LEARN TO LEAD AS A MARINE OFFICER. FIGHT TO WIN AS A JUDGE ADVOCATE.
Marine Judge Advocates are attorneys responsible for upholding the law and core values of the Marine Corps. They are Marine Officers first and attorneys second.
HOW ARE MARINE JUDGE ADVOCATES DIFFERENT?
Serving as a Marine Judge Advocate is different from being a private attorney or an attorney in another service. Unlike private sector attorneys, Marine Judge Advocates take responsibility for caseloads immediately in their first tour. With the assistance of supervisory Judge Advocate mentors, new attorneys immediately begin practicing law in the fields of criminal litigation, institutional compliance, government ethics, administrative law and operational law.
Marine Judge Advocates are unrestricted officers, meaning they can serve in various positions open to Marine Officers in other occupational fields, for example, serving as an operations officer, executive officer, or Commanding Officer.
WHY SERVE AS A MARINE JUDGE ADVOCATE
Advantages to serving as a Marine Judge Advocate include the privilege of leading Marines and the ability to advance your knowledge and expertise through criminal litigation experience across diverse legal portfolios early in your law career. Very few lawyers in the private sector get exposure to such variety and hands-on experience so early in their careers. In addition to hands-on legal experience, the Marine Corps offers opportunities for Judge Advocates to deepen their expertise by obtaining a Master of Laws Degree (LLM) and attending training courses at professional legal institutions throughout the United States. More than one third of our Judge Advocates attend these courses each year.
Those pursuing service as Marine Judge Advocates must first meet the basic commissioning requirements for Marine Officers, which include:
- US citizenship
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited university
- 22+ on the ACT or 1000+ on the SAT
- 2.0+ undergraduate GPA
- Age 40 and under with waivers
- Physically fit with no major health issues
Additional requirements for law candidates include:
- 150+ on the LSAT (waiverable for exceptional applicants)
- Currently attending or graduated from an ABA-accredited law school
- Bar Certified - any state
