Semester in Practice Externship

8-12 units

Open to second semester 2L and 3L J.D. students. This externship allows students to spend a semester working under the direction of an approved attorney-supervisor in a government, non-profit, or corporate in-house law office located outside the St. Louis area. This externship offers students a supervised professional experience in a different geographic area while also allowing them to focus on a field of practice that builds on classroom experiences. Through observation, participation, and reflection, students will improve their legal knowledge and professional skills, making possible a more rapid and successful transition to practice in their post-graduate careers. Students who are interested in this externship must complete an application, explaining how the placement fits into the student's overall educational program. Where a placement office has not been previously approved, proposing and obtaining approval of that office is part of the student's post-application obligation. Ultimately, the placement site also has to accept the student as an extern and agree to certain conditions. The School's approval process for a placement office includes a review of the nature of the work the student would perform and of the attorney who would be the student's field supervisor. The office must commit to the educational goals of the externship, to providing the student with relevant work assignments and on-going feedback, and to communicating throughout the placement with the faculty supervisor. In addition to the work commitment at the placement office, students are required to participate in meetings (usually via electronic means) with the faculty supervisor during the placement, to submit reflective journal entries, and to provide regular reports of their hours and activities. There is a mandatory pre-semester orientation. [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) the semester prior to taking this course and the semester of this course, are not eligible to participate in the externship. Students in the United States on an F-1 Visa who register for an externship course are required to submit a Curriculum Practical Training (CPT) authorization form to the University’s Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS) and obtain that office’s approval prior to beginning their externship. Failure to obtain CPT authorization prior to the beginning of the externship could result in changes to a student's F-1 Visa status. The clinics/externships have a different drop deadline than other Law School courses. A student will not be allowed to drop the externship after accepting a placement with an office.] This course is graded on a credit/no credit basis. 8 units working remotely; 12 units on-site or hybrid on-site/remote. 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. This means that first semester 2L students cannot do a 12-credit out-of-town externship. Courses that include BCCCR content are tagged in Workday to help you track your progress.