LAW 3829 - Summer Law Firm Apprenticeship Program
The Law Firm Apprenticeship Program will be offered for two (2) credits in the Summer Session only. This program is designed for students to obtain valuable professional experience in a law firm during the summer, while at the same time retaining quality education in connection with the placements. In this specialized program, the Office of Career Services will be working with a limited number of law firms to create summer apprenticeship positions for our students. Students will be permitted to receive two credits for work in a private legal setting approved by the Office of Career Services and the faculty member assigned to oversee this new externship program. As a condition of eligibility, all law firm placements must provide the following: (1) agreement to abide by our strict educational expectations for the placement experience, (2) specific description of the type of work to be performed by the student, (3) agreement that the student will engage in substantial written legal work (20 pages) that will be reviewed with written feedback by the supervisor, (4) agreement to provide close supervision of the student’s work, including weekly supervision meetings with the student, and (5) agreement that no work by the student will be billed to a client, nor will students receive any compensation.
As with the Summer Externship Program, students in the Law Firm Apprenticeship Program will work in their placements for a minimum of 25 hours per week over eight weeks during Summer Session I. Students will be required to attend a three-hour orientation at the beginning of the summer session, which will focus on issues of professionalism, ethics, and how best to get the most out of the externship experience. During the course of the eight week placement, students will be required to submit weekly journal entries to the faculty advisor, in which they discuss the work that they are doing, questions that arise, observations about the legal setting, and other similar issues. In addition, they will participate in a weekly online classroom experience administered by the faculty advisor. In connection with their work in the placement, students will be required to produce a minimum of 20 pages of written legal work. The writing required for the Law Firm Apprenticeship Program does not satisfy either Writing I or II, nor does it satisfy the skills requirement. At the conclusion of the Law Firm Apprenticeship Program, students will participate in a final exit meeting with the faculty advisor to review the students’ performance and ensure that all of the requirements of the program have been met. The course is graded on a pass/fail basis.
Credits: 2
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