Mitchell Hamline students Peter Cuderman and Joe McGrath recently graduated from the Marine Corps Officer Candidates School, putting them on the path for future assignments in the Judge Advocate General Corps. As part of the military’s legal branch, JAG officers serve a number of roles in military law and justice, including prosecution and defense and advising military officials on legal matters.
On Aug. 6, 2016, following their completion of the 10-week Platoon Leaders Course, Cuderman and McGrath were commissioned as Marine second lieutenants. Once they graduate from Mitchell Hamline and pass the bar exam, the two will report to The Basic School in Quantico, Va., then attend Naval Justice School in Newport, R.I., before being officially assigned to active duty status as JAG officers.
McGrath, a 3L at Mitchell Hamline, grew up in St. Paul, Minn., and joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 2013. McGrath is a member of the school’s Veterans Assistance Organization, Criminal Law Society, and an issue editor of the Mitchell Hamline Law Review. During the summer of 2015, he clerked for Judge Renee Worke ’83 of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. McGrath expects to graduate from Mitchell Hamline in the spring of 2017.
McGrath says Mitchell Hamline is preparing him to hit the ground running as a Marine judge advocate.
“As soon as Marine judge advocates hit the fleet, they are responsible for assembling, preparing and litigating their own caseloads, and they are relied upon by commanders to provide advice on appropriate courses of action throughout the duration of proceedings,” McGrath said. “Mitchell Hamline’s practical application and skills-based courses prepare future judge advocates for these responsibilities.”
Cuderman was born in Duluth, Minn., and moved to Florida at a young age. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in June 2015. He’s a part of the first cohort of students in Mitchell Hamline’s Hybrid Program, in which students complete their degree both on-campus and online, and he expects to graduate in the spring of 2018.
Cuderman said Mitchell Hamline’s Hybrid Program is flexible enough to allow him to earn his J.D., and grow professionally and personally, while serving in the military.
“Serving as a Marine Corps Officer has always been a dream of mine,” Cuderman said. “The practical education that I am getting throughout each semester is going to allow me to be effective as an attorney on day one.”