Externship

Last updated

Externships are experiential learning opportunities, similar to internships, provided by partnerships between educational institutions and employers to give students practical experiences in their field of study. In medicine, it may refer to a visiting physician who is not part of the regular staff. In law, it usually refers to rigorous legal work opportunities undertaken by law students for law school credit, similar to that of a junior attorney. [1] It is derived from Latin externus and from English -ship .

Contents

The term externship has a first known use date of 1945 in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. [2]

Advantages

Externships are often viewed as job shadowing since externs are closely supervised by employee volunteers who agree to walk them through day-to-day routines at the company or organization. [3] They can be viewed as external studies which combine classroom knowledge with real-world experience. [4] This knowledge prepares students for the transition from school to career.

The experience obtained through externships allows students to apply their coursework learning to real-life settings, and to observe and ask questions within that context. [5] Externships may lead to opportunities after students complete their studies. They can help pre-graduates get their foot in the door for possible job openings or even make them better candidates for aggressive internship opportunities, and to allow externs to become familiar with new professions and job fields. Externships are also a source of networking contacts once a profession is chosen.

Externships are not only conducted for the benefit of the extern, but for the host as well. Both parties get a chance to observe one another. Successful externships could lead to recruitment possibilities which would be based on a thoroughly informed decision. [6]

Legal externships, like internships, can be taken for law school credit. Internships and externships offered by law schools accredited by the Council of the ABA Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar are called "law clinic" and "field placement" courses, respectively, by (Accreditation) Standard 304. Experiential Courses: Simulation Courses, Law Clinics, and Field Placements. Standards 304(b) and (c) address the Council's expectations for simulation courses in clinics/internships and placements/externships, respectively.

Standard 304(d) applies to field placements (externships), defining them as follows for purposes of law school accreditation: "A field placement course provides substantial lawyering experience that (1) is reasonably similar to the experience of a lawyer advising or representing a client or engaging in other lawyering tasks in a setting outside a law clinic under the supervision of a licensed attorney or an individual otherwise qualified to supervise..." [7]

Law schools accredited by state government agencies, such as the State Bar of California, in addition to or in place of the ABA Council, must comply with the accreditation standards of those agencies, in order to maintain those accreditations. In California's case, Rule 4.102 in Division 2. Accredited Law School Rules of Title 4. Admissions and Educational Standards provides: "A law school provisionally or fully approved by the American Bar Association is deemed accredited by the Committee [of Bar Examiners, of the State Bar of California] and exempt from these rules, unless the American Bar Association withdraws its approval." [8] (Inset added.) Other states that accredit law schools within their boundaries include Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Tennessee.

No university or free-standing law school allows students to receive academic credit in simulation, clinic (internship) or field placement (externship) courses for making coffee, taking inventory, or other tasks unrelated to practical experience to develop lawyering skills. Students can make the coffee if they wish - but the time they spend doing it cannot be counted as part of their experiental course time commitment. Neither can they receive academic credit for performing a paid job.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law school in the United States</span> School offering post-graduate education in law

A law school in the United States is an educational institution where students obtain a professional education in law after first obtaining an undergraduate degree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanford Law School</span> Law school of Stanford University, California, U.S

Stanford Law School (SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it has regularly ranked among the top three law schools in the United States by U.S. News & World Report since the magazine first published law school rankings in the 1980s, and has ranked second for most of the past decade. In 2021, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28%, the second-lowest of any law school in the country. Since 2019, Jennifer Martínez has served as its dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Bar Association</span> American association of lawyers

The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students; it is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation of model ethical codes related to the legal profession. As of fiscal year 2017, the ABA had 194,000 dues-paying members, constituting approximately 14.4% of American attorneys. In 1979, half of all lawyers in the U.S. were members of the ABA. The organization's national headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois, and it also maintains a significant branch office in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quinnipiac University School of Law</span> Law school in Connecticut, U.S.

Quinnipiac University School of Law is located in North Haven, Connecticut. It is one of Quinnipiac University's graduate schools. Quinnipiac Law is the newest law school in Connecticut, having received full accreditation from the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1992. It is a member of the Association of American Law Schools, and is currently ranked 147-192 by U.S. News & World Report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appalachian School of Law</span> Private law school in Grundy, Virginia

The Appalachian School of Law (ASL) is a private law school in Grundy, Virginia. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and offers a three-year Juris Doctor degree to approximately 128 full-time students. The school was founded in 1994 and admitted its first class of students in August 1997. ASL was started and brought to Buchanan County, Virginia as a tool of economic development for the region. ASL emphasizes professional responsibility and alternative dispute resolution in its curriculum and requires students to complete 25 hours of community service per semester in order to graduate. Each student is also required to complete an externship before graduation. According to ASL's 2021 ABA-required disclosures, 31% of the Class of 2020 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. ASL was also the site of a triple homicide that took place on January 16, 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whittier Law School</span> Former law school in Costa Mesa, California

Whittier Law School was a law school in Costa Mesa, California founded in 1966. The law school was part of Whittier College, a private institution. After several years being ranked among the poorest-performing law schools in the United States based on bar passage rate and job placement, Whittier Law School announced in April 2017 that it would no longer be admitting students and would discontinue its legal program, becoming the first law school with full accreditation by the American Bar Association (ABA) to shut down in at least 30 years.Since the school's closure, transcript requests are now handled by Whittier College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law school</span> Institution specializing in legal education

A law school is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a judge, lawyer, or other legal professional within a given jurisdiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Illinois Chicago School of Law</span> Public law school in Chicago

University of Illinois Chicago School of Law is a public law school in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1899, the school offers programs for both part-time and full-time students, with both day and night classes available, and offers January enrollment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta's John Marshall Law School</span> Private for-profit law school in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Atlanta's John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) is a private for-profit law school in Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1933 and named for John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. AJMLS is accredited by the American Bar Association.

The University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law is the law school of the University of the District of Columbia, a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It is named after David A. Clarke and was established in 1986 when, in response to a local grassroots campaign, the Council of the District of Columbia decided to take over the Antioch School of Law, whose parent institution Antioch University had decided to close it in the face of increasing financial problems. The school was formally merged into the University of the District of Columbia in 1996.

The Valparaiso University Law School was the law school of Valparaiso University, a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. Founded in 1879, the school was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1929 and admitted to the Association of American Law Schools in 1930. In October 2016, the ABA censured the school for admitting applicants who did not appear capable of satisfactorily completing the school's program of legal education and being admitted to the bar. One year later, the school suspended admissions and shut down after the last class graduated in 2020.

In the United States, a judicial intern is usually a law student or sometimes a recent law school graduate who provides assistance to a judge and/or law clerks in researching and writing issues before the court. Working as a judicial intern allows law students to gain practical legal experience and familiarity with the court operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University</span> Law school of Duquesne University

The Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University is a private Catholic university law school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is approved by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Dean April M. Barton joined the school in 2019 as its 13th dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of St. Thomas School of Law</span>

The University of St. Thomas School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, United States. It is one of three law schools in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. It currently enrolls 434 students. St. Thomas Law is accredited by the American Bar Association. It is also a member of The Association of American Law Schools. The University of St. Thomas School of Law is the second highest ranked law school in Minnesota amongst the state's three law schools. Founded in 1999, the School of Law graduated its first class in 2004.

The University of La Verne College of Law is the law school of the University of La Verne, a private university in Ontario, California. It was founded in 1970 and is approved by the State Bar of California, but in 2023 is no longer accredited by the American Bar Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake Forest University School of Law</span> Professional graduate school of Wake Forest University

The Wake Forest University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Wake Forest University. Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Wake Forest University School of Law is a private American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). The school was established in 1894. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks the school among the Top Tier Law Schools in the nation. The current interim dean is Nell Jessup Newton.

American Heritage University of Southern California (AHUSC) is a for-profit college based in Southern California.

Western Michigan University Cooley Law School ("Cooley") is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by enrollment; as of the Spring of 2022, Cooley had approximately 500 students between its two campuses.

The North Carolina Central University School of Law is the law school associated with North Carolina Central University. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the North Carolina State Bar Council, and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). According to NC Central's official 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 37.9% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law</span> School in San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Faculty of Law is the school of law of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, a private co-educational corporation accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the Puerto Rico Council of Higher Education, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Department of Education. The School of Law is approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) and is located in San Juan, the capital city of Puerto Rico. Since its founding, the School of Law has succeeded in meeting the needs of the legal profession, in particular, and Puerto Rico's society in general.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.lls.edu/media/loyolalawschool/glace/GLACE%20Manual%202017newupdate.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  2. ↑ Externship | Definition of Externship by Merriam-Webster. Accessed: 2011-06-29. (Archived by WebCite® at
  3. ↑ "University of Arkansas: Externships/Job Shadowing". Archived from the original on 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  4. ↑ "University of Michigan Law School: Externships" . Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  5. ↑ "Pilot program allows second-years to shadow alumni in the workplace". 3 April 2003. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  6. ↑ Muirhead, Gred. (29 April 1991). "Student externships aid recruitment". Supermarket News. 25.
  7. ↑ "ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools, 2020-2021" (PDF). ABA Council of the Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2021-11-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ↑ "State Bar of California, Committee of Bar Examiners Rules, Title 4 Admissions and Educational Standards, Division 2 Accredited Law School Rules" (PDF). State Bar of California, Rules of the State Bar, Title 4 Div. 1, 2, 3. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2021-11-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.