Legal Externship Program 2025 Highlights
Externship placements at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law continue to serve as a critical way for students to experience law in action. This past academic year we hosted 723 externships – a record high. We supported 523 students and collaborated with 443 supervisors. Even with such a significant number of placements, we take great pride in getting to know each student and every firm or organization so we can foster the teaching and learning journey intentionally and thoughtfully.
Consistent with prior years, the externship-to-career pipeline remains active. Nearly 35% of students in the class of 2024 are directly employed at a placement where they externed. Alongside the number of indirect connections that led to post-graduate offers, externships lead to concrete results for Denver Law students.
We continue to ensure students are offered a wide range of placements so they can pursue the work they envision themselves doing in their legal careers. The percentage of students working in private and public placements was an even split at 50% each. An increasing number of offices are also finding ways to compensate students, with 54% of students receiving pay for their efforts while simultaneously earning credit. The law school continued its commitment to offering 50 students financial stipends for unpaid public sector work over the summer, and we collaborated with the Student Bar Association to again provide parking stipends to unpaid fall/spring externs.
As we host supervisor trainings, lead multiple information sessions for students, promote public service, and organize specialized programs that allow students to do deep dives in particular practice areas, the Externship Program at Denver Law is a significant force. Directed by Professor Alexi Freeman and supported by Professor Katie Steefel, multiple adjunct professors including Rachael Ardanuy, Judge LaQunya Baker and Colleen Scarola, and staff administrator Karen Mitchell, we are well-equipped to provide personalized support to our student community. Our team members teach classes outside the program, speak at national conferences, and are leaders in our legal community. We believe in being present so we can listen, learn, and best support our students.
Externships Faculty Highlights
Professor Alexi Freeman, associate dean of diversity equity and inclusion; director of externships and social justice initiatives:
Interrupting and Disrupting the Law School Industrial Complex (with Roshana Floyd), SEATTLE J. SOC. JUST. (forthcoming);
LEARNING FROM PRACTICE, 4th edition, Editor, (forthcoming 2027);
The Staying Power of RPL: Fostering Belonging Among Students, 101 DENV. L. REV. 465 (2024).
Unconstitutional But Not Unconstitutional Enough, 111 CORNELL L. REV. (forthcoming);
The Extra Hurdle in State Courts to Prove a Statute Violates the U.S. Constitution, STATE COURT REPORT (project of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law) (forthcoming);
From Whiteboard to Statement of Principles: The Development of the Rocky Mountain Collective on Race, Place, and Law’s Principles, 101 DENV. L. REV. 455 (2024) (essay).
