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The Marine Corps is an elite organization rooted in history and tradition, that prides itself in molding young Americans into leaders and developing quality citizens to serve our nation for years to come. Marine Judge Advocates uniquely serve first and foremost as Officers capable of holding command, who go through the same evaluations and leadership development courses as all Officers in the Corps. 

 

All program participants undergo leadership evaluation at Officer Candidates School (OCS) before commissioning as Second Lieutenants, followed by the leadership academy known as The Basic School (TBS), where newly commissioned Lieutenants learn to lead Marines in professional and tactical environments. After completion of TBS, Judge Advocates attend the Naval Justice School (NJS), where they learn the fundamentals of military law, to include the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), criminal law and procedure, operational law, trial advocacy and administrative law. 

 

This career path is available to both law students and practicing attorneys through two distinct programs:

  • 3L Students and Licensed Attorneys: Officer Candidates Course-Law (OCC-L) provides you with an opportunity to start your career right away, provided you have attained bar certification; there are 3 courses per year.
  • 0L, 1L, and 2L Students: The Platoon Leaders Class-Law (PLC-L) program provides you with an opportunity to conduct the required (and paid) OCS training during the summer between academic years. Students partaking in this program have the unique advantage of commissioning immediately upon completion of OCS, accumulating pay and rank seniority while finishing school, receiving to tuition and bar preparation assistance, and gaining access to paid summer internships.

 

During their first tour of duty, Judge Advocates can expect to gain unmatched legal experience across multiple fields of law, to include trial counsel (prosecution), defense counsel, victim’s legal counsel, civil legal counsel, in-house counsel to, and more. Courtroom experience can be expected to be immediate and substantive, with the flexibility to choose a preferred learning field. 

 

Highlights and benefits of the program include:

  • Unmatched legal, courtroom, and leadership experience from day one.
  • Diverse legal portfolio, enabling you to springboard your legal career.
  • Competitive pay, benefits, and financial stability; to include a tax-free allowance to cover the cost of living, home loan benefits, educational benefits, and more.
  • Longevity benefits; to include Public Service Loan Forgiveness after 10 years, continuation pay bonuses, opportunities to obtain LLM degrees (paid by the government), a generous pension system, a 401k retirement system, and more.
  • Work-Life Balance; reasonable work tempo, paid extended weekends attached to federal holidays, and 30 days of paid vacation per year.

 

Before applying, ensure to meet the following minimum qualifications:

  • U.S. citizenship
  • LSAT score of 150+, and either a 1000+ SAT, 22+ ACT, or 74+ ASVAB score
  • Attending or graduated from an ABA-accredited law school
  • Physically active or willing to train to standards of a Marine Corps Officer
  • 35 years or younger (can be extended up to 42 for exceptionally qualified applicants)