November
23
Q&A: Joining the Military as a JAG with a degree from an online Law school?
Comments(3) | Undedr: Online Degrees
Question by devildogof2006: Joining the Military as a JAG with a degree from an online Law school?
I have completed my BA from American Military University in Marketing. I am interested in obtaining a degree in Law from Concord School of Law Online or William Taft Howard University Online. Will the Military accept me for joining as a JAG with a Law degree from these schools?
Best answer:
Answer by ET1 (SS) USN retired
Yes they will.
Add your own answer in the comments!
November 23rd, 2011 at 1:33 am
To be accepted into the JAG Corps you need to graduate from an ABA-approved law school. The schools you’ve listed aren’t approved by the ABA. To my knowledge, no online law programs are ABA-approved.
November 23rd, 2011 at 2:00 am
DO NOT do an online law degree!!!!! They are a rip-off and a waste of your time!!! If you want to be any kind of reputable lawyer – even one with the lowest acceptable reputation – you must, at the very least, go to an accredited law school. Do not – DO NOT – waste your time and money on an online law school. The JAG won’t take you, nor will you be eligible to sit for ANY bar exam, with the possible exception of California. You will not be able to practice law. You will have nothing but an expensive piece of paper when you’re done. You won’t even be able to call yourself a lawyer because you will not be able to get licensed.
November 23rd, 2011 at 2:26 am
The law school MUST be ABA-Accredited. Officer Staff Corps, JAG in particular, act like ‘Cigar & Brandy’ country clubs where professionals know each other within a network. There are only a few JAG lawyers in the entire military, a person with an online law degree would stick out faster than a new britney spears photo, so the strict ABA requirement actually does the applicant a favor. A bottom-ranked law school is fine. As long as it’s ABA, your good to go. If you can’t go to an ABA law school but still wish to earn an officer commission, your BA from AMU qualifies you for Officer Candidate School right now. Many JAGs move on to other different jobs anyway because it’s considered good to have a diverse career in order to get promoted. Even the Nurse Corps officers move on to do entirely different stuff that has nothing to do with being a nurse. Hope this helps, good luck!
Here’s a cut/paste from the goarmy.com site.
..a qualified candidate will:
Be mentally and physically fit
Be of good moral standing and character
Pass security clearance and citizenship requirements
Have graduated from an ABA-approved law school
Have been admitted to the bar of either a federal court or the highest court of any state in the United States or the District of Columbia
Applicants must be able to serve 20 years of active commissioned service before reaching the age of 62. Thus, for most applicants, the age requirement is be under the age of 42 at the time of entry onto active duty.