Overview 

After completing the first year of law school, students anxious to put their legal knowledge into practice may participate in one of the Externship Programs.  Externs earn academic credit for their work in an approved law office or a judge’s chambers and courtroom.  Students apply to participate during pre-registration in the spring.  Once approved, they are placed with a participating judge or lawyer for the upcoming semester.  During the semester, students work at their placement as volunteers and meet with faculty at the law school to discuss their experiences.  Externships give students a chance to put theory into practice, apply the procedural rules they have learned in the classroom, and further develop their lawyering skills.  Most importantly, learning outside the classroom prepares New York Law students for the lifelong learning they must do as lawyers.

 Judicial Externship Program

Many second and third year students take advantage of the nearby courts by participating in our Judicial Externship Program.  Within a few blocks of the law school our students can assist judges in the New York City Criminal, Civil, and Family Courts; the New York State Supreme Court; the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York; the Court of International Trade; the Bankruptcy Court; and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  Judicial externs research issues, draft memos and opinions, and sit at the bench beside judges in each of these courts and then meet in a seminar at the law school to discuss and analyze their experiences.  What better way to prepare to be a lawyer than by experiencing first hand how judges decide real cases?

Student Testimonials

"My writing and research skills improved dramatically ...  The clerk was like my own personal writing professor."
                            Justina Kingen '04
                            Justice Joan A. Madden

"Every student interested in litigation should do this!"
                            Jamie Nobles '02
                            Justice Rena K. Uviller

"It's actually pretty fun, as well as being an educational experience and looking good on your resume."
                            Amanda Nelson '04
                            Justice Budd G. Goodman

"[The externship] put many of the theoretical concepts studied in law school ...  into real-world application."
                            Jorge Sastoque '05
                            Justice Richard Lee Price

"I learned at a rate that exceeded any other area of my law school education."
                            Glenn Galati '03
                            Justice Nicholas Figueroa

"I learned a lot from sitting in on chambers lunches ...  [The judge] is a very able teacher, and often challenges his clerks to think critically and deeply about a wide range of issues."
                            Sheryl Ewart Sorensen '03
                            Magistrate Ronald L. Ellis, SDNY

"This externship gives you an excellent opportunity to observe what good lawyering looks like, but more importantly what bad lawyering is like (and what not to do)."
                            Winnie Lee '04
                            Magistrate Michael H. Dolinger, SDNY

"I have a more realistic perception of the courts and feel that just being in the courtroom and chambers has given me more confidence in my future as an attorney."
                            Filomena Lepore '04
                            Judge Richard Conway Casey, SDNY
 

Law Office Externship Program

Law Office Externships in a number of popular areas offer our students another way of enriching their legal education with real life experience. The Externship Program allows students to choose the area of law they want to practice and design their own learning experience in one of hundreds of approved law offices.  Mentor attorneys at the law offices and faculty advisors at the law school help our externs realize the learning potential of their work experience.  Our students work and learn in corporations, law firms, government offices, and public interest organizations.  They participate in transactions, litigation, and policy work in almost every area of law.  Some of the most typical practice areas include corporate and securities law, personal injury, real estate, criminal, commercial, entertainment, matrimonial, and family law.

Student Testimonials

"[My mentor] made me feel like an associate in the office by giving me lots of responsibility."
                            Scott Morris '04
                            Karp and Kalamotousakis

"This experience, especially the attention to details, will be helpful not only in the entertainment field, but in all fields where one wrong word or misplaced colon can change the meaning of a paragraph and/or the liability in a contract."
                            Maria Foffe '03
                            NBA Entertainment

"[My mentor] ... explained what she needed me to do in a straight forward manner that didn't make me feel small or stupid ...  [She also] took the time to give me constructive feedback."
                            Michael Moyles '04
                            Merrill Lynch