Marine judge advocates take responsibility for caseloads immediately in their first tour. With the support of supervisors, new attorneys immediately begin practicing law in the fields of criminal litigation, institutional compliance, government ethics, family law, consumer law, and administrative law.
For those who want to win in the courtrooms, and on the battlefields.
All Marine judge advocates begin their training at the Officer Candidates School (OCS) in Quantico, Virginia. Here, you will demonstrate your leadership potential and prove yourself worthy of being commissioned as a Marine officer.
- After completing OCS and commissioning as an officer, bar-certified lawyers will remain in Quantico to complete The Basic School (TBS) where you will learn the duties and skills of a Marine officer. Upon graduating from TBS, you will report to Naval Justice School (NJS) in Newport, Rhode Island, where you will be given the training and certification to serve as a Marine judge advocate.
- After completing OCS and commissioning as an officer, law school students will return to law school to obtain your Juris Doctorate. You will have the opportunity to intern with Marine judge advocates in the Fleet Marine Force during the summer time, as well as during the pre-and-post-bar timeframes. Upon bar certification, you will report to TBS and then to NJS.
To apply, you must meet these criteria:
- US citizenship (dual citizenship is acceptable)
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university
- Currently attending or graduated from an ABA-accredited law school
- 22+ on the ACT or 1000+ on the SAT
- 2.0+ undergraduate GPA
- 150+ on the LSAT (waiverable for exceptional applicants)
- Age 28 and under (waiverable up to 33 in most cases)
- Physically fit with no major health issues
Additional information:
Judge Advocate Division is much like a large firm, composed of more than 400 judge advocates and a comparable support staff. While you will most likely serve as a trial counsel (prosecutor) or defense counsel in military courts-martial during your first tour, you will also have the opportunity during your career to practice law as a Staff Judge Advocate (in-house counsel) in areas as diverse as: operational law, family law, environmental law, fiscal law, labor law, cyber law, and international law. Additionally, you may serve as an instructor or argue appellate cases before the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals or the United States Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces. As a Marine Corps judge advocate, you will be able to rotate your legal practice every couple of years.
In addition to substantive hands-on legal experience, you may have the opportunity to obtain a Master of Laws Degree at the government’s expense. Additionally, you will be able to attend training courses conducted by professional legal institutions throughout the country. The Marine Corps sends more than a third of its judge advocates to courses like these every year.
Marine judge advocates rotate geographic locations every 3-5 years and serve all over the world in places to include: California, Virginia, Washington D.C., North and South Carolina, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Maryland, Japan, Korea, and Germany.
Have questions? Want to learn more? Just click “Apply” and our team will be in touch.