Marine Officer - Marine Corps Judge Advocate

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Capt Bart Slabbekorn

LtCol Eugene Robinson

Capt Rico Acosta

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<img style="float: none;" src="http://assets.marines.com/assetmgr/image/disp/inline/size/460x259/id/256981" alt="Marine Corps Judge Advocate" /><h2>Marine Corps Law</h2>My name is First Lieutenant Greg Curly. I am a Judge Advocate in the Marine Corps. It's a 4402. I sought a commission in the Marin Corps because I felt that there would be no other way to gain that sort of experience and leadership through a regular civilian law, uh, position. As a civilian lawyer your first couple of years are spent in a law firm. Here, they're spent in a courtroom. Here, they're spent leading young Marines. 19:12 Since I was looking at working in the private industry and just sort of working for whatever client hired you on whatever case that they might be paying you for... When you work for the Marine Corps you are working for something bigger than yourself. The experience that you'll get as a First Tour Judge Advocate in the Marine Corps is huge. Trial experience, running your own cases, dealing with clients. Uhm, that's just something that doesn't happen right away in the civilian world. There's a yearlong training pipeline starting with OCS, TBS, and then on the law track, Naval Justice School, NJS; I feel like they've prepared me well to do what I'm doing now. 49:01 There's a great community. There's a lot of help available if you need that. But you are expected to be ready to take the mantle and provide these Marines with competent legal service. 59:16 As a judge advocate I learned about putting a case together from start to finish. I learned about long hours. I learned about how important it is to protect the rights of victims. I learned how important it is to stay true to yourself. I learned about moral courage and doing the right thing, even when it's incredibly hard. 01:14:15 It was just kind of amazing how people at our age, two or three years out of law school, uhm, are playing such an important role in something with such gravity. You could be advising a colonel, to an infantry battalion. You could be playing the role in civil affairs to rebuild a government. Just incredible responsibilities. 01:31:22 Becoming a battalion judge advocate with an infantry unit means you're out there with the Marines on the ground advising them on operational law, uh, rules of engagement in real time and providing commanders with the legal advice that they need to accomplish their mission. 01:43:20 I, I derive a certain sense of pride from being a Marine Corps Judge Advocate. My job--and we rotate through many jobs--but my job is either helping out Marines that truly need our service or making the Marine Corps a stronger place. And to me there is no higher calling than that. <hr /><h2>Advanced Opportunities in Marine Law</h2>My name is Captain Rico Acosta. I'm, uh, the Senior Defense Counsel at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. When I first arrived at Marine Corps Air station Miramar, I was a Legal Assistance Attorney. That was a really rewarding position 'cause I really got to help Marines with real problems: family law issues, consumer law issues, when they were deploying, wills and estate planning issues. About 18 months after that, I came over to the defense shop, and I've been, uh, Defense Counsel since. Now I'm, uh, scheduled to come to Camp Pendleton, where I'll be, uh, Battalion Staff Judge Advocate, uh, for deploying infantry battalion. 00:33 To become a Staff Judge Advocate in the Marine Corps, uh, it takes obviously time, uh, education, experience. A Staff Judge Advocate is the, is the principal or the primary legal advisor to a commander. If you were in a deployment environment obviously, law of war or rules of engagement are going to be the, uh, the center of the things that you do. But you also have the other collateral judge advocate responsibilities of advising them on military justice issues, disciplinary issues, uh, and, and things of that, that nature. 01:01 I'm the Deputy Chief Judge of the Navy Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. The primary difference between the role of a military judge and a civilian judge is the fact that civilian judges have jurisdiction pretty much 24-seven, whereas a military judge has jurisdiction over the specific cases that are referred for trial by convening authorities or, or commanders. 01:26 Currently I'm the Regional Defense Counsel for the western region. In that capacity I supervise all Marine Defense Counsel on the West Coast at all, any of our bases and stations, and any Marines, we would represent any Marines throughout the Western United States. It's a great opportunity to be able to interact with young, new judge advocates, to help mentor them, help improve their practice of law. I get to observe them, give them feedback. I really believe that, uh, that how we learned to practice law is by teaching each other. If those of us who are a little more experienced don't pass on that knowledge and teach the junior counsel, we're not doing our job I don't think, uh, because some day they're going to be the RDC for the Western Region. 02:12 As a judge advocate and as a military judge, you're going to be presiding over cases that draw a lot of media attention potentially. It's important that you stay neutral. It's important that you don't get distracted by the media or outside influences and that you preside over cases and you handle cases in a fair and impartial way. 02:28 I think it's important to start off with a broad base of different legal experiences, but eventually you have to start finding your niche, and, and focusing your career in that area of law, so you are the subject matter expert, and they know they have the duty expert when they're, when they're needing an answer in your particular field. 02:45 Many of my friends from law school do have great jobs and exciting careers. But I'll be honest; I would not change my career. My job has given me incredible opportunities to advance, to work on interesting cases, to travel the world, to take my family on travels around the world, and it's been nothing short of fantastic. <hr /><h2>Ensuring Justice Prevails</h2>I'm the Deputy Chief Judge of the Navel Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. My career has been one where I served in roles as a Legal Assistance Officer, a prosecutor, a defense attorney. Subsequently, I served, uh, again as a defense counsel, uh, a prosecutor for a number of years as a civil litigation attorney at JAG Headquarters, and then as an environmental counsel before becoming a Military Judge. Of course going into my first assignment I was a bit nervous, going into the assignment as a Legal Assistance Officer because you had the opportunity to assist not only Marines who needed help with various legal issues, but also retired Marines as well as their dependents, uh, who were in need of, uh, some type of legal assistance. The key experiences that I faced throughout my career that led to my current position as a Military Judge were my assignments as a prosecutor, which we refer to as a trial counsel in the Military Justice System and my experiences as a defense counsel in various locations throughout the Marine Corps. As I matured in the Marine Corps I realized that that was a pretty significant position to hold, one which actually had a lot of ability to impact young counsel and guide them throughout their careers in the Marine Corps. <hr /><h2>Serving in Two Capacities</h2>I decided to become a Marine lawyer because I thought I could serve in two capacities. One, serve Marines and Commanders as a lawyer but also have that overarching service to the country as a Marine. Currently I'm the Regional Defense Counselor for the Western Region. And in that capacity I supervise all Marine defense counsel on the West Coast and at any of our bases and stations. It's a great opportunity to be able to interact with young, new Judge Advocates to help mentor them when I can, help improve their practice of law, I get to observe them give them feedback. And I really believe that that how we learn to practice law is by teaching each other, to a large extent. And if those of us who are a little more experienced don't pass on that knowledge and teach the Junior Counsel we're not doing our job, I don't think. Umm because someday they're going to be the RDC for the Western Region and hopefully we have we've given them some good guidance and some good tips on how to approach this job and this career and particularly this field, as a Marine Judge Advocate. In the end it's about serving each other and being part of this really special organization and the honor to, to lead them. Just like I have the honor right now to lead a small group of lawyers. It's very, very rewarding and getting your Commission is the first step towards experiencing that reward and getting those those benefits for being part of this organization. <hr /><h2>Providing Legal Aid in Iraq</h2>Slabbekorn2MOSJudgeAdvocate :59 Capt Bart Slabbekorn: One of the most important, if not "the" most important mission that we have as Judge Advocates is to provide legal assistance, because that allows the Marine to focus on his mission, allows him to focus on staying safe in the combat zone so that he doesn't have to worry about getting divorced. He doesn't have to worry about getting sued. He doesn't have to worry about filing his taxes. The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force went to Iraq last January and I went with them and we were there to make sure that all the operations went off without a hitch and to provide legal advice and legal counsel to all the commanders and the Marines that were there with the MAGTF. We flew all over Iraq to have hearings in conference rooms, in you know, SWA huts and whatever else we could find, trying to get to the Marines that needed legal assistance, missions, a divorce issue or a commercial law issue that you have to help him deal with. We made sure that we got out there to them so that we could support the effort, the war fighting effort. <hr />

To learn more from Judge Advocates LtCol Robinson and Capt Slabbekorn view their profiles under the Quality Citizens section.

Soon after becoming a Marine Corps Judge Advocate, you will be given the responsibilities of maintaining your own caseload and advising Marines on legal issues. Additionally, the training you receive as a Marine Corps Officer will prepare you to be a leader, both inside the courtroom and out. While most new, civilian attorneys are relegated to research duty on cases tried by others, you will be building your courtroom skills and acquiring extensive legal experience in a shorter time frame. As a prosecutor or defense counsel, you will be responsible for assembling, preparing and litigating cases while working closely with internal law enforcement organizations, such as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Opportunities for Marine Corps Judge Advocates are detailed in the first video above, entitled MARINE CORPS LAW. The three most common areas of practice for first-term judge advocates include the following:

Criminal Litigation: Soon after becoming judge advocates, Marine Officers begin managing their own cases as prosecutors or defense counsel, and they are relied upon by commanders to provide advice on appropriate courses of action throughout the duration of criminal proceedings.
Operational and International Law: Judge advocates in this area of law have many responsibilities, including educating Marines and sailors on the requirements of international treaties and agreements that comprise the Law of Armed Conflict. In time of war, judge advocates deploy with operational units and provide essential legal services to commanders, deployed Marines and other service members. They also advise commanders on matters such as the rules of engagement, Law of War and detention operations.
Civil Law: Judge advocates are also responsible for helping Marines with their civil legal needs. Judge advocates assist Marines with legal matters involving estate planning, immigration and naturalization law, family law, landlord-tenant law, state and federal income tax and consumer protection. Judge advocates also assist with the Marine Corps’ multi-billion dollar procurement of technologies and supplies and help represent the interests of the United States across a broad range of tort issues.

Pathways To a Calling
There is a distinct pride that comes with becoming, as well as being, an officer of Marines. As a Marine Corps Judge Advocate, you will develop and hone leadership skills that have been tried and proven in every conflict—and every courtroom—our nation has seen. The path to becoming a Marine Officer begins at OCS, and the journey is intentionally rigorous, designed to test and evaluate your leadership skills, academic abilities and physical fitness. The paths for beginning this challenging and rewarding journey are the Platoon Leaders Class-Law, the Platoon Leaders Class-Law and the Officer Candidate Course-Law.

PLC-Law
To be eligible for PLC-Law, an applicant must be a college senior who has been accepted into an ABA-accredited law school or must already be in the first or second year of law school. To learn more, click here and download the PLC-Law Pathway PDF.
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OCC-Law
Applicants who have already graduated from law school and have received their license to practice law are eligible to seek a commission through the OCC-Law program. To learn more, click here and download the OCC-Law Pathway PDF.

Beyond Your First Tour

In the Marine Corps, there are many types of cases, many types of courtrooms and many opportunities for advancement as a Marine Corps Judge Advocate. Throughout your career, you will earn the opportunity to take advantage of advanced billets and advanced educational opportunities that can enhance the development of your legal skills. As a Marine Corps Judge Advocate, there are many ways to turn your calling into a career.

Find out about these opportunities by watching the second video above, entitled ADVANCED OPPORTUNITIES IN MARINE LAW. Opportunities available after your first tour as a judge advocate include:

Staff Judge Advocate (SJA): Staff Judge Advocates provide legal counsel and special assistance to commanders. As an SJA, you would act as the chief legal advisor to commanding officers of operational units, Marine Corps bases or stations, or any of the wide range of commands that support the mission of the Marine Corps.
Officer-in-Charge of a Legal Services Support Section (LSSS): Judge advocates in this role oversee the LSSSs at major Marine Corps bases and stations. Their duties include supervising other judge advocates and support staff, while assisting counsel with their cases.
Military Judges: Judge advocates may become military judges, serving on the bench in court-martial proceedings.
Appellate Counsel: Judge advocates may become appellate counsel, arguing cases before the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals or the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Advanced Law Study

The Marine Corps fosters a culture of continuous learning. Once you earn your commission as a Marine Officer and have begun your career as a Marine Corps Judge Advocate, you will be eligible to continue your formal education through several advanced educational opportunities. The Marine Corps will help you reach your educational goals through several fully funded and self-funded educational opportunities. To learn more about these opportunities, download the PDF here.

Marines. The Few. The Proud.

Marine Corps Judge Advocate

Related Pages

Beyond Your First Tour

Advanced Law Study