Externships

The Two-Credit Externship Seminar is graded A-F and intended for first time externs. 

Requirements:

The requirements for each externship section may be different, and are listed in each professor's course syllabus. All seminars, however, will require the following:

• Weekly Seminar Classes:

  • Spring/Fall: In the Fall and Spring semesters, the class meets 1 hour, 50 minutes per week for a 13-week semester.

  • Summer: In the Summer semester, the class meets 2 hours, 50 minutes per week for a 9-week semester.

• Written Assignments:

Assignment	Rough Due Date
Goals Meeting with Supervisor/Form	Submit by end of first working week
Contemporaneous Time Log	Fill out time logs every week
Reflective Journals/Cover Page	10 journals submitted according to syllabus schedule
Midterm Self-Assessment	Submit by mid-semester
Final Reflective Essay	Submit by last day of semester
Presentation on your externship	Last weeks of semester
Student Extern Final Evaluation of Externship	Submit by last class through CareerLink
Supervising Attorney Final Evaluation of Student Extern	Student responsible for making sure Attorney Supervisor submits by last class
Submit signed time log to professor	Submit by last class

 

• Reading Assignments:

Professors assign reading assignments pertaining to the content of the seminar class.

• A Substantial Written Project:

This is generally one 10-15 page research or reflective paper, or a series of shorter papers assigned throughout the semester.

• Log of Hours Worked:

Students must keep a contemporaneous log of hours worked. Your professor will require you to have your field supervisor confirm the hours worked either by email or by signing the hours log.

• Other Assignments:

There may be a class presentation, simulations, or a combination of assignments.

NOTE: Students can only enroll in the Two-Credit Externship Seminar once. 

The Advanced Supervision seminar is for students who have already participated in a two-credit externship seminar. This seminar is one credit and is graded Pass/Fail. 

Requirements:

All Advanced Supervision Seminars will require the following:

• Seminar Classes

  • Fall & Spring: In the Fall and Spring semesters, the Advanced Seminar meets nine times for 50 minutes over the course of the semester. The seminar typically meets for the first three weeks of the semester and then every other week for the rest of the semester.

  • Summer: In the Summer semester, the seminar will meet weekly.

• Journals:

Students must submit journals reflecting on the externship experience. Students must follow their professor’s guidelines and requirements regarding format, length, and submission. The frequency of journal submissions will depend on whether the course is taken in the Fall/Spring semester or during the summer. 

• Reading Assignments:

Professors may assign students reading assignments pertaining to the content of the seminar class.

• A Substantial Written Project

Generally, the professor will assign a five to six page research or reflective paper.

• Log of Hours Worked:

Students must keep a contemporaneous log of hours worked. Your professor will require you to have your field supervisor confirm the hours worked either by email or by signing the hours log.

During the Summer semester, the Externship Program offers remote seminars (Two-Credit & Advanced) for students who are externing onsite outside of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area. Students will need to reserve 2.5 hours each week to attend this online class in a quiet space where they can hear and speak with a headset. The seminars meet at 6 pm EST. 

• International Externships: Students can extern outside of the United States if the placement meets the program requirements and the student can attend the 6 PM seminar.  More requirements for International Externships can be found here.

• In-House Counsel Externship Seminar: This seminar is specifically for students externing in corporate in-house counsel offices both in and outside of the Washington D.C. area (the In-House Counsel Seminar is also offered in the Fall and Spring semesters on campus in regular classroom format). This seminar has the same general requirements as the Two-Credit Seminar listed above. More information about externing in a corporate in-house counsel office can be found here.

Individual Supervision by a Faculty member (Fall & Spring Only)

Individual Supervision is a one credit Pass/Fail course. 

During the Fall and Spring semesters, students unable to attend any of the Externship Seminar offerings due to scheduling issues or other constraints may ask individual faculty members to provide supervision. The faculty member must be a full-time professor or must have an office within the WCL law school building. Faculty members, who agree to individually supervise externship students, must sign the Individual Faculty Supervision Guidelines.

PLEASE NOTE: Neither the Individual Supervision nor the field credit does not count towards WCL's experiential skills requirement.

Requirements:

• Faculty Advisor/Student Meetings

Students are required to meet with their professor between 5-7 hours per semester. Topics for meetings may include: the progress of the externship, problems, insights and strategies for getting the most out of the externship, and reflection on broader issues concerning the practice of law that relate to observations and experiences in the field.

• Journals:

Students must submit biweekly journals reflecting on the externship experience. Students must follow their professor’s guidelines and requirements regarding format, length, and submission.

• Reading Assignments:

Professors may assign students reading assignments pertaining to the content of the seminar class.

• A Substantial Written Project:

The professor will assign an 8 to 10 page research or reflective paper.

• Log of Hours Worked:

Students must keep a contemporaneous log of hours worked. Your field supervisor must confirm the hours worked either by email or by signing the hours log.

• Monthly Progress Report Due to the Director of the Externship Program:

All students participating in Individually Supervised Externships are responsible for contacting the Director of the Externship Program on the last day of each month to report on the status of their supervision. This includes the dates and times they met with their professors, the dates on which journals were submitted and the status of additional writing assignments. Failure to report to the Director of the Externship Program each month could result in a denial of credit for both the supervision component and the field placement.