AUWCL’s Annual Spring Externship Fair Goes Virtual!
Over 100 Employers Attend Annual Event
January 22, 2021
Each spring, American University Washington College of Law hosts its annual Spring Externship Fair connecting our law students with 140 employers seeking students for internships and externships. This amazing opportunity allows our students to network, apply for internships and externships, informally interview with employers, and explore a variety of organizations and practice areas. Exclusive to WCL, many of the organizations in attendance are represented by WCL alumni. With COVID-19 still a major concern for many schools and universities, this year’s Externship Fair went virtual and was held entirely online.
Similar to an in-person fair, students were able to talk to employer representatives directly in 1-on-1 video chats, or attend group video chats. Over 1,400 virtual conversations took place between WCL students and about 140 externship employers.
The virtual Externship Fair was held over two days with half of the employers attending on Jan. 26 from 3:30 – 6:15 p.m. and the other half attending on Jan. 27 from 3 – 5:30 p.m. Each 1L section attended for 1 hour and 15 minutes each day, while 2L and 3L students attended any time.
“Many WCL students obtain their internships and externships each year from our annual Fair,” said Avis Sanders, director of the Externship Program. “In today’s virtual environment, it is an especially useful way for students to meet attorneys working in a wide variety of fields and learn about their practice areas.”
The Externship Fair featured employers from both the public and private sectors covering a variety of legal practice areas such as civil rights, corporate counsel, intellectual property, criminal justice, health law and policy, immigration, and more.
The list of employers that attended the Externship Fair and the day on which they are attending is posted on the Externship Program myWCL page, as is the full directory.
A sample of employers that attended the Spring Externship Fair include:
- AARP
- AEquitas
- American Bar Association
- AmeriCorps
- Ayuda
- Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition
- Defense Intelligence Agency
- Federal Communications Commission
- Federal Public Defender
- Human Rights Campaign
- Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia
- Maryland Office of the Public Defender
- National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild
- National Labor Relations Board
- Nature Conservancy Worldwide Office
- Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
- Public Law Center
- Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities
- Rosetta Stone, Inc.
- Smithsonian Institution
- Superior Court of the District of Columbia
- Unified Patents
- United States Agency for International Development
- United States Copyright Office
- United States Department of Commerce
- United States Department of Defense
- United States Department of Education
- United States Department of Energy
- United States Department of Health and Human Services
- United States Department of Homeland Security
- United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
- United States Department of Interior
- United States Department of Justice
- United States Department of Labor
- United States General Services Administration
- United States International Trade Commission
- United States Securities and Exchange Commission
- United States Small Business Administration