Government Lawyering Externship

1-6 units

Open to 2L and 3L J.D. students. Students in the externship will be assigned to work in either the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri (EDMO) in downtown St. Louis or the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Illinois (SDIL) in Fairview Heights. Subject to the availability of supervising attorneys, students may elect to work in the Criminal Division, the Civil Division, or a combination of both. Students are required to spend a minimum of 16- 24 hours per week over the 13-week semester working at their assigned office or on externship-related work. Students assigned to the USAO for the SDIL must commit to a minimum of 18 hours per week. For students in the Criminal Division, the course provides opportunities to gain exposure to all facets of criminal investigation and prosecution, including victim/witness interviews, agent meetings, the drafting of charges, discovery, motion practice, and trial and appellate work. Students in the Civil Division assist with a range of activities, including witness interviews, the drafting of pleadings and discovery requests, document analysis, motion practice and depositions, and do appellate work. Students enrolled in this externship will be required to submit to and pass an FBI security clearance, for which they will have to complete extensive paperwork months in advance of the beginning of the semester. Students who have taken Evidence, Criminal Procedure, Corporate & White-Collar Crime, and a course from the ethics curriculum may receive preference. Certification under student practice rules (Rule 13 in Missouri, Rule 711 in Illinois) is not required, but may be useful. Students are financially responsible for their own transportation and parking, as needed. This externship is expected to be in person. [Note: Students are prohibited from taking more than one clinic/externship/supervised practicum in the same semester. Students who are not in good standing (for either academic or disciplinary reasons) are not eligible to participate in a clinic/externship. This course is graded on a credit/no credit basis. 4-6 units. Credits from this course count toward the 19 maximum credits a J.D. student can take in non-law classes and law classes without a classroom component. To participate in this externship, you must either have completed or be currently enrolled in courses containing at least 5 cumulative hours of education on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism (BCCCR content). This externship includes 0 hours of BCCCR content, so in total, you will need 5 hours from your other courses to meet the requirement. Courses that include BCCCR content are tagged in Workday to help you track your progress.