LEGAL EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Catalog description

Satisfies Experiential Learning requirement. This program provides students with the opportunity to participate in an approved externship at a government agency or non-profit legal organization. The program has an academic and a fieldwork component which must be taken concurrently. The academic component focuses on skills training, developing the ability to learn from critical self-reflection, and draws on students' experiences in their placements to advance not only their understanding of basic principles of substantive and procedural law relevant to their placements, but also of the role of lawyers and legal institutions in society. For the fieldwork component, students work either 12, 16, or 20 hours per week (for 3, 4, or 5 units) in a placement that must be approved by the Director of Externships. Students who wish to work for academic credit in a public defender or district attorney office, not focusing on a clean slate or sentencing project, must first take the Criminal Practice Clinic. 4th, 5th, or 6th semester students only.