The College of Law offers a range of field placements in a variety of practice areas, allowing students to develop lawyering skills while earning academic credit. During field placements, students do legal work under the supervision of a licensed attorney outside the law school. They also set learning goals and engage in robust reflection under the guidance of a faculty member.
Field placement opportunities vary each semester, depending on placement needs and student interests. Students can apply for placements through the online job board, request to be matched at a placement, or find their own externship placement with the approval of the director of field placements.
In addition, the College of Law offers a one-year field placement opportunity: Criminal Process externship. This externship is open to third-year students interested in spending a full year working in a prosecutor’s or public defender’s office. Students must take the companion classroom course, Criminal Process, and need to qualify to appear in court under the student practice rule, Rule 14-807. There are prerequisites: Evidence (LAW 7040) and either Criminal Procedure: Investigation (LAW 7030) or Criminal Procedure: Adjudication (LAW 7031). Trial Advocacy (LAW 7072) is highly recommended.
How to Apply
There are multiple ways to secure a field placement.
- Apply for openings on 12Twenty by selecting the Field Placement column under Type of Job.
- Connect with a supervisor on our list of approved placements and ask about potential field placement opportunities.
- Request approval from the director of field placements about a placement not on the list with the new placement approval request form.
- Fill out the field placement confirmation form if you already have a placement in mind.
- Earn course credit at a placement where you've already worked, interned, volunteered, or externed by filling out the petition for repeat field placement.
To enroll for course credit, students must confirm their field placements by the following dates:
- Aug. 1 (fall field placements)
- Dec. 15 (spring field placements)
- May 1 (summer field placements)
Feeling overwhelmed and have no idea where to start? We’re happy to meet with you! Schedule a meeting with Program Manager Emily Aplin or Director of Field Placements Jackie Morrison.
Field Placement FAQs
A field placement is an experiential course that provides a substantial lawyering experience under the supervision of a licensed attorney, or an individual otherwise qualified to supervise, in a setting outside the College of Law. This experience must be combined with ongoing, contemporaneous faculty-guided reflection. The term “externship” is synonymous with the term “field placement” when used at the College of Law.
You must be in good standing and have completed at least two semesters of law school to be eligible to register for a field placement.
Students in first-time field placements must register for the required field placement companion course Learning from Practice (LAW 7815), in conjunction with field placement credit (LAW 7925). Students in second field placements must register for Advanced Learning from Practice (LAW 7816) in conjunction with field placement credit (LAW 7925). Third-year students in approved year-long criminal placements may register for Criminal Process (LAW 7990) as the required companion course in lieu of Learning from Practice or Advanced Learning from Practice.
You may apply a maximum of 14 credits of field placement credit (LAW 7925) toward graduation and, in coordination with their placement, select the number of credits, ranging from one to 14, per semester. If you wish to enroll for more than five credits of field placement work in a semester, you must consult with the director of field placements in advance. You must register in full-credit increments only and may not register for half credits. Fifty hours of work at the placement are required for each credit.
Once the add/drop deadline has passed and you are no longer able to self-adjust enrollment, you must complete the required hours for each enrolled credit. In the event of extraordinary circumstances, you may submit a petition for adjustment of field placement credit before the last day of classes. Both the director of field placements and the associate dean for academic affairs must approve the petition.
Supervisors must be licensed attorneys or individuals otherwise qualified to supervise. If you want to be supervised by someone other than a licensed attorney who is admitted to a bar, in good standing, with at least five years of experience, you must request approval from the director of field placements. You may not earn credit for work performed under a family member or relative's supervision or for work performed at a family member’s or relative’s office, agency, or firm.
You must begin your fieldwork by the second week of the semester, and you must work at least 10 weeks at the field placement, though 13 weeks is highly recommended. Your work should be spread out relatively evenly over the semester. Any exceptions require approval from the director of field placements.
You cannot receive credit for work performed before the semester you're enrolled in started.
If you'd like to earn credit at placements where you've already worked, interned, volunteered, or externed, you must submit a petition for repeat field placement to the director of field placements.
The director of field placements will consider remote field placements, where students work in a separate location from their supervisors more than 50% of the time, on a case-by-case basis. You are encouraged to work in person where possible.
For work at an approved public interest externship placement, you may accept compensation in the form of hourly wages, stipends, scholarships, fellowships, and grants. Public interest includes work for governmental entities, 501(c)(3)-(5) organizations, and universities and other public institutions. Before accepting compensation, you must notify and receive approval from the director of externships.
Note: These hours do not count against the College of Law policy limiting full-time students to working no more than 20 hours per week. Students at any placement may accept reimbursements to offset travel expenses, such as gas mileage and parking fees.