Website: Where Will Your Legal Education Take You?: Judge Advocate for the U.S. Military

Judge Advocate for the U.S Military

Graphic by Alondra Pulido

Judge advocates are responsible for representing soldiers during courts-martial, though their work may involve a variety of legal specialties, including criminal law, civil litigation, labor law, administrative law, international law, medical law, operational law, and contract law. Judge advocates in the U.S. Army must serve either on active duty (serving in the Army 24/7, typically for two to six years), or as part of the United States Army Reserve (serving part-time).

Judge advocates may serve in any of the five branches of the United States Military: the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. As members of the United States Military, judge advocates are subjected to rigorous training. The first training phase for judge advocates in the Army is the Direct Commissioned Course (DCC), where prospective judge advocates learn leadership skills and military tactics over the course of six weeks. The second training phase is the Charlottesville Phase, where prospective judge advocates receive an overview of U.S. military law at the University of Virginia campus.

One requirement of judge advocates is that they must be able to serve 20 years of active commissioned service before they are 62 years old, meaning that applicants must be under 42 when they enter into active service. Interested law students may apply during their last fall semester of law school, and should have excellent leadership qualities in addition to an excellent academic record. If selected, judge advocate applicants are subject to a four-year active duty service obligation (ADSO).