How to Become a Navy Lawyer

Navy lawyers serve as members of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. The military attorneys work with criminal, national, international, environmental and maritime law. Upon completion of focused training, as a Navy attorney you will work out of a Naval Legal Service Office or a Trial Service Office. The competition to be accepted into the JAG Corps is fierce. In fact, only about 20 percent of the people who apply to become a Navy lawyer are accepted into the program.

Instructions

1. Insure that you meet eligibility requirements. Provide documentation such as a valid driver's license, birth certificate or passport to prove that you are a citizen of the United States. Throughout your Naval career, make sure that you exhibit good moral character. Apply to be commissioned as a Naval attorney at least one year prior to your 42nd birthday.

2. Enroll in an accredited four-year college or university that has a solid law department such as Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Duke or Emory. In order to increase your chances of being accepted into the Navy JAG Corps, focus on your coursework, earn high scores on exams and maintain a strong grade point average.

3. Register to attend one of the approximately 195 American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law schools. Complete the three-year curriculum. Consider attending law school part-time or during the night if you work during the daytime. After you finish law school, contact the Law School Admission Council at 215-968-1001 to schedule to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).

4. Contact the state bar in the jurisdiction where you want to become licensed. Inquire about the specific licensing requirements. Most states require lawyers to pass a written bar examination as well as a written ethics examination before a license is granted. Check with your state bar to confirm whether you will need to complete the 6-hour Multi-State Bar Exam (MBE) or the 3-hour Multi-State Essay (MEE) Exam. Before you apply to become a Navy lawyer you must have already graduated from an accredited American Bar Association law school and be licensed by the highest court of a state or federal court.

5. Complete the JAG Corps Preliminary Employment Application (see Resources). Supply your name, mailing and email addresses and telephone number. Provide your military service dates and duty station locations. Also include your educational history, including postsecondary training, civilian employment history, positions held and the reason that you left each company.

6. Contact the JAG Corps at 1322 Patterson Avenue, Washington, DC 20374-5066 to get a list of current active duty senior appraisers. You must complete a face-to-face interview with a senior JAG Corps appraiser. Bring a copy of your JAG Corps employment application with you to the interview.

7. Participate in physical fitness tests (see Resources), including performing aerobic exercises, sit-ups and push-ups. Medical conditions such as having missing limbs, a single kidney, diabetes or experiencing seizures will disqualify you from becoming a Navy lawyer. You must have less than 24 percent of body fat if you are a man and less than 35 percent of body fat if you are a woman. After you pass your interviews and examinations and have your application reviewed by a JAG review board, a member of the board will contact you to notify you as to whether you were accepted into the corps. This process can take as much as eight weeks.

8. Attend the six-week Officer Development School indoctrination course located at 291 Kollmeyer Street in Newport, Rhode Island, after you are accepted into the program by the JAG Corps review board. While at the development school, complete the academic curriculum and physical fitness regime, and study Navy rank, leadership standards and branch-wide policies and procedures.

9. Accept orders and travel to one of the three official Navy Justice schools located in Newport, Rhode Island; San Diego, California; or Norfolk, Virginia. Complete intensive courses that focus on military justice, getting evidence, preparing legal documents, administrative law and application and disciplinary programs over the course of the nine-week training program.

Resources

• JAG employment application
• Medical requirements
• Physical fitness standards test
• Body fat index
• Navy Justice School