As a Legal Officer, your primary duty will be to practise law in the military milieu, which may include : Providing advice on international and domestic law or on operational legal issues and representing clients at Court Martial.

Legal Officers are commissioned members of the Legal Branch of the Canadian Forces, which is commanded by the Judge Advocate General (JAG). The JAG acts as legal adviser to the Governor General, the Minister of National Defence, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces in matters relating to military law, and has the superintendence of the administration of military justice in the Canadian Forces.

The Office of the JAG provides the military justice system with qualified personnel (military judges, prosecution and defence counsel). It also supplies Legal Officers to CF establishments across Canada and deployed missions overseas to deliver legal services in the fields of operational law, international law, training, military personnel law, and military justice.

As a Legal Officer, your primary duty will be to practise law in the military milieu, which may include any of the following tasks:

• Providing advice on international and domestic law to the commander of a deployed force
• Providing general legal advice and services to the commanding officer of a Canadian Forces Base
• Providing advice on operational legal issues at National Defence Headquarters
• Representing clients at Court Martial and appearing before the Court Martial Appeal Court
• Representing the interests of the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence as:
  • A member of a Canadian delegation negotiating international treaties
  • A member of the military liaison staff at an allied headquarters
• Delivering training on military law and military justice

You may also be posted to the Office of the Department of National Defence / Canadian Forces Legal Adviser, where you would work in fields such as legislative drafting, pensions, claims and administrative law. Later in your career, you could be appointed to the military bench, to serve in the independent Office of the Chief Military Judge.

You must have been admitted to the Bar of a Canadian province, and be a member in good standing of a provincial law society.

You must also meet Canadian Forces medical standards, and successfully complete a selection process that includes interviews and a wide range of examinations.

During your first appointment, you will be expected to complete Legal Officer Basic Training and Legal Officer Intermediate Training. At various times throughout your CF career, you will receive legal training both within and outside of the Branch. You may also be given the opportunity for postgraduate education.

As a Legal Officer, you will have to adapt thoroughly to your military environment if you are to give realistic advice. That means acquiring an intimate knowledge of military administration, and the level of responsibility you will encounter as a captain and junior major level is designed to accomplish this goal.

At the rank of Captain or Lieutenant (Navy), a Legal Officer could be posted to:

• A Directorate of Law in the Office of the JAG in Ottawa
• The office of an Assistant Judge Advocate General (AJAG) outside Ottawa

At the rank of Major or Lieutenant-Commander, a Legal Officer could be appointed to one of the following positions:

• Deputy Judge Advocate (DJA) at a field office that could be independent or co-located with an AJAG Office
• Deputy Director of a section in the Office of the JAG
• Prosecutor at Courts Martial with the Canadian Military Prosecution Service (CMPS)
• Defence counsel at Courts Martial with the Director of Defence Counsel Services (DDCS)
• As a student-at-law in a post-graduate degree program
• As a Special Assistant to the JAG
• Deployed on an operational mission as Legal Adviser to the contingent commander
• Seconded to the Department of Justice or the Department of External Affairs
• As a staff officer with the DND/CF Legal Adviser

At the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel or Commander, a Legal Officer could be appointed to one of the following positions:

• Assistant Judge Advocate General
• Director of Law in the Office of the JAG in Ottawa
• Military Judge, if appointed by Governor in Council
• Seconded to another organization or Department

At the rank of Colonel or Captain (Navy), a Legal Officer could be appointed to one of the following positions:

• Deputy Judge Advocate General/Chief of Staff
• Deputy Judge Advocate General/Operations
• Director, Military Prosecutions
• Deputy Judge Advocate/Human Resources
• Deputy Legal Advisor (Military)

All Legal Officers, except those filling senior positions within the Legal military occupation, may participate in military law training and provide aid to members of the Canadian Forces. As you gain experience in the Canadian Forces you will normally develop expertise in certain areas of the law.

A Legal Officer’s normal duties require little physical effort, but may involve periods of intense concentration and pressure, which can produce moderate to extreme mental and physical fatigue. When deployed on operations, you will encounter less-than-ideal conditions, and may find yourself living and working in austere circumstances. It is not unusual for a deployed Legal Officer to work long hours, seven days a week, and if you are in a high-threat area you will be subject to all the hazards that may befall second-line operational personnel. Appropriate training, environmental clothing and equipment are provided, and Legal Officers’ health, safety and morale are closely monitored.