US citizens of good moral character, including law students, civilian attorneys, and Navy officers, can apply to become officers in the Navy’s judicial arm, the JAG Corps. The Navy offers several enrollment programs, and candidates must complete a competitive process. Law school applicants should strive for high grades and scores, and law school students can apply to become a Navy JAG officer while still studying. Licensed civilian attorneys under 42 can apply for the Direct Appointment Program, and active-duty Navy officers can participate in the Law Education Program.
Law students, civilian attorneys, and Navy officers who are U.S. citizens of good moral character can apply to become officers in the Navy’s judicial arm, known as the Judge Advocate General’s Corps or JAG Corps. The Navy offers several enrollment programs depending on the candidate’s status. A Judge Advocate is an officer who serves as a legal adviser and prosecutor in the JAG Corps under the direction of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. Those seeking to become a Navy JAG officer must complete a multi-step competitive process.
Individuals planning to apply to become a Navy JAG strive to earn a high grade point average and a class ranking while attending an American Bar Association-accredited law school. Law school applicants try to maintain high undergraduate grade point averages and earn competitive scores on the Law School Admissions Test. Law schools generally do not prefer a specific degree course over others. Only law school students, civilian attorneys, and active Navy officers can apply to become a Navy JAG.
Any civil law school student can apply to become a Navy JAG officer while still studying law. As a student program participant, the student is first commissioned into the inactive Navy Reserve and then appointed an active-duty JAG officer after completing law school, gaining admission to a bar association, and completing Navy Officer Development School in Newport, Rhode Island. Officer development school is a five-week course and is followed by a ten-week barrister foundation course at the Naval Justice School. Law school students can also gain experience working as an unpaid JAG Corps summer intern.
Licensed civilian attorneys under age 42 who have been admitted to practice law before a Federal Court may apply for the Navy JAG Corps Direct Appointment Program. Direct appointment participants attend officer development school and must complete the ten-week barrister foundation course at the School of Naval Justice. After a direct appointment participant completes officer development school courses, he or she may become a Navy JAG officer.
An active-duty Navy officer who wants to become a Navy JAG can apply to participate in the Law Education Program if he is a college graduate who can serve 20 years of active duty before turning 62. These participants attend an ABA-accredited law school, earn a Juris Doctor degree, and may serve as career officers at JAG. Approximately seven Navy officers are accepted into the Legal Education Program annually. These participants remain on active duty while studying law.
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