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Becoming an Army lawyer is highly competitive, with less than 25% of applicants accepted. Candidates must complete legal and military training, including a 12-week course in military law. While military pay is lower than civilian firms, JAG lawyers have the opportunity to serve their country and participate in important cases.
Army lawyers, who are commissioned officers of the JG Bar Corps, are members of the so-called oldest law firm in the United States. The competition to join this elite organization is high. Enrollment is limited to a select few young men and women who have completed their legal academic training and passed the bar exam and have also completed basic military training and officer training. Like the legal branches of other services, the Army JAG Corps is very selective, accepting less than 25% of all applicants. Therefore, it is much more difficult to become an Army lawyer than it is to join most civilian companies.
Most who want to become Army attorneys apply to the Army’s JAG during their final year of law school, as they would at any civilian law firm. Some applicants, however, already have civil law experience, and a select few have graduated from one of the service academies and been approved for law degrees; that is, a West Point grad can become an army attorney.
Upon acceptance into the JAG Corps, candidates must successfully complete basic military training, followed by officer training, after which they take a 12-week course in military law, with a strong emphasis on the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) & emdash; the code of law that governs all aspects of the US military & emdash; at the Army-accredited law school in Virginia.
Military pay is generally not an incentive to become an Army attorney. First-class graduates of top-notch law schools can often count on high starting annual salaries when they join top-tier civil law firms. Compensation in the military is based on rank, however, and a brand new Army attorney receives a captain’s commission. With subsidies, then, JAG captains can earn about one-third to one-half of what they could earn in a private company. However, they can expect promotions in rank and the pay increases that come with them, in addition to a host of other benefits that come with a military career.
In addition, JAG lawyers have the opportunity to serve their country and participate in important cases. While many civilian attorneys begin their careers researching and assisting senior attorneys, Army attorneys often immediately begin providing real-life legal assistance to service members and their families and participate in court martials as prosecutors or defense attorneys. In these roles, your expertise in military law, as well as a variety of civil legal matters, is constantly in demand. JAG attorneys also advise commanders at all levels on a wide variety of military, civil and international legal matters, including rules of engagement and operational matters. Field combat commanders frequently consult with JAG lawyers, planning operations in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.
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