Guaranteed Judge Advocate

Regardless of their specific jobs, all Marine officers are, first and foremost, Marines. Judge Advocates, the Corps?s lawyers, therefore undergo the same rigorous training at OCS and TBS as any new candidate or officer. The Platoon Leaders Class (Law) program is open to college seniors who have been accepted for full-time study at an ABA-accredited law school, as well as first and second year law students. Similarly, third-year law school students and bar-certified lawyers attend Officer Candidates Course (Law). In both cases, each year of law school completed before commissioning earns a calendar year of constructive service credit, which positively affects promotion scheduling and pay. PLC (Law) also offers tuition assistance. Upon commissioning, judge advocates soon report to The Basic School for 26 weeks of fundamental officer training.

Only once they have proven themselves as effective leaders and warriors do judge advocates enter the courtroom. The Naval Justice School, in Newport, Rhode Island, provides an introduction to the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) and the system that supports it, and early assignments include prosecutor or defense-counsel in courts-martial, arguing appellate cases before the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, and specializing in family, environmental, labor, or international law.

Marine Corps Judge Advocates are stationed around the world, from Hawaii to Washington, D.C. to Italy, and they have deployed to crises from Bosnia to Grenada, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq. They quickly become experts on a diverse range of subjects, including criminal acts, civil claims against the U.S. government, agreements with ports used by naval ships, and rules of engagement guidance when deployed to hostile areas.

The Marine Corps also recognizes the importance of continuing education, offering its judge advocates several opportunities to pursue further training. Every year, more than one third attend professional courses conducted by law schools and institutes across the country, and many judge advocates earn Master of Laws Degrees (LLM) at government expense.

Judge Advocate Flow Chart