Mission Statement
The Residency Externship Program: Semester-in-Practice provides students the opportunity to earn academic credit by performing legal and law-related work outside the classroom through a semester-long, immersion experience in approved legal and law-related settings such as government agencies, non-profit organizations, and in-house legal departments. Its objective is to afford students the opportunity to receive extensive professional and practical experience while also serving students’ diverse subject-matter and geographical interests. Through this program, students are immersed in the work of their host organization and, under the supervision of attorneys or judges, gain valuable experience and insight in the applying of classroom learning and legal principles to real world legal and law-related issues and thereby becoming better prepared for practice upon graduation.
To help students achieve this objective, the goals of the Residency Externship Program: Semester-in-Practice are to have students:
- Improve their lawyering skills such as research, writing, analysis, and oral advocacy;
- Increase their understanding of the range of skills necessary to effectively perform legal and law-related work;
- Develop a deeper understanding of substantive law and the legal or law-related issues facing the host organization and its mission;
- Enhance their understanding of professionalism, professional responsibility, and other workplace issues that arise in a professional work environment;
- Develop productive working relationships through regular interaction with others; and
- Engage in critical self-reflection to promote self-directed, lifelong learning.