance to solve problems before, while and after they occur.”

He said he found that chance when UNC Wilmington offered him an in-house counsel position.

Of his GC role, the profile said Scherer acknowledged that time constraints and the need to consider the interests of many different constituencies “can make this job a bit dizzying at times.”