Field Placement Requirements

Organization Requirements:

Requirements for field placements include the following:

The field placement must be a not-for-profit organization, government agency, or court. Students may work in for-profit law firms only if they are assigned exclusively to pro bono matters.

The extern must be engaged in substantive law-related work.

The extern must be supervised by a licensed attorney (though day-to-day assignments may be handled by others).

The externship must be unpaid. According to ABA Standards, externs may receive no monetary compensation for their work. They may not receive stipends except to cover limited, out-of-pocket expenses.
The extern must work on site. Students may not work remotely.

Supervising Attorney Requirements:

All field placement supervisors must sign an externship employer contract that describes the responsibilities of the organization and supervising attorney.

Approval of Field Placement

All field placements must be approved by the Externship Program Office. Simply because a field placement is listed in the Externship Employer Database does not mean that it is automatically approved. ALL students externing with a for-profit law firm must speak to a member of the Externship Program staff prior to obtaining approval.