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What is the New York Law School Law Office Externship Program?
The short answer is that the Externship Program is a course in which law students (externs) earn law school credits for work on real cases. Student externs work as volunteers in carefully selected law offices (placements). At the placement, an attorney (mentor) supervises their legal work. Meanwhile, a faculty member (faculty tutor) at the law school helps the extern make the most of this real legal experience by reviewing the extern's time sheets, reading the journals in which the extern reflects on her experiences, and meeting periodically to discuss what lessons the extern is learning in the real world. NYLS externs participate in either a 2- or 4-credit program. Students in both programs must work at their placements or on placement related work for a total of 168 hours during the semester (roughly 12 hours per week during the Fall and Spring and 24 hours per week during the Summer). All NYLS externs keep detailed time sheets and keep journals reflecting on their experience. NYLS externs are supervised by the Director of Externship Programs and another member of the NYLS faculty (Faculty Tutor). Students work with a Faculty Tutor who has expertise in the field of their placement. Both the Externship Director and the Faculty Tutor review the externs' time sheets and critique their written assignments. Students in the 4-credit program also participate in a weekly seminar introducing them to legal practice issues through the use of readings, simulations, role plays, discussion and video.
Law Office Externship Application
How are law student externs matched with Mentors?
Students submit an application to the Director of Externship Programs along with a resume and writing sample. Before placing students, the Director meets individually with student applicants to discuss their interests and qualifications and suggests placements that might be appropriate for the student. The student and the Director then review the information provided by Mentor Attorneys and select several possible placements. The Administrator of Externships sends resumes (and writing samples, if the mentors desires them) to the selected Mentors for review. Mentors may select externs on the basis of their resumes or they may interview students prior to making a selection. Students must accept the first externship offered. We send materials for Fall externships in July and August, for Spring externships in November and December, and for Summer externships in April. Individual meetings between the Director and student participants occur after registration and shortly before resumes are sent.
What can student externs expect to do at an Externship?
Mentor Attorneys agree to provide students with a variety of meaningful and interesting assignments designed to enhance the students' learning experience. Mentors may also give students opportunities to observe them performing the lawyering tasks central to their practice. Mentors provide students with constructive feedback on a regular basis. At the mid-point and the end of the semester the Mentor Attorney engages the student in a more formal evaluation of the student's performance and returns a written evaluation of the student's participation at the placement to the Director of Externship Programs. Mentor Attorneys may not bill clients for any time an extern works on what would otherwise be a fee-generating project.
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