Appendix C: Rules Governing Internships
- Rules Governing Internships
- Internship Request Registration Procedures
- No Compensation
- Work, Volunteer and Clinic Disclosures
- Financial Aid
- Withdrawal
- Amount of Academic Credit
- Intern Practice Rule – Certification to Practice
- Time and Activity Reporting
- Journal
- Student’s Evaluation of Internship
- Mentor’s Evaluation of the Student
- Classes
- Grading
- Individual Conference
Rules Governing Internships
An internship shall mean a field experience, located in a law office or judge’s chambers, which is supervised and conducted as described below.
Students must have completed their first year of law school (earned at least 30 credit hours) and be in good academic standing to enroll in any internship. Only second or third year law students may participate. Students on academic probation are not eligible. Certain courses may be required by particular placements as prerequisites. Some placements may require a security clearance. Any special requests regarding an internship must be made in writing.
The Internship placements are limited to enrollment during the open signup period before each semester, online.
- Fall = Jul. 1 20
- Spring = Nov. 1 – 20
- Summer = Apr. 1 – 30
These rules do not apply to internships arranged by Career Services – Corporate, Prof. Pring – Environmental or Prof. Corrada – Employment (see these professors for details on their programs).
Internship Request Registration Procedures
There are two different ways to arrange an internship and mentor relationship: 1) with experienced mentors; 2) student arranged mentors.
- Find, Interview and Select Experienced Mentors
Students can explore the internship web page from any computer to find “experienced” mentors (judges and attorneys) with whom to intern; http://law.du.edu/index.php/legal-externship-program/mentor-search. Once you have found internships that look interesting, contact the offices in which you are seeking the internship. Most offices will want to arrange an interview and may require a writing sample. Keep the sample relatively succinct – five pages or so is plenty. “Writing samples” are examples of legal writing you have done such as in the lawyering process course. - Find, Interview and Select Student-Arranged
Mentors who must apply with the Mentor Judge/Attorney Application Form Students can also explore other ways of locating placements and “set up” their own internship. When you arrange an internship with an attorney who is not on our “experienced” list, the attorney must first apply to and then be approved for participation as a mentor. The attorney applies by completing the Mentor Judge/Attorney Application Form; only attorneys with at least five years of experience will be approved as mentors.
The Internship Coordinator shall review requests for student-arranged internships and the mentor application. Only those mentor application forms, which have complete signatures of the mentor judge/attorney and a probability of enabling the student to enjoy a unique experience of significant educational value, shall be approved. Approval of student arranged internships is not automatic, i.e., your request and the mentor will be scrutinized for educational benefit and can be rejected.
The Internship Office will notify the register of your internship type after your request has been approved. You must register for your internship credits through the registrar.
No Compensation
Students may not receive any monetary compensation from their placement. ABA Accreditation Rules provide that, “A law school may not grant credit to a student for participation in a law school field placement program for which the student received compensation.” ABA Standard 305, Interpretation 3051. “Compensation” does not include need-based stipends such as scholarships or merit awards.
Unless good cause can be clearly demonstrated, no internship shall be approved which involves student work at a firm, office or agency at which the student has worked for monetary compensation during the preceding 18 months. Requests to waive this rule must be made in writing.
Work, Volunteer and Clinic Disclosures
Students must disclose to their mentors and to the Internship Office any legal employer they presently have, any volunteer legal work they perform, and any clinic legal representation in which they are presently engaged (through either current enrollment in a clinical program or through completion of cases in a prior enrollment). Students must also update their mentors and the Internship Office if any of these relationships change during the semester. Students must also disclose their internship to their employer, clinical program director, and volunteer supervisor. All disclosures must be in writing.
Financial Aid
Plan your finances ahead for summer! Students who will be enrolled in an internship during the Summer semester and using financial aid are encouraged to contact the Financial Aid office during the semester prior to their internship to discuss how to best utilize their financial aid awards. To contact the Financial Aid office call 303.871.6136.
Withdrawal
Permission to withdraw from an Internship requires the written permission of the placement mentor and the Internship Office.
Because Mentor Attorneys make a commitment to our students and rely on the student’s commitment, only extremely compelling circumstances will be considered for withdrawal from the course once the drop/add period has passed. Further, students are encouraged to consider whether dropping the internship before the end of the semester is in the student’s best professional interest. Class scheduling conflicts will not constitute extremely compelling circumstances.
Amount of Academic Credit
Most internships are offered for 3 credit hours. A student may earn no more than 10 hours of academic credit from internships during law school. An intern must work 50 hours for each credit hour awarded. No more than 6 credits may be awarded for any single internship without special advance permission of the Internship Coordinator. Requests for Out of Metro students may not exceed 3 credits. Out of Metro includes any internship which is not in the Colorado Springs to Ft. Collins Front Range area. Students are be billed the normal amount of tuition for the number of credits approved for the internship. Once a student has exceeded working the number of hours required for their internship, they may continue to work and volunteer their time at that office, however, they can not obtain additional academic credit for that internship.
Students may start counting hours for their internship two weeks prior to the first day of classes at the start of the semester or two weeks after the last day of classes for the semester.
Students are expected to obtain and use the law school’s email accounts. The use of email is not only more environmentally sound but provides a quick and efficient means for communication. Email will be the primary notification method of the Internship Office, therefore, it is the student’s responsibility to check their email accounts on a regular and timely basis. Email access is particularly important for Out of Metro Interns.
Intern Practice Rule – Certification to Practice
Students who have completed their second academic year of law school (earned at least 60 credit hours) and work for a “qualified legal services agency” like the public defender’s office, may be certified with the Colorado Supreme Court and may appear in court in certain non-felony cases in accordance with C.R.S. 125116. Students in these types of placements should complete and submit the Intern Practice Certification Form as early as possible since certification can take up to three weeks to process. The Supreme Court will notify the mentor and student directly that they are certified to practice. Only qualified students and qualified agencies are eligible for certification. Students shall not violate the statute and should notify the internship office in writing if their mentor asks them to do so. Be aware that students who violate the statute risk personal liability for the unauthorized practice of law.
Time and Activity Reporting
Interns must complete the number of hours required for the amount of credit for which they have registered (fifty hours are required per semester hour of credit). The student must submit, online, time reports to the internship office weekly; on Monday (for the week previous). The time report includes an enumeration for hours worked on specific tasks, identifies the nature of the work performed, the nature and extent of contact with the mentor. The timesheet must not, however, provide identifying information about the clients or cases, confidential information or any information that might violate the attorney/client privilege, or any information that the mentor attorney has reasonably asked the student to keep confidential.
Time reports not timely submitted shall be rejected and the hours will not count towards the student’s required hours. Submission of timesheets and the representation of the hours worked therein are subject to the student honor code.
Journal
Students are required to submit, online, weekly journals reflecting on their activities while being careful not to reveal confidential information. One object of journaling is to develop the skill of reflective lawyering. Reflection in this context means thinking in a disciplined manner about what you do as a lawyer/intern. Other goals of journaling are to improve cognitive skills, encourage self-directed learning, relieve stress, enhance observation skills and improve writing. For example, the student should reflect on the lawyer’s role and the student’s reaction to assuming that role, how well or poorly a given activity went and/or the student’s difficulties in dealing with an activity, and/or any reflections the student has regarding any activity at the placement.
Student’s Evaluation of Internship
Students will be asked to evaluate both their internship class and their fieldwork at the end of the semester. These evaluations will help us know how you feel about the class material being presented and will give us feedback on the performance of the class instructor and mentor attorney.
Evaluations will be kept in anonymous. The Internship Coordinator will review evaluations. These evaluations may be shared with the mentor attorney or the classroom instructor (unless directed otherwise by the student.) The student may, but is not required to, submit a separate evaluation of the internship to the mentor attorney if the student so desires.
Mentor’s Evaluation of the Student
Within 15 days of the completion of the last day of classes for the semester in which the internship is performed, the mentor shall submit to the Internship Office an independent written evaluation of the student’s performance in the internship. This evaluation shall include a recommendation as to whether a grade of Pass or Fail should be awarded to the student. The Internship Coordinator will review these evaluations and use them in determining students’ grades. (No letter grades are given, only Pass/Fail grades.)
The mentor’s report shall also include the following:
- a written description of the various legal work undertaken by the student during his/her stay in the placement setting, subject to the limitations of the attorney/client privilege;
- a critical evaluation of the student’s work regarding his/her competence, diligence, and experience gained; and
- a candid assessment of whether or not the educational goals have been achieved.
The mentor should provide the student with an oral review of this final evaluation. Students will be given access to their mentor’s evaluation unless the mentor indicates clearly, in writing, that the evaluation should not be shared with the student and the reason for that request.
Classes
During the internship, the student will meet in a regularly scheduled class at the College of Law under the instruction of the law faculty to discuss, inter alia, common areas of professional responsibility, professional tasks and skills, and the judicial or case management decision-making process. CLASS ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY FOR ALL FIRST-TIME INTERNS. Students are responsible for successfully completing the particular requirements of the classroom instructor. More than 2 absences will result in a failing grade; 1 absences in the shorter summer semester.
Students who miss one or two classes will be required to makeup the missed class. Students must make arrangements with their class instructors regarding makeup assignments.
Grading
The Internship Coordinator faculty shall award a grade of Pass or Fail to the student, as appropriate. A grade of fail will affect the student’s GPA.
Individual Conference
Each student will participate in a 15 minute individual status conference with an Internship faculty assistant or the Internship Coordinator during his or her internship. Appointments for the individual status conference must be scheduled by the student within the first four weeks of the student’s internship. The student will be contacted via email to setup conference appointments. The conference is a mandatory requirement of the internship.