OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM

I. Objectives

        The goal of University of Memphis School of Law's externship program is to provide a small number of motivated students with the opportunity to explore an area of public law in greater depth than possible in the classroom. Specifically, the program seeks to place students with government agencies that will allow the student exposure to, and opportunity to develop, the various interpersonal, informational, and written skills necessary to function as an attorney in that area. These skills are developed by allowing students to study the progression of a case, to become familiar with the legal documents and other materials on which legal arguments are based, to learn from a review of the documents what legal research is required, and to attend and participate in conferences and hearings at which case strategy or assessment is discussed.

         Specifically, each externship should:

1.       Provide the student with instruction in professional skills, such as interviewing witnesses and communicating with attorneys, developing a factual understanding of a case from raw documents and statements, and drafting documents.

2.       Provide the student extern with significant experience in legal research and writing, specifically by allowing the students to identify issues in raw documents and by gearing research and writing to resolving those problems.

3.       Provide the student with experience in a specialized area of the law, allowing the student to explore detailed and varied areas of such broad and challenging fields as labor relations law, employment law, and federal criminal law.

4.       Provide the student with an opportunity to develop skills that he or she will need in practice and develop an appreciation for the fact that both a thorough understanding of substantive law and a mastery of oral and written communication skills are needed to be a successful attorney.

5.      Familiarize the student with the workings of a government agency.

II. Requirements

1.       All students participating in the program are required to obtain clearance and acceptance from the responsible party with whom the extern program is to be worked.

2.       All students will comply with the rules set forth by the extern Site Personnel and the Law School.

3.       Students will work under the direction of the field placement supervisor or his/her representative eight (8) hours per week. The work term will be:

           a.  Fall Semester from the first day of class until the last day of class in November.
           b.  Spring Semester from the first day of class until the last day of class.
           c.  Summer semester will require sixteen (16) hours (or the equivalent) per week from the first day of class until the last day of class.

4.       Students will log time at the extern site, specifying the hours per week spent in the externship.

5.       Students will present a summary log of hours and type of work, with brief observations, signed by the extern's field placement supervisor to the faculty supervisor for each month by the fifth working day of the following month.

6.       Students are expected to engage in legal research and writing. Students shall submit on a regular basis copies of written work products (redacted, if appropriate) to the faculty supervisor for review.

7.       The faculty supervisor will meet periodically (but at least once a month) with students in the externship. At these meetings, the faculty supervisor and students will discuss extern logs, engage in a discussion and critical evaluation of the students' written work product and field experience in the externship, and address any problems or concerns experienced by the students concerning the externship, all to assure that the program is meeting its educational objectives.

8.       The faculty supervisor shall periodically contact the field placement supervisor to ensure that the student is meeting the expectations of the externship program and to address any problems or concerns experienced by the field placement supervisor or the student extern.

9.       At the conclusion of the externship and before the first day of examinations in the semester in which the externship was concluded, each student extern shall prepare a typewritten summary of his/her work experiences gained during the externship. This summary, which shall not include any confidential workplace information, should include a thoughtful examination of the work experiences gained by the student extern, the insights about our systems of criminal justice and the roles that attorneys and judges play in those systems, and a candid assessment of the quality of the experiences gained by the student.

10.       At the conclusion of the externship, the faculty supervisor shall request from each field placement supervisor a candid assessment of each student's performance of externship responsibilities.

11.       Students will be appropriately attired as determined by the field placement supervisor.

12.       Students will attend all called meetings of the field placement supervisor and/or the faculty supervisor, unless excused by the appropriate party.

13.       Students will be familiar with the appropriate Rules of Procedure, and other assigned materials.

14.       Students must complete work projects with their field placement supervisors on time and to their satisfaction to receive credit for the work.

15.       Students may be removed from the program at the discretion of the faculty supervisor for unsatisfactory or untimely work, unethical conduct, violation of any agreements with the field placement supervisor or Law School, breaches of confidence, inappropriate behavior or attire, violation of any rules of court, or at the request of the field placement supervisor.

16.       Externs shall receive two (2) hours of academic credit for their satisfactory completion of the externship.

17.       Student externs will be evaluated on an Excellent/Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis.

18.       Students may not take more than a total of sixteen (16) hours, including the extern program, in the semester (or its equivalent in the summer) in which they are enrolled for the extern credit.

19.       Students may not participate in two externships during the same semester, or in an externship and a legal clinic during the same semester.

20.       A student may take no more than (a) two externships, or (b) two clinics, or (c) one externship and one clinic for credit toward graduation.

21.       No student extern may receive pay for participation in an externship.

22.       Students are not eligible for participation in an externship until they have successfully completed 60 hours in the law school. Additional prerequisites may apply to particular externships.

23.       Students interested in participating in an externship must express their intent to participate in writing by March 1 for the Summer term, April 15 for the Fall term, and October 15 for the Spring term, unless an extension is granted by the faculty supervisor.

24.       Availability of an externship depends on the agreement of a faculty member to supervise a particular student.

25.       A faculty member teaching a full load should not undertake to supervise more than two (2) student externs in a semester, absent approval of the dean.