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 externships@law.du.edu.

  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.

• 2023-2024 Key Dates

  August 4, 2023:	Last day to register for fall externship.
  August 10, 2023:	Mandatory orientation for first time externs for fall semester (9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. via Zoom).
  November 3, 2023:	Deadline for registration for Spring Semester 2024 Semester in Practice. Students may be accepted to the SiP program after the deadline if there is space available. Please contact externships@law.du.edu. Initial application due October 13, 2023.
  November 20, 2023:	Priority registration deadline for Spring 2024. Registrations for first-time externs will be accepted on a rolling, space-available basis until December 15. Registrations for repeat externs will be accepted until January 2, 2024.
  December 15, 2023:	Last day for first-time externs to submit paperwork for spring semester externship.
  January 2, 2024:	Last day for repeat externs to submit paperwork for spring semester externship.
  January 4, 2024:	Mandatory orientation for first-time externs for spring semester, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
  April 22, 2024:	Priority registration deadline for summer semester. Registrations will be accepted on a rolling, space-available basis until May 10, 2024.
  May 1, 2024:	Priority deadline for registration for Fall Semester 2024 Semester in Practice. Students may be accepted to the SiP program after the deadline if there is space available. Please contact externships@law.du.edu.
  May 10, 2024:	Last day to submit paperwork for summer 2024 externship.
  May 16, 2024:	Mandatory orientation for first-time externs for summer semester, 9am-12:30pm via Zoom.
  August 2, 2024:	Last day to register for Fall 2024 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 as discussed in the Student Handbook, Supervisors Manual, Semester-Specific Acceptance Form, student and supervisor certifications (found in CORE), ABA standards for field placements, and any other documentation provided by Denver Law.
  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 externships@law.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 externships@law.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. Unpaid externs can use any and all research databases with their accounts. Paid externs can use their Bloomberg Law accounts. Paid externs cannot use their Westlaw accounts. In fall/spring, paid externs cannot use their Lexis accounts but they can use Lexis accounts in a paid externship in the summer as Lexis has a special summer access program. Paid externs will have to gain access to these programs from their supervisors/offices.
  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 externships@law.du.edu to schedule a meeting with externship faculty.

  If a student or Supervisor has any questions or concerns about paid externships, email externships@law.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.
  
  For more information on how to register for your externship, please see the Summer 2024 registration information. Please review the Student Handbook for more information. Once you have uploaded the Supervisor 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

• 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!
   

  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 11, 2024 to externships@law.du.edu for the Fall 2024 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. Please review this doc for information to apply for spring 2024.
   

  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 2024 Application process for DU: Applications will be due Nov. 1 to externships@law.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 afreeman@law.du.edu with questions.
   

  MixDIP

  MixDIP was founded in 2014 by now-retired Magistrate Judge Kristen Mix and is designed to provide diverse 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 to apply who have been historically underrepresented in the legal profession because of their race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, or other statuses. 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. Applications for Fall 2024 will be due March 8, 2024. 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 2024 Semester in Practice application deadline is March 31, with a priority registration of May 1, 2024. 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 externships@law.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 Katie Steefel: https://calendly.com/ksteefel
  • Professor Lauren Valastro: https://calendly.com/lvalastro
  • Karen Mitchell: https://calendly.com/kmitchell-office-coord