The WCL Externship Program allows you to receive academic credit for unpaid legal work performed in courts, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and most recently, in in-house counsel corporate placements. Externships are open to all students, beginning in the summer after their 1L year.
There are two components to an externship: the seminar and field placement. There is the “classroom” component, which we call the seminar, and then there is the actual work completed at the legal office, which we call the field placement credit. You cannot receive credit for a seminar without having a field placement, just as you cannot receive credit for a field placement without registering for a seminar. Over the course of their time at WCL, students can earn a maximum of six credits for field placements and six credits for seminar/supervision.
Looking for an externship? The Externship Program Field Placement Database contains listings from organizations that have requested a legal extern or intern from WCL or that have sponsored a law student through the Externship Program through 2022. You may also use Careerlink for more recent employer information.