degree as assistant staff judge advocate at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York.

In that position, he served as the legal adviser to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, directed 2,200 judge advocates, 350 attorneys, 1,400 enlisted paralegals, and 500 civilians.

[2] As deputy judge advocate general, Rives criticized Justice Department memos that authorized the President to conduct enhanced interrogation techniques as "violations of domestic criminal law" and could potentially place interrogators and the military chain of command at risk of international criminal accusations.

[10][11] Partly as a result of problems that included the investigation of Rives's predecessor as TJAG, and partly because of the importance then-U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff T. Michael Moseley placed on the JAG Corps, Rives was given the chance to restructure and revise the corps.

On 22 April 2010, Rives was named the executive director and chief operating officer of the American Bar Association.

[14] He replaced Henry White Jr. who resigned in 2009 with other senior staff members following a reorganization set in motion by ABA president Carolyn Lamm.

He was succeeded by Alpha M. Brady as Executive Director, making her the first person of color to lead the ABA.