USMC Guaranteed JAG/LAW Program

To be eligible for PLC (Law) an applicant must be a senior in college who is accepted to a law school, or a 1L or 2L attending a ABA accredited law school. A participant in the program attends a ten week course during one summer at Officer Candidate School, Quantico, Virginia. After completing OCS they will receive a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and go onto inactive duty.

Following this training, the newly commissioned officer returns to law school to complete his legal education. During this period, he is promoted with his peers. During summer months, the individual may apply for active duty and be assigned to a Marine Corps base or unit and assume legal duties. Those selected for duty receive the pay and allowances of their rank, travel allowances, and per-diem based on the geographic area to which they are assigned. After law school graduation, the individual-must take the first scheduled bar exam. If they do not successfully pass the first exam, they will be permitted to take the next scheduled exam. If the second exam is not passed, the individual will be ordered to active duty for a period specified in the service agreement.

When the individual passes either exam and is sworn in before the bar of a federal court or the highest court of a state or district, they will be ordered to The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, and subsequently to the Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island. Following this training he will serve as a judge advocate in the Marine Corps.