Externship Program
The St. John's Externship Program offers students the
opportunity to work in pre-approved placements under the guidance
of carefully selected mentor-attorneys while participating in a
clinical externship seminar. Students work 140 hours a semester and
receive a total of 4 credits, 2 pass/fail credits, for the
placement component of the course, and 2 letter-graded credits for
the seminar.
The Externship Program is a comprehensive program which offers
students specialized Criminal, Judicial, and Civil Externship
seminars which explore substantively-based areas of learning.
The placements for all of the above externships are handled by
Professor
Keri
Gould. Materials on how to apply for an externship placement
are generally available in September, January and March of each
year.
Each year, students complete externships in a wide variety of
approved legal placements which are available in all the counties
and boroughs near St. John's School of Law. Most placements are
with not-for-profit, public interest or government agencies.
However, some placements which offer a particularly rewarding
educational experience in an area which is difficult to get in the
public sector can be approved on an experimental basis. Externships
may be arranged with judges at the city, state, and federal levels;
local prosecution and defender offices; and civil placements which
match the interests of the student body including organizations
which are on the leading edge of housing law, domestic violence
law, immigration law, environmental law, labor law, mental hygiene
law, consumer law, and general civil litigation.
In addition, the Law School offers other specialized externship
courses such as The Prosecution Clinic. (See Elective Course
Offerings for a full description.)
Note: No more than nine (9) pass-fail credits may be applied toward
the eighty-five (85) credits required for graduation and no more
than one clinical course in the Judicial, Civil or Criminal areas
may be taken over the course of a student's law school tenure. In
some instances, a waiver of the single clinical requirement may be
granted by the appropriate clinical professor where the
participating judge or organization requires a student to
participate for two consecutive semesters or where the second
clinical program provides an experience that varies substantially
from that obtained in the first. However, in no event will more
than two clinicals in one area be permitted.