
Externship Programs in Legal Education
Discover the details and terminology rules of externship programs in legal education as set by the ABA. Learn about the components of externships, finding opportunities, applying successfully, and the length and location considerations. Get insights into how to ensure site and supervisor approval for a rewarding externship experience.
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Presentation Transcript
Externship Program Information Session
Details & Terminology Rules Externship program setup per ABA Website Website https://www.law.uw.edu/academics/experiential https://www.law.uw.edu/academics/experiential- - learning/externship learning/externship Externship Internship Clerkship Terms used differently by various organizations. UW law uses the term externship to refer to unpaid, outside legal experience for credit.
Components of externship Host Site/Supervisor Attorney or Judge offering supervised legal experience Student Established learning objectives determined with site supervisor Academic Credit UW Law Seminar - Faculty supervision ensuring a learning environment during externship
Finding an Externship Students are responsible to find and secure externships. Students are responsible to find and secure externships. Please Visit: List of potential sites on the Externship website Student Public Service Experiences Student Career Services (SCS) Online Public Service Jobs Directory (PSJD) https://www.psjd.org Internet research - there are many opportunities for externships. ***NOTE: ***NOTE: Externship sites and supervisors must be approved before a student can register. All sites must provide an externship supervisor admitted to practice law for at least 3 years (a judge or attorney).
There are many options! There are many options! You will want to research. Each site will vary regarding application requirements. Information form required for all potential new externship sites. Confirm site and supervisor approval by emailing extern@uw.edu
Applying for an Externship Finding an externship site is like applying for a job. 1. Find externship site 2. 2. Confirm they are approved (or can be approved) by the law Confirm they are approved (or can be approved) by the law school school 3. Confirm offer to extern at site When registration opens (quarter prior to quarter you want to extern) 1. Email extern@uw.edu 2. Complete registration documents and send to extern@uw.edu ***NOTE: ***NOTE: Be aware of different deadlines. You will need to complete process with externship site and get approval for the site well you need to register at the law school. well before
Length & Location of Externship Except for, for-profit externships, you can do an externship at one location for more than 1 quarter. ***Note however, that after 1 quarter, you must show new learning objectives new learning objectives for subsequent quarters. Even if you stay at the same location, the full registration process is required for each subsequent quarter. For-profit externships are limited Must be local In-house counsel or small firm of 10 attorneys or less Limited to 1 quarter. May not repeat an externship at a for profit location Limited to min of 4 max of 6 credits.
Financial Considerations Tuition. If you enroll in an externship to receive credit, there will be tuition costs Tuition Dashboard: https://www.washington.edu/opb/tuition-fees/current- tuition-and-fees-dashboards/graduate-tuition-dashboard/ Funding sources Financial aid Scholarships, grants Public Interest Law Association (PILA) etc. Compensation As of February 2024, externships with UW law may be compensated. Not all sites pay externs (and many do not) Some offer stipends
Academic Considerations Externships must be a minimum of 60 hours = 2 credits 30 hours of field work per credit Experiential Coursework 9 credit requirement can be satisfied by an externship Public Service externships of 2+ credits satisfy the Public Service requirement for graduation Note: Public service and experiential can t overlap. Need 2 public service and 9 Experiential = 11 total in these areas. Limit of 18 credits for externship and non-law courses Externships and Seminar are credit/no credit (Keep in mind limits related to opportunity for Order of the Coif)
Required number of hours per credit. Credits2 Required hours3 Credits2 Required hours3 2 credits 60 hours 11 credits 330 hours 3 credits 90 hours 12 credits 360 hours 4 credits 120 hours 13 credits 390 hours 5 credits 150 hours 14 credits 420 hours 6 credits 180 hours 15 credits 450 hours 7 credits 210 hours 16 credits 480 hours 8 credits 240 hours 17 credits 510 hours 9 credits 270 hours 18 credits* 540 hours 10 credits 300 hours *Max # of credits toward JD 1. You may request a lower number of credits than your proposed hours warrant. When deciding the number of credits, please verify whether the externship/non-law & Order of the Coif credit caps apply. 2. B567, the externship seminar, is a separate 2-credit course, which is not included in the hourly requirement and does not count against the externship/non-law credit cap. 3. Hours are not rounded up and no partial credits are awarded. If you do not complete the required number of externship work hours for the number of enrolled credits, your credits will be reduced.
Other Considerations Types of externships Looking for public service hours? Seminar requirement Timing Rule 9 status after 2nd year Hours for externship min. of 60 hours 30 hours/credit Desired experience & Personal goals Schedule for the quarter Other coursework/Paid Job Clinic work no clinic & externship in the same quarter
Seminar Externships consist of 2 parts Outside learning experience Companion seminar (2 credit class) Concurrent seminar required for first time externs Seminars offered each quarter Section A seminar is in person for all externships that are in the Seattle area. Section B seminar is via zoom, an only if externship is not in Seattle area. NEITHER seminar is asynchronous. (keep in mind if externing in another time zone). Seminar is optional after first quarter of externship
Registration Email extern@uw.edu to register for externship Different from other classes Students do not self-register No add codes Deadlines are different Additional forms required Externship Program will notify Academic Services to register student for externship and applicable seminar
Scheduling Worksheet sample. Provided to help you determine the number of hours you will ultimately work (taking into account holidays or other days you may have off). A Scheduling worksheet is one of the items you will have to upload to canvas as part of the registration process.
Externship Scheduling Worksheet - SUMMER 2023 Student Name Externship credits requested for quarter (based on hours calculated below) Complete ALL elements of the table to confirm your hours planned for the quarter In preparing your schedule, please note any anticipated absences (vacations, etc.), in addition to holidays and other reasons for office closure. Quarter week Week starting Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Total hours Fill in regular schedule and daily total hours below Example: Start - end Start - end Start - end Start - end Start - end 8:30am - 4:30pm (30 min) lunch break lunch break lunch break lunch break lunch break 7.5 0 Fill in daily total hours on schedule below 1 19-Jun 0 2 26-Jun 0 3 3-Jul 0 4 10-Jul 0 5 17-Jul 0 6 24-Jul 0 7 31-Jul 0 8 7-Aug 0 9 14-Aug 0 Total Hours 0 First day of instruction Last day of instruction UW Holiday
Important Dates Plan Ahead Plan Ahead Beginning Beginning of quarter preceding the one where you wish to extern (or earlier): Confirm host site approval by emailing extern@uw.edu Apply at host site and confirm offer for externship Mid-way through quarter preceding externship, registration process will open at law school. Manage necessary forms early so that you have the needed signature from your host site supervisor. ***Spring quarter materials due ***Spring quarter materials due MARCH 4 MARCH 4th th *** *** Period during which student may work for hours to count toward externship: Between first and last day of quarter
Externship Program Carolyn Kennedy Carolyn Kennedy Program Manager extern@uw.edu Jessica West Jessica West Seminar instructor Section A (in person) jwest2@uw.edu Adam Eisenberg Adam Eisenberg Seminar instructor Section B (via Zoom) eisena@uw.edu