Summer 2018 Course Schedule

Supervised Externship Seminar (CANCELLED) (LAW-769-004)
Johanna Leshner, Camellia Jacobs

Meets: (Cancelled) - Capital - Room C217

Enrolled: / Limit:

Administrator Access


Notices

**You must register for the fieldwork component as well (LAW-899). To do so, you must apply for your fieldwork credits through the externship office: https://www.wcl.american.edu/academics/experientialedu/externships/current-students/how-to-registar/

Description

This is a two-credit graded seminar taken in conjunction with your field placement. The purpose of this course is to provide you with an opportunity to reflect upon, and scrutinize your externship experience, including how to leverage that experience toward your own professional development and in preparing for your transition to the workplace. We will explore the meaning of being a lawyer and a member of the legal profession generally, as well as the variety of roles lawyers may have and the wide range of experiences available to persons with law degrees. We will also spend a great deal of time discussing and analyzing the issues raised in your field placements, including ethical and interaction issues with clients, lawyers, supervisors, the courts and administrative agencies or legislative bodies. The overarching goal of this course however, is to provide a framework for you to think about what being a lawyer means to you, and to understand the breadth of possibilities in this regard given your unique career goals and values. You will be asked to honestly assess your existing professional and legal skills, to identify areas for desired improvement, and to establish a plan for identifying and taking advantage of opportunities for professional growth. Periodic self-reflection, accompanied by an analysis of your own work experiences, will enable you to be deliberate and purposeful in selecting and implementing a meaningful career path moving forward. Class will meet on Thursday evenings between 6:00 pm to 8:45 pm for nine weeks, beginning on May 31, 2018. This is a discussion-based class, with a diversity of field placements represented among your classmates. In addition to learning from our readings and seasoned guest speakers, learning from each other’s experiences will be another valuable way to develop a better understanding about the type of lawyer you want to become, how to get there, and the quest for finding satisfaction, fulfillment, and a healthy balance in your future legal career. As such, class participation is an integral part of this course and will be part of your grade. In addition, students will be required to submit brief weekly journals on their experiences with their field placements, as well as two longer papers: a Goals Memorandum and a Reflection Paper. The final part of your grade will result from an in-class presentation on a topic or area of law that is associated with your field placement or related to your career goals. General learning outcomes and assessment methods for all WCL externship seminars are available at https://www.wcl.american.edu/externship/seminars.cfm.

Textbooks and Other Materials

The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.

Leah Wortham, Alexander Scherr, Nancy Maurer, and Susan Brooks, Learning from Practice (West Academic 3rd Edition 2016) - ISBN: 9781634596183. Please hold off on purchasing the book as we will be arranging for you to pay by chapter.

First Class Readings

There are no assigned readings for the first class. Please come to class prepared for a lively discussion.

Syllabus

Use your MyAU username and password to access the syllabus in the following format(s):