MCO 5800.16 - Marine Corps Manual for Legal Administration (LSAM)

Scope

MCO 5800.16 with changes 1 through 7 is the Legal Support and Administration Manual, short title LSAM, the Marine Corps legal services authority issued by CMC through the Judge Advocate Division. The manual publishes as 17 volumes, each signed and revised independently, so the LSAM behaves as a family of orders under one number. Each volume carries its own citation entry in this registry, and volume-qualified references resolve to the volume, not to this page. This entry is the umbrella for the set and the landing point for bare MCO 5800.16 citations.

Audience

• Commanders exercising NJP, convening authority, and administrative separation powers.
• Legal clerks and S-1 personnel preparing the Unit Punishment Book and legal packets.
• Judge advocates, legal services specialists, and victims' legal counsel.
• Leaders navigating discipline documentation with the IRAM alongside.

Volume directory

• Volume 1. Legal Support Within the Marine Corps
• Volume 2. Oversight of the Marine Corps Legal Community
• Volume 3. Marine Corps Defense Services Organization
• Volume 4. Marine Corps Victims' Legal Counsel Organization
• Volume 5. Marine Corps Legal Assistance Program
• Volume 6. International and Operational Law
• Volume 7. Ethics
• Volume 8. Gifts to the Marine Corps, Civil Litigation, and Claims
• Volume 9. Dependent Support and Paternity
• Volume 10. Indebtedness
• Volume 11. Administrative Separations and Investigations
• Volume 12. Command Responsibilities in the Provision of Legal Services
• Volume 13. Compliance with Criminal Court Orders Overseas
• Volume 14. Enlisted Nonjudicial Punishment and the Unit Punishment Book
• Volume 15. Officer Misconduct and Substandard Performance of Duty
• Volume 16. Military Justice
• Volume 17. Judge Advocate Division Awards Program

Where common questions land

• Enlisted NJP and the UPB, Volume 14. Officer misconduct, Volume 15.
• Courts-martial and the Victim and Witness Assistance Program, Volume 16.
• Administrative separations and command investigations, Volume 11 with Volume 1.
• Wills, powers of attorney, and family law help, Volume 5.
• Dependent support complaints, Volume 9. Creditor complaints, Volume 10.

Access

No public URL covers the full set. The externalUrl points at the combined marines.mil PDF. Pull current volumes from the MCPEL or the unit legal reference library.

Connection to higher policy

• UCMJ, 10 USC Chapter 47, and the Manual for Courts-Martial. The military justice framework the LSAM administers.
• JAGINST 5800.7 JAGMAN. The Navy JAG manual the investigation volumes work beside.

Connection to Marine Corps doctrine and lower policy

• MCO 5000.14D MCAP Enclosure 3. The commander discipline responsibilities the LSAM supports.
• MCO P1070.12 IRAM. NJP and UPB record entries cross-reference between the two manuals.
• MCO 1900.16 MARCORSEPMAN. Separation execution downstream of Volume 11.

Status

Active with changes 1 through 7. Volumes signed individually between 2018-02-20 and 2021-08-26, the set replaced the LEGADMINMAN, MCO P5800.16A. Cite the volume, not the parent, wherever the reference names one. Confirm the volume's own sign date and change level before relying on a paragraph.