Could you tell me some of the steps I would have to go through in order to work through the military and possibly some benefits to doing so (in your mind). Any help or advice you could give me would be very helpful.



To start, there are three ways that you could work for the military as an attorney. First, during your law school summers, the Navy (and what I say about Navy applies to all the services except the Marines, as they use Navy JAGs for the most part) runs a summer intern program that competes with the intern programs run by civilian law firms.

You can work for the Navy over the summer as an intern and get a competitive salary and great experience. Then, after law school, you can apply for a commission as a JAG officer and become a member of the Navy, or you can apply for a civilian attorney job with the Navy.

Search for more information about the Navy's legal career program. As a JAG officer, I can tell you that it is a fascinating career. No, you will not be flying airplanes and saving the free world in 50 minutes like LtCdr Harm Rabb does on the TV show, but you will have a variety of legal assignments -- criminal law, both prosecution and defense at courts-martial and civilian federal magistrate and district court; admin law, including contracts, administrative actions against sailors; legal assistance, including wills, powers of attorney, debtor-creditor, and landlord-tenant disputes; and claims, both for and against the US.

You will do this in a variety of locations, some exotic, and some boring. You may be on land or on a ship. You change duties every couple of years so you don't get stale, and you become well-rounded. You also see promotions, 30 days paid leave per year, unlimited sick leave, annual pay raises, and good benefits -- and poor housing on post. Overall, it is a great way to start out, and if you stay, it is a rewarding career. You will also be given the opportunity to get an L.L.M. degree, and you will be given extra money to help pay student loans for your schooling.

I hope that will help. I also will highly recommend getting good grades in college, keep up your GAP, take the LSAT and do well, and get into a good law school. Find one that offers activities beyond classroom - including mock trials and workshops. Take some criminal law electives, some administrative law, and some international law. Do that, and you will be well prepared for an exciting time in the services, be it three years or thirty.