Externship: Experiential Practice (formerly Legal) is an alternative way to earn experiential credits for an externship, and it is best suited for a student who:
- Has already taken a clinic or externship.
- Is willing to find their own outside externship placement.
- Wants an experiential course experience not covered by our existing offerings.
Externship: Experiential Practice is a 3 or 4 credit experiential offering consisting of 2 or 3 credits of placement in an outside externship placement that you find yourself and a 1 credit seminar that meets every other week.
J.D./LL.M. Supervised Independent Experiential Study is also an option for students, in which, in addition to finding your own externship placement, you find your own faculty supervisor. For more about this option please see the Curriculum Guide description for Supervised Experiential Study (L6695) and review Academic Rule 1.5.1 Supervised Research or Experiential Study.
This offering allows you to identify your own independent externship placement within a formal course:
- The one credit seminar enables you to meet with and learn from other students in related placements, and earn more credits.
- The seminar means you do not have to find a faculty supervisor.
- You are able to register for Externship: Experiential Practice and not run into the restrictions on independent work outlined in the Academic Rules. That means you can do Externship: Experiential Practice and a note or other independent work with a faculty member.
There will be three different seminars, with students placed in the seminar according to the type of externship you find.
- Each section will admit between 10 and 15 students.
- Each seminar will meet for two hours every other week.
- The seminars will cover topics related to the placements and practice areas, develop lawyering skills, and provide structured opportunities for reflection.
Proposed seminars and instructors for Fall 2024 and Spring 2025:
- Advocacy and Litigation, Riti Singh (Fall) and Susan Horwitz (Spring). This session will accompany placements in legal services and advocacy organizations. Singh and Horwitz are experienced attorneys with the Legal Aid Society. Both have trial, appellate, and law reform experience in civil, criminal and juvenile rights practice areas. Singh is managing supervisor of the Appeals Unit, Juvenile Rights Practice. She has taught LPW for three years. Horwitz is the director of the Legal Practice Workshop, overseeing direct services, advocacy, and impact litigation on behalf of students in the NYC public schools.
- Judicial Externship for J.D. Students, Hon. Ann Scherzer and Hon. Steve Statsinger. This session will accompany placements in state and federal courts for JD Students. Judges Scherzer and Statsinger have taught LPW for nine years.
- Judicial Externship for LLM Students, Hon. Gerald Lebovits. This session will accompany placements in state courts for LLM Students. Judge Lebovits will assist accepted students with placements.
- General Counsel, Mark Nielsen. This session will accompany placements in corporations, in-house counsel offices, and nonprofit institutions. Nielsen is currently executive vice president and chief legal officer of Frontier Communications Corporation and has previously served as a state legislator and as chief legal counsel and chief of staff to the governor of Massachusetts.
- Government Agencies, Lecturer TBD. This session will accompany placements in city, federal or state agencies. The class will explore the diverse role that attorneys play in government agencies for example legislative drafting, litigation, policy development and reforms. The ethical obligation of government attorneys will also be explored. The lecturer is being recruited.
- You have to apply for one of the four sections in the August 2025 application cycle. Please note that you are required to have a placement identified for the Fall term or applications submitted to specific placements for the Spring term as a condition of applying .