Externships

Information for Students

Learn how to gain law-related work experiences outside the law school

• What is an externship?

  Legal externships specifically refer to monitored legal and law-related work experiences in which the placement is outside of the law school (versus working in an in-house clinic or as part of a lab with a faculty member). In externships, students get real-world working experience while establishing intentional learning goals and reflecting actively on what is learned throughout their experience under the guidance of both a faculty advisor and supervisor in the field. Students earn credit for their fieldwork.

• Externship Database

  The Legal Externship Program maintains a large, password protected, database for Denver Law students only that includes Supervisors that have already been approved by our program.

  The database is searchable by:

  1. Rotation/placement type, such as corporate, nonprofit, etc.
  2. Practice area, such as environmental law, family law, etc., and/or
  3. Name of the Supervisors.

  Students are provided with an individual username and password for the database upon enrollment at Denver Law. If you have not yet received it, please contact the Legal Externship Program at law-externship@du.edu.

  The information in the listing for an individual placement is completed by the Supervisor/their office, not the Externship Program. After you identify Supervisors of interest, consider contacting them to be sure they have an extern position for the semester in which you want to work. Don’t forget to review the binders in our office for student feedback on prior placements with supervisors.

• 2025-2026 Key Dates

  August 8, 2025:	Last day to register for fall externship.
  August 14, 2025:	Mandatory orientation for first-time externs for fall semester (9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. via Zoom).
  November 4, 2025:	Priority deadline for registration for Spring Semester 2026 Semester in Practice. Students may be accepted to the SiP program after the deadline if there is space available. Please contact law-externship@du.edu.  Initial application due October 17, 2025.
  November 24, 2025:	Priority registration deadline for Spring 2026. Registrations for all externs will be accepted on a rolling, space-available basis until December 22.
  December 22, 2025:	Last day for externs to submit paperwork for spring semester externship.
  January 2, 2026:	Mandatory orientation for first-time externs for spring semester (9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. via Zoom).
  April 20, 2026:	Priority registration deadline for summer semester. Registrations will be accepted on a rolling, space-available basis until May 8, 2026.
  May 8, 2026:	Last day to submit paperwork for Summer 2026 externship.
  May 15, 2026:	Priority deadline for registration for Fall Semester 2026 Semester in Practice. Students may be accepted to the SiP program after the deadline if there is space available. Please contact law-externship@du.edu.
  May 14 and May 15, 2026:	Mandatory orientation for first-time externs for summer semester (9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. via Zoom).
  August 7, 2026:	Last day to register for Fall 2026 externships.

• Guidelines for Paid Externships

  In August 2016, the American Bar Association issued new standards surrounding field placements and externships. Students are now permitted to receive both pay and credit simultaneously.

  If you are a Denver Law student interested in seeking both pay and credit for an externship, please be aware of the following:

  1. An externship is considered paid if any sort of financial compensation is received by the extern while the extern also receives academic credit. Such financial compensation can come in many different forms including, but not limited to: an hourly/weekly/monthly wage, stipend, fellowship, and/or grant. Such financial compensation can be provided by the field placement OR another outside source. Denver Law does not provide any payment at this time for externships.
  2. Denver Law permits students to receive pay and credit simultaneously. The externship office will contact you and/or your supervisor if we have any questions about your paid externship.
  3. Regardless of pay status, both the student and Supervisors must still agree to abide by all of the requirements, rules, and regulations surrounding externships for credit.
  4. Denver Law externship faculty will need to communicate with the Supervisor about the paid externship prior to approval. If the Supervisor is new to our system, an application is required, as it is for all new supervisors regardless of pay status.
  5. All students and Supervisors must complete the Semester-Specific Acceptance Form and indicate, as requested, whether or not payment is being provided by the placement and/or received by the extern.
  6. Students seeking credit for work with a current employer may be eligible to receive both pay and credit for an externship with the same employer. A memo describing the increased educational value of the experience and how the work will be substantially different from the work the student is already engaged in as an employee is required. This must be submitted by the Supervisor, not the student, via email to law-externship@du.edu during the semester prior to your externship (in advance of the stated externship deadline). Work might be considered substantially different, for example, if it includes different projects, a new supervisor, or involves work in a different division of the office. Evening division students and students who are employed part-time in legal offices may fall into this category of students.
  7. Students who are enrolled in paid externships are NOT ELIGIBLE to satisfy their public service requirement through such externships even if the externship was at a government agency or nonprofit (which typically does satisfy the public service requirement).
  8. If an opportunity to receive payment presents itself during the semester in which you are enrolled for an externship for credit through Denver Law (vs. pre-enrollment), email law-externship@du.edu to discuss whether you are able to adjust your externship so that it can become a paid externship.
  9. Paid externs have restrictions on their use of research databases. Contact the Externship department or your current extern for policies.
  10. Students are limited to two paid or unpaid externships for credit with the same placement. However, allowances for additional paid or unpaid externships with a placement may be permitted in limited circumstances. Email law-externship@du.edu to schedule a meeting with externship faculty.

  If a student or Supervisor has any questions or concerns about paid externships, email law-externship@du.edu.

• Program Requirements

  If you have completed a minimum of 22 credits, congratulations! You are eligible to enroll in an externship at the Sturm College of Law. You can do an externship within the state of Colorado, throughout the country, or even internationally! Part-time students externing in their first summer should be sure to notify placements of which 1L courses they have not yet taken. Students can enroll in an externship during their 1L summer even if their G.P.A. is lower than 2.3; students can also enroll in an externship during fall/spring semesters if their GPA is below 2.3, but they must first consult with the externship director.

  You may complete an externship for 2 to 6 field credits. Each credit corresponds to 50 hours of work and thus you can work from 100 hours to 300 hours. Generally, you are limited to 15 externship field credits during your time at Denver Law. Field credits are counted as part of your overall out-of-class credits, which is limited to 25.

  Please note: If you intend to start your externship more than 2 weeks after the start of the fall or spring semester, or 1 week after the start of the summer semester, you must advise the Externship Office. This does not apply to Semester in Practice – you must start your externship the first week of the semester if in SIP.

  If you are a 3L in the Semester in Practice Program, you work full-time and your externship field credit limit throughout your time at Denver Law increases to 19 credits.

  To ensure compliance with the ABA, both first-time externs and repeat externs will be required to engage with externship faculty/staff to ensure they participate in ongoing, contemporaneous faculty guided reflection. First-time externs will be required to participate in a 1 credit graded seminar.
  
  Please review the Student Handbook for more information. Once you have uploaded the Semester Specific Acceptance form to CORE and your supervisor is approved (if necessary), our office will get you registered.

• Student Handbook

  Please review the Extern Student Handbook for more information:

  Extern Student Handbook

• Student Practice Rule

  If you are working at a qualified nonprofit or governmental agency, you may be eligible to be certified under the Student Practice Rule. You must have 60 credits by the start of the semester in which you plan to be certified to be eligible. Complete this Student Practice Rule form and submit it to the externship office, via email/in person, whether you are working for credit or not. Do not submit to the registrar. It takes 2-4 weeks to process, please plan accordingly!

• Specialty Programs

  The Legal Externship Program offers different specialty programs in which applications are solicited and students enroll in subject-specific, robust seminars that range from 1 to 3 credits. The seminars typically teach a mix of substantive law and skills relevant to the area of practice. These programs often have earlier deadlines than regular externships and may or may not be offered every semester/year– please review!
   

  Access to Justice

  In Spring 2025, we will offer an opportunity for students to pursue and enroll in a specific set of nonprofit for-credit externships while also enrolled in the two-credit Access to Justice Seminar taught by Elisa Overall and Toni-Anne Nuñez. The corresponding externships all focus on access to justice issues and/or representation in Colorado and we hope that they would help enhance student understanding of in-class material. For detailed information including the application process click here.
   

  Child Advocacy

  The goal of the Child Advocacy Program is to train law students on the underlying legal issues involving children, youth, and their families so that students are prepared to advocate on behalf of children in Colorado’s courts. It also aims to develop a robust and supportive community of students and supervising attorneys engaged in children’s legal work. It includes an externship and a 2-credit specialty seminar. The seminar focuses on the substantive law behind legal advocacy for children and youth.  It explores a range of related topics from juvenile delinquency law, education law, immigration law, and other intersections of youth and the legal system. Applications are due March 21, 2025 to law-externship@du.edu for the Fall 2025 program.
   

  Corporate Externship Program

  The Corporate Externship Program provides students a unique opportunity to extern in-house at a company or in a law firm’s transactional department serving corporate clients. Students also participate in an accompanying 1-credit seminar focused on the role of in-house and external counsel serving company clients. The seminar explores how to navigate the matrix of internal client structures, develop productive relationships with non-lawyer business counterparts, and solve problems to advance the company’s strategic objectives. This program typically runs in spring and is open to all students, including first time and repeat externs. All students must enroll in the seminar even if repeat externs. More information about the Corporate Externship Program and the application process for Spring 2025 is here.
   

  Lorenzo Márquez Externship Program

  The Colorado Supreme Court and the Colorado Court of Appeals seek 2L, 3L, and 4L students from CU and DU as judicial externs for the Lorenzo Márquez Externship Program for Spring. Judge Lorenzo Márquez was the first Latino district court judge in Grand Junction, and in 1988, he became the first Latino judge on the Colorado Court of Appeals, where he served until his retirement in 2008. Judge Márquez started the appellate externship program to inspire all students, and particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, to consider post-graduation clerkships and possible careers on the bench. 
   
  The courts typically prefer students to be able to work two full days (e.g. 16 hours per week) but the court will coordinate your schedule with their supervising justice/judge, including receiving time off during exam periods and law school breaks. These are unpaid positions, but students will receive externship credit for their work in the field.  
   
  Note: externships are typically in person. If you cannot work in person options may be limited or unavailable. 
   
  Spring 2025 Application process for DU: Applications will be due Nov. 8 to law-externship@du.edu and will include resume, one cover letter (applicable for all judges), and writing sample (LP memo/brief is fine if that’s what you have!). Your cover letter should explain why you are interested in the program and how you might benefit from participating in it. Please submit all materials in one PDF. Students may be asked to meet briefly with the externship department as well after submitting their applications to help us best understand your interests. Contact alexi.freeman@du.edu with questions.
   

  MixDIP

  MixDIP was founded in 2014 by now-retired Magistrate Judge Kristen Mix and is designed to provide CU and DU law students with fall semester public-sector internships. The program features internship opportunities with a variety of public employers, and students who participate receive academic credit based on the amount of time they devote to the internship. The leadership team includes Judge Mix, Judge Kato Crews from the U.S. District Court, and representatives from CU Law and DU Law. The program encourages law students with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply. All students are eligible. MixDIP is in its tenth year and has placed more than three hundred local law students in public-sector internships — many have found their niche in public-sector work as a result. All students are eligible to apply. Check your emails for details!
   

  Semester in Practice

  “The Semester in Practice really works…he is ready to take an associate’s job.”

  The Semester in Practice (SiP) gives students the opportunity to develop practice skills by fulfilling 15 credits (12 fieldwork credits plus a 3-credit graded seminar). Students work full time during the externship.

  In this capstone experience, offered only to students in their last year of law school, students have significant exposure to the substantive law in their externship, and focus on skills and professional identity in their seminar. One of a handful of such programs in the country, the Semester in Practice is a bridge from law school to practice.

  Each SiP is customized to the needs and desires of the student. Faculty meet with prospective students to help them find the externship that will provide significant development for them on their way to becoming practicing lawyers. Students in the past have participated in the SiP at a huge range of placements, both private and public. Supervisor information about Semester in Practice.

  The Fall 2025 Semester in Practice application deadline is March 14 with a priority registration of April 14, 2025. Students are encouraged to apply earlier to get assistance on their search, if they haven’t yet identified a placement. Students may be accepted to the Semester in Practice program after the deadlines if there is space available. Please contact law-externship@du.edu.
   

  Veterans Advocacy Project

  The Veterans Advocacy Project, a collaboration between the Rocky Mountain Veterans Advocacy Project and the Sturm College of Law, offers a seminar and externship course in which students, together with professors and other attorneys, assist veterans with their VA Disability Benefit Compensation claims and Discharge Upgrades. Students will be simultaneously enrolled in the Military Law and Veterans Advocacy course for the Spring or Fall semesters, as well as 3 credit hours in the externship program.

• Schedule Meeting with Externship Faculty & Staff

  Schedule Meeting with Externship Faculty & Staff

  • Professor Lexi Freeman: https://calendly.com/alexifreeman
  • Professor Colleen Scarola: https://calendly.com/colleen-scarola-du
  • Professor Katie Steefel: https://calendly.com/ksteefel
  • Karen Mitchell: https://calendly.com/kmitchell-office-coord