The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School, also known as The JAG School or TJAGLCS, is a graduate-level division federal service academy located on the grounds of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. The center is accredited by the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

to award the

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

(LL.M.) degree in

Military Law Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...

. The center educates military, civilian, and international personnel in legal and leadership skills. The LL.M. curriculum includes courses in Administrative and Civil Law, Contract and Fiscal Law,

Criminal Law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

, and National Security Law. The school serves primarily as the U.S. Army's law school for the Officer Basic Course (OBC) for initial-entry Judge Advocates, and as the graduate program for Judge Advocates of all services branches. It is the only ABA-accredited law school that only awards an LL.M. and not a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree.

History

Despite a long record of service by Army Judge Advocates, it was not until the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

that efforts were made to provide Army attorneys with specialized military legal education. In February 1942, as uniformed lawyers' responsibilities increased in volume and complexity, specialized continuing legal education courses for Judge Advocates began in Washington, D.C. In August 1942, the school moved from Washington's

National University School of Law National University School of Law was an American law school founded in Washington, D.C. in 1869. Originally intended as part of a larger design for a national university in the United States, the school was the principal component of National Unive ...

to the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

, Michigan. Intended only as a temporary facility, it was deactivated in 1946 during the general demobilization following

. In October 1950, another temporary school was activated at

Fort Myer Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, t ...

, Virginia on land that is now a part of

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. After graduating six classes, it was decided a permanent school for Army lawyers should be established. The_JAG_School_at_UVA

In August 1951, the Army accepted an offer from the

to move the school there permanently. The Seventh Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course and First Judge Advocate Officer Advanced Course began in the fall of 1951. The University of Virginia was selected due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., and because it had the largest law library in the South at the time. The Judge Advocate General's School was initially located in Clark Hall, then behind Clark Hall in what is now called Kerchof Hall. In 1975, the JAG School relocated with the UVA's Law School to the university's North Grounds. Due to the close relationship between the Law School and JAG School, JAG students often share courses with UVA law students, and multiple UVA law professors serve as Army JAG officers. The building, and the adjacent law school building, were designed by Hugh Stubbins & Associates with Rawlings, Wilson, and Fraher. An addition to the building, designed by Bohlin, Powell, Larkin, and Cywinski in collaboration with Johnson, Craven, and Gibson, was completed in 1991.

Leadership

The Legal Center and School (LCS) is led by a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

who serves as the commander, a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

as the chief of staff, a

chief warrant officer Chief warrant officer is a military rank used by the United States Armed Forces, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Pakistan Air Force, the Israel Defense Forces, the South African National Defence Force, the Lebanese Armed Forces and, since 2012, th ...

who serves as the command chief warrant officer, and a

command sergeant major A command sergeant major (CSM) is a non-commissioned rank and position of office in the United States Army. The holder of this rank and position is the most senior enlisted member of a color-bearing Army unit (battalion or higher). The CSM is ap ...

who serves as the senior enlisted advisor for the LCS and also as the commandant of the Noncommissioned Officer Academy. The school is led by a

who serves as the dean, and the center is led by a

who serves as the legal center director. The school's four academic departments are led by

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

s. Faculty members are

s or

majors Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989)Majors in is an American actor. He rose to prominence after starring in the independent feature film ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). In 2020, he garnered wider notice for portraying ...

who are licensed attorneys and are members of the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. Each academic department has at least one faculty member who is a judge advocate in the

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

, or

marine corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. Prior to entry into the JAG School, all Army judge advocates must have graduated from an ABA-accredited law school and be admitted to practice law by the highest court of a state or federal district. While some judge advocates have prior enlisted or commissioned experience, most are direct commissioned and have no prior military training or experience. The JAG School is generally considered the most exclusive graduate

service academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

within the U.S. Federal Government. Acceptance into the Army JAG Corps and subsequent JAG School is considered "highly selective" with an acceptance rate ranging between 4-7%. In 2017, the Army JAG Corps accepted 200 out of 4,000 applicants. The JAG School has a long history of supplying attorneys into the military and federal government roles, particularly the federal judiciary. The initial entry training into the JAG Corps is composed of two phases, first a 6-week Direct Commission Course (DCC) at

Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees ...

followed by military legal training at the JAG School.

Master of Laws (LL.M.)

The Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course is the school's "flagship" course. Accredited by the

, the course prepares experienced military attorneys for supervisory duties and other positions of increased responsibility within their respective services. Students who successfully complete the course are awarded a

degree in

. Selection to attend the course is a permanent change of station assignment; students do not attend in a temporary duty status. Each class consists of attorneys from the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

, and

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

, as well as international military students and

civilian attorneys. International military students have come from Egypt, Israel, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other nations. All students are licensed attorneys who generally have five to eight years of experience. The Graduate Course covers a full resident academic year from mid-August to mid-May. The fall and spring semesters include core classes required of all students. In the second quarter of the fall semester and in the spring semester, students select from approximately fifty electives offered by the school's four academic departments: Administrative and Civil Law, Contract and Fiscal Law,

, and International and Operational Law. Students may specialize in one of the four academic areas in conjunction with the Master of Laws. To qualify for a specialty, a student must either write a

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

in the area of specialization, or earn at least ten elective credit hours and write an extensive paper in the area of specialization.

Other programs

In addition to the Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course that leads to the

degree, the school trains new Judge Advocates through the Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course (three courses are completed each year), provides

continuing legal education Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) or, in some jurisdictions outside the United States, as continuing professional development, consists of professional education for attorneys t ...

for Judge Advocates and other attorneys, and trains legal administrator

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant, or paralegal specialist is a professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with a license to practice law. The market for paralegals i ...

noncommissioned officers, and

court reporter A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine, thereby transforming the proceedings into an official certified transcript b ...

s. The school's Noncommissioned Officers Academy offers the Advanced Leaders Course and the Senior Leaders Course.

Notable alumni

References

External links

The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School
official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps United States military law United States Army education Law schools in Virginia University of Virginia 1942 establishments in Virginia Educational institutions established in 1942 Universities and colleges in Virginia