Unify Theory
AI-NATIVE FEDERAL VENDOR · APPLIED-RESEARCH FIRM

Systems a general counsel can defend.

Claude-native systems for legal, defense, and compliance teams — built by an attorney who ships production AI infrastructure. Not a lawyer who talks about AI, and not an engineer who talks about law.

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THEORY · METHOD · PRACTICE — CONVERGED
SBA-CERTIFIED SDVOSB & VOSB · SAM-REGISTERED · UEI WXPZRRP43NJ3 · CAGE 20FQ7 · ELIZABETHTOWN, KENTUCKY · EST. 2026
01 — THE THESIS

The combination is rare for a reason. It's finally the one that matters.

Enterprise AI is moving out of pilots and into production — fastest in regulated environments, where the legal, ethical, and operational frameworks have to hold together from day one. The practitioners who can design for that environment — credentialed in the law, published on the technology, and shipping production AI systems — can be counted on one hand.

HALF ONE

Build the systems.

Claude SDK build-outs, custom MCP servers, and autonomous agent architectures — engineered for the reliability a regulated environment demands.

HALF TWO

Prove the decisions.

Decision provenance, pre-registration of consequential changes, and audit-ready records of what the AI did — and under whose authority.

Unify Theory is where those two halves meet — architecture, implementation, and expert guidance held in one mind. You work with the credentialed principal directly.

02 — WAYS TO WORK

Three ways to work together.

Advisory

MONTHLY RETAINER · FRACTIONAL

For teams evaluating Claude or designing AI workflows. Strategy, architecture guidance, vendor selection, and the risk-and-governance framework that has to wrap the technology. One to four hours a month on a standing retainer.

Implementation

FIXED SCOPE · 4–12 WEEKS

Hands-on Claude SDK build-outs, custom MCP servers, agent orchestration, and integration with your legal-tech, compliance, or enterprise stack. You own all artifacts and source — portable, no vendor lock-in.

Expert Engagements

RETAINER + HOURLY · LITIGATION & POLICY

Testimony, depositions, amicus contribution, and published-author commentary on autonomous systems, AI in armed conflict, cyber operations, and the law of armed conflict.

Advisory and implementation are grounded in the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, ISO/IEC 42001, and the EU AI Act where applicable — and defensible under scrutiny because the same person who architects the system can defend it.

03 — THE PRINCIPAL
Durward Elton Johnson, Founder & Principal
DURWARD ELTON JOHNSON
FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL

One person — both halves of the problem.

I'm Elton Johnson. I spent twenty years as a U.S. Army Judge Advocate, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel — most recently Deputy Staff Judge Advocate of V Corps, after serving as Chief of Military Justice at III Corps, with combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In between, I taught the law of armed conflict and cyber operations at the U.S. Naval War College's Stockton Center for the Study of International Law — as military professor and associate director, and managing editor of International Law Studies — co-authoring work with Michael N. Schmitt, general editor of the Tallinn Manual.

Now I build. I architect and ship production AI systems on Anthropic's Claude SDK, and I ground them in the law and policy that decide whether they hold up in front of a regulator, a court, or an adversary. You work with me directly — not a junior team.

Builds and operates production Claude-native systems daily — the operating proof behind every engagement.

04 — THE RECORD

Credentialed in the exact two domains that are converging.

ACADEMIC & MILITARY
  • Retired Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army JAG Corps
    2005–2025 · 20 YEARS
  • Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, V Corps
    2023–2025
  • Chief of Military Justice, III Corps
    2021–2023
  • Military Professor & Associate Director, Stockton Center, U.S. Naval War College
    2019–2021
  • Managing Editor, International Law Studies
    2020–2021
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
DOWNLOAD CV (PDF) →
05 — CAPABILITY STATEMENT

Set up to work with federal buyers.

A Kentucky-domiciled professional-services firm, veteran-owned by a retired U.S. Army JAG officer. SBA-certified SDVOSB and VOSB — eligible for federal set-aside and sole-source contracts. Boutique by design: you work directly with the credentialed principal; larger scopes are delivered through vetted teaming.

CORE COMPETENCIES
  • Claude-native AI integration in regulated environments
  • Custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers & agent orchestration
  • Retrieval-augmented & structured-extraction pipelines on government-permissible providers
  • AI-strategy advisory & architecture review for legal, defense & compliance teams
  • Expert engagement on autonomous systems, AI in armed conflict & the law of armed conflict
INDUSTRY CODES (NAICS)
  • 541512  Computer Systems Design Services (primary)
  • 541511  Custom Computer Programming Services
  • 541611  Administrative & General Management Consulting
  • 541715  R&D in Physical, Engineering & Life Sciences
  • 541990  All Other Professional, Scientific & Technical Services
UEIWXPZRRP43NJ3
CAGE20FQ7
SAM.govACTIVE · ALL AWARDS
VetCertSDVOSB & VOSB · 2026
WHAT I DON'T YET HAVE
  • — No FedRAMP authorization
  • — No entity-held facility clearance
  • — No DoD IL2/IL4/IL5 rated hosting
  • — No GSA Multiple Award Schedule

Posted as they land. Engagement scope is matched to the security posture actually carried — not assumed.

06 — THE WORKING REFERENCE

I operate the architecture I sell.

Every engagement draws on the same patterns I've had to build, break, and rebuild running real commerce, travel, and content operations under real load. When I recommend an architecture, I'm telling you what I've already learned the hard way — not what sounds good in a slide.

BRECKENHAVEN LLC
AUTONOMOUS MULTI-BRAND OPERATIONS

A multi-brand, AI-run holding company — one operator, zero employees — running end-to-end on production Claude SDK, a custom MCP toolchain that exposes 500+ operational tools, and scheduled autonomous agents. Commerce, content, advertising, analytics, and customer service, operated daily under pre-registered change discipline. The proof point that the architecture isn't a pitch deck.

BRECKENWANDER, INC.
REGULATED CONSUMER COMMERCE

An AI-native travel agency, now incorporated in its own right. Dual-supplier hotel rails, Viator-certified experiences, Duffel flights, an AI trip-planning concierge on the web and on a published phone line, and 2,700+ automated tests behind the booking frontend. Its price promise — the first price you see is the only price you pay, taxes and fees already included — is engineered rather than asserted: accuracy is audited against live supplier data before the claim ships.

JOHNSON LEGAL PLLC
AI-ASSISTED LAW PRACTICE

My own Kentucky law practice, and its flat-fee drafting platform, Cornerstone. The document engine is grounded clause-by-clause in the governing Kentucky statutes and held by 1,400+ automated tests. Clients see their drafted document before they pay. The AI phone intake is hard-gated against unauthorized practice — capture only, an attorney always in the loop. This is where the proof layer meets the practice of law.

Three operating companies, one discipline: verify before acting, pre-register consequential change, gate everything outbound. The discipline is the product.

07 — GET IN TOUCH

Tell me what you're trying to build.

Evaluating Claude, designing an AI-native workflow in a regulated domain, or in need of expert input on autonomous systems or the law of armed conflict — book a consultation or write me directly. No lead forms, no intake funnel. Pricing follows a confidential scoping conversation; conflicts are cleared before we talk, and engagements operate under NDA.

Book a consultation
[email protected]
FEDERAL / CONTRACTING · solicitations, Sources Sought, teaming — same address
BASED IN KENTUCKY · remote & travel-friendly across U.S. engagements
SBA-CERTIFIED SDVOSB & VOSB · SAM-REGISTERED · UEI WXPZRRP43NJ3 · CAGE 20FQ7 · ELIZABETHTOWN, KENTUCKY · EST. 2026
COLOPHON — THE MARK

The convergence glyph — three strokes resolving to a single rust node: theory, method, and practice, unified. Built to survive a 48-pixel tile where the ceremonial double-ring seal dissolves; the seal remains the mark of record for documents.

GLYPH · PRIMARY
Unify Theory
HORIZONTAL LOCKUP
APP TILE · 48PX-SAFE
REVERSAL · ON INK