How to Find an Externship Placement

Criminal and Civil Placements: Obtaining an Externship Placement

ASSISTANCE FROM THE OFFICE OF CAREER SERVICES:

Students are responsible for making the initial contact with the agency/office/firm and securing the externship. The search for an externship is similar to any other job search process, and the List of Prior Externships serves as a helpful starting point. During this search, students are strongly advised to meet with a Career Services Director to discuss practice area interests and employers and review submission materials, including cover letters, resumes, references, and writing sample format. Located in Room 335, the Office of Career Services can be reached at (415) 422-6757 or at lawcareer@usfca.edu.

ELIGIBLE EMPLOYERS (Civil and Criminal Placements)

Supervisor Eligibility

The externship must offer students substantial professional experience in a variety of tasks similar to those which a practicing attorney would perform with the agency or office. * Participating in an externship should give students a broader perspective of the legal system and law practice.

The office or agency where the externship takes place must assign a supervising attorney to oversee the student’s fieldwork and provide the Law School with evaluation reports; and
All supervising attorneys must have been admitted to a state Bar for at least two years and be in good standing with the Bar.

Previously Approved Employers

For a list of pre-approved externship employers, please see our List of Prior Externships page.

If you seek credit for an externship at a legal employer that is not on the attached List of Prior Externships, that employer must complete a Request for Approval of Agency for Civil/Criminal Law Externship Program, which is attached to this packet.

Approved Status of Employers/Site Visits

The Director and Assistant Professor of the Externship Programs will conduct periodic site visits of certain externships in compliance with ABA Standards. The Director will meet with supervisors to discuss the employer’s externship program (as well as the student’s performance) to evaluate the employer’s suitability for future externships. Depending on these visits and communications, please note that the Law School has full discretion to disapprove or inactivate an employer from participating in the Programs for any period of time.

Student Evaluations of Prior Externships

Student evaluations of past externships are available in this USF database. Type a keyword into the search box on the blue line at the top of the page. (E.g. "Duane Morris").

Ineligible Externships

The following internship experiences are not eligible for academic credit:

A student may not receive academic credit for work previously performed or completed during a prior semester. Academic credit must be arranged at the outset of the student’s work for the agency/office/firm.
A student may not earn credit for work performed at a family or relative’s (including spouse’s/domestic partner’s) office/agency/firm.
A student may not earn credit for a repeat internship/position unless the experience provides a qualitatively different or substantially more rigorous learning experience. See repeat externship section for further explanation.

*Bar Certification: Some externships may provide students with an opportunity to make court appearances under attorney supervision. To be able to do this, students must apply for Certification under the Practical Training of Law Students Program of the State Bar of California. Complete and submit the application as soon as possible, as processing by the State Bar may take several weeks. Applications are available in the Registrar’s Office and on the State Bar of California’s website. Keyword search “Practical Training of Law Students Program.”

Judicial Externs: Obtaining an Externship Placement

ELIGIBLE COURTS For Judicial Externs

Students are only permitted to extern for 2 (summer session only) to 13 units in federal courts (Ninth Circuit, Northern District, including the Bankruptcy Judges), the California Supreme Court, the California Courts of Appeal, and California Superior Courts as well as with Administrative Law Judges. Please note that during the summer session, only the 2 (summer session only), 3, 4, and 5-unit options are available.

Student Evaluations of Prior Externships

Student evaluations of past externships are available in this USF repository.

Type a keyword into the search box on the blue line at the top of the page. (E.g. "Duane Morris").

APPLYING TO THE COURTS

Please see the list of prior judges and courts who have accepted USF externs in the past. Externships are NOT limited to this list. Rather, the purpose of the list is to give you an idea of where you might consider applying.

Prior to submitting applications to courts or the Externship Programs Office, students are advised to meet with a Director from the Office of Career Services to cover the following:

Discuss the different judicial externship experiences possible depending on the type of court and where to locate these opportunities;
Review cover letters and resumes; and,
Discuss how to prepare a writing sample.

Located in Kendrick Hall, Room 335, the OCS can be reached at (415) 422-6757 or at lawcareer@usfca.edu.

Addressing a court in a cover letter is different than addressing other legal employers. OCS has written guidelines, which include sample cover letters. The OCS guidelines also include sources to locate court opportunities and judicial profiles.

Application materials for federal and appellate courts usually include a cover letter, writing sample, transcript, and references. Some superior courts may not require a transcript at the outset. Please see Individual Judge Application Details in the LawLink Document Library for information regarding the appropriate procedure and materials for applying to past judicial externship placements. Note, the information may not always be current.

If you receive an externship offer from a court, you should respond to the offer within a day or two of receipt. You are strongly encouraged to accept the first offer received unless you feel uncomfortable doing so. For this reason, you may consider staggering the mailing of your applications based on the order of interest in these courts.

The courts have yet to agree upon uniform deadlines for accepting applications, and judges are free to hire whenever they choose, so anything that delays your application can make a difference. The Externship Programs Office recommends that you apply to the courts at least 2-3 months in advance of the semester of the externship at a superior court, and at least 3-6 months for an externship with a federal court or appellate court.