UHLC SUMMER JUDICIAL EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM SYLLABUS June 6 – August 14, 2016 Anna Archer and Carey Worrell Judicial Extern Summer Program Professors STUDENT MANUAL & SYLLABUS I. Externship Program Requirements A. Orientation If you have not previously received academic credit for a legal externship, you are REQUIRED to attend an orientation session on April 28, 2016, from 12:00 – 12:50 p.m. in Room 53, TUII. Other than the orientation, this class is conducted primarily via email. Thus, students are responsible for checking their UHLC email accounts regularly. B. Number of Credit Hours 1. Hours J.D. students may elect to take their externship for anywhere from 2 to 6 credit hours. (LLM students may participate for 2, 3, or 4 credits.) Each credit hour requires 60 on‐
the‐job hours. (120 working hours = 2 credits; 180 working hours= 3 credits; 240 working hours = 4 credits; 300 working hours = 5 credits; and 360 working hours = 6 credits.) Students who work full‐time generally sign up for 2 to 3 credit hours for a summer judicial externship that lasts for half of the summer. Students who work full‐time for the whole summer may earn 4 to 6 credits. However, students wishing to enroll in 5 or 6 credits should first meet with the Externship Program Director, Prof. Erma Bonadero, to discuss your particular placement and whether it will be able to provide enough substantive legal work to allow this many credit hours. 2. Changing Credit Hours Students may not increase/decrease their number of externship credits hours without first obtaining approval from their assigned Judicial Externship Professor. If, after consulting with your externship professor, you decide to change your number of credit hours, you must contact both Prof. Bonadero and Derrick Gabriel via email before the last day to add a course for your session. For summer sessions I and II, the last day to add a course is June 7. For summer session IV, the last day to add a course is July 12. C. Tracking Time Externs must keep track of their work hours on a time sheet/time log, which should look similar to the template provided herein. Students are to email their time log/time sheets to their assigned judicial externship professor concurrently with their writing assignments in accordance with the schedule noted in the “Mandatory Assignments” section below. Once you've completed your required number of hours, you may discontinue sending in time logs. Your final, cumulative time sheet must be signed by your placement supervisor and emailed to your assigned judicial externship professor. 1. Hours That Count Not all hours spent at your placement should be logged as working hours on your timesheet. You should use your judgment as to which type of activities are appropriate to log, as you will be required to do when you bill hours to clients as a practicing lawyer. The following is a non‐cumulative list of activities that are appropriate to log as working hours: 




Time actually working* (writing, observing, etc.) Time while at placement, but awaiting assignment (within reason) Orientations provided by your placement Any outside research assigned by supervisor/judge Luncheons and other events ONLY if attended with on‐site supervising attorneys and/or a judge *Students should be receiving mostly substantive legal work, as opposed to secretarial or administrative work, from their placement supervisors. Let your assigned judicial externship professor know via email if you have a problem with this at your placement. You may log and receive credit for a small amount of administrative work so long as the majority of hours are spent on substantive work or observation. 2. Hours That Do Not Count The following are examples of time spent that may be peripherally related to your externship but does not count towards the time needed to earn academic credit: 



Time spent completing your time log Lunch on your own or with other interns (without a supervising attorney or judge along with you) Drive time/parking time Days off due to government shutdowns, holidays (government holidays included), or illness 3. Non‐Completion of Hours by End of Semester Externs who do not complete the minimum number of required hours to receive credit for the number of hours for which they are enrolled by the time grades are due (i.e., early July for Summer II, mid‐August for Summer I and Summer IV) will receive an “I” for “Incomplete” until the signed final time log showing all hours completed has been turned in and all other course requirements have been met.* (Note: The “I” will be changed to a “U” for “Unsatisfactory” if a student does not complete his or her hours commitment within one year.) D. Mandatory Assignments 1. You must turn in the following assignments on or before the deadlines noted to receive academic credit for this externship: a. Reflective Writings and Time Logs You are required to email reflective writings and time logs to your judicial externship THREE TIMES during your externship if you have a half‐summer externship and FIVE TIMES if you have a full‐summer externship. Unless otherwise noted, all reflective writings shall be approximately one page, double‐
spaced, in 12‐point font. Assignment I (Summer 1, Summer 2, and Summer 4): The first reflective writing and time log is due, via email to your assigned judicial externship professor, by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday following the first week that you work as a judicial extern. The reflective writing should discuss (1) your expectations for your externship; (2) whether your first week on the job fulfilled those expectations; and (3) a discussion of notable experiences during your first week as an extern. Assignment II (Summer 1, Summer 2, and Summer 4): The second reflective writing and time log is due, via email to your assigned judicial externship professor, by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday following the third week that you work as a judicial extern. The time log should include a running total of your hours (including the hours you submitted after your first week). The reflective writing should discuss any notable experiences during your first three weeks as an extern and how you think your experience working as a judicial extern will influence your future legal career. Final Assignment (Summer 1, Summer 2, and Summer 4): The final reflective writing and time log is due, via email to your assigned judicial externship professor, by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday following the last week that you work as a judicial extern. The time log should include the total number of hours you worked and must be signed by your externship supervisor. The final reflective writing should include any notable experiences during the final weeks of your externship and discuss your overall impression of the experience. Interim Assignments (Summer 1): Students who are working the full summer should submit two interim assignments, one by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday following the sixth week of work and one at 5:00 p.m. on the Monday following the ninth week of work. The interim assignments include a one‐half page reflective writing that includes notable experiences during the preceding weeks and a time log that includes a running total of hours worked to date. NOTE: Your professor may change the due dates for interim assignments based on the length of your externship. b. Learning Agenda/Externship Agreement All students shall email their assigned judicial externship professor the following documents by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday following their first week of work: (i) a completed, signed Learning Agenda (the form is included in this packet); and (ii) a signed UHLC Student Externship Agreement (also included in this packet.) 2. Submitting the aforementioned assignments and time logs is just as important as working at your placement. You will not receive credit for working if you do not submit the required assignments in a timely manner. Students who miss a deadline without prior permission for their assigned judicial externship professor may, at the discretion of the professor, be required to complete an additional special writing assignment to make up for the missed deadline. II. Conflicts of Interest & Confidentiality All students must comply with the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Responsibility. Part‐time employment of a student enrolled in an externship may create a conflict of interest, as may a student’s prior employment. Notify your supervisor any potential conflicts immediately. Students are on notice that if a student’s employment or volunteer work during the semester results in a conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety, the student may be asked to terminate the employment or volunteer work, or leave the externship. Students are reminded that conduct with regard to confidentiality should also be guided by the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Responsibility, as well as the Rules of Judicial Conduct. The Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Responsibility (all externs), the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct (Texas state court externs), and other Texas ethics resources (all externs) can be found here: https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Ethics_Resources The Code of Conduct for United States Judges, Published Advisory Opinions, Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees, and Judicial Conference Regulations (for federal judicial externs) can be found here: http://www.uscourts.gov/rules‐policies/judiciary‐policies/code‐conduct III. Evaluations A. Placement Evaluation of Extern. Your assigned judicial externship professor will email your judge or supervising attorney at the end of your externship and ask him or her to complete a brief online evaluation of your performance. These evaluations will go directly to the UHLC externship director, Professor Bonadero, who will share it with your externship professor if necessary. The professors do not share the content of the evaluations with the students, but Judges and supervising attorneys are strongly encouraged to share the contents of their evaluation with you. B. Student Evaluation of Placement. Your assigned judicial externship professor will also email you a placement evaluation at the end of your externship. Students must complete the placement evaluation at the end of the semester and submit it in accordance with the directions on the form. This evaluation is not shared with your placement. It is meant to assist future student externs when deciding where they might wish to apply. (You may choose remain anonymous on the form.) IV. Grading Expect to receive a passing grade for your Externship if you complete your required number of hours and fulfill all the other requirements listed in this syllabus. If you do not do all of these things, you will not pass or receive credit for your externship. V. Contact Information Externship Program Director: Prof. Erma Bonadero, ecbonade@central.uh .edu Office Hours: By appointment during the summer. Office Location: Room 101‐D in the Blakely Advocacy Suite. Judicial Externship Summer Program Professors: Prof. Anna Archer: archer.judicial.externs@gmail.com, 832‐338‐4559 Prof. Carey Worrell: worrell.judicial.externs@gmail.com, 281‐748‐7470 Generally, if your last name starts with A through L, Prof. Worrell is your professor; if your last name starts with M through Z, Prof. Archer is your professor. However, students in the middle of the alphabet may be reassigned, depending on enrollment. Additionally, all students externing for Judge Miller will be Prof. Worrell’s students. Professors Worrell and Archer are both adjunct professors and do not have office hours. If you would like to speak with either professor in person, email her to arrange a date and time. UHLC Student Judicial Externship Agreement Summer2016 I, _____________________, affirm that I have thoroughly read and the UHLC Summer Judicial Externship Syllabus for the 2016 summer sessions, as well as all additional forms attached thereto, and understand what is expected of me in order to receive a grade of “Satisfactory,” and thus receive academic credit for my externship. I further understand that if I do not complete all course requirements, along with the minimum number of hours required for my specific externship course, I will receive a grade of “Unsatisfactory,” and thus not receive academic credit for my externship. ______________________________ Student’s Signature ______________________________ Student’s Printed Name _______________________ Date UHLC SUMMER 2016 JUDICIAL EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM STUDENT LEARNING AGENDA All students enrolled in the summer 2016 Judicial Extemship Program must complete the Leaming Agenda below with his/her Supervising Judge or Attorney. Signatures are required on last page. Student: ________________________________ Field Placement: _________________________ Supervising Attorney or Judge: ___________________________________________ Students ‐ You will use this plan in developing a Learning Agenda for your externship, together with your Supervising Attorney or Judge. Use this plan to make note of specific areas in which you would like to improve during your externship, and the activities/assignments you will try to improve in that area. Supervisors ‐ While the questions on this form address the student’s learning goals, we at the Law Center recognize and believe that a judicial externship is an experience that should benefit all concerned parties. In determining what assignments to give to law students, Supervising Attorneys or Judges should, of course, prioritize the Court’s goals and needs, along with the student’s learning objectives. 1. What areas of substantive law will you (“you”meaning the student for all questions) likely focus on during this externship? 2. What activities or projects in this externship placement could help strengthen your research skills (if applicable)? 3. What activities or projects in this externship placement could help strengthen your oral communication skills (if applicable)? 4. What activities or projects in this externship placement could help strengthen your written communication skills? 5. What activities or projects in this externship placement could help strengthen your fact investigation skills? 6. What activities or projects in this externship placement could help strengthen your sense of professional identity? (“Professional identity” includes understanding and respecting the Rules of Professional Conduct; demonstrating awareness of conflicts and obligations beyond those of the Rule of Professional Conduct; developing a sense of self as a professional; and dealing with stress in productive ways.) 7. What skills, apart from the one already mentioned above, are essential in order to excel in this judicial externship? What activities and projects in this externship placement could help you learn these skills? REQUIRED SIGNATURES: __________________________ __________ Signature of Supervising Attorney or Judge ______________________ Date ____________________________________ Signature of Student ______________________ Date Judicial Internship Timesheet‐‐‐John Doe Monday, May 30: Memorial Day Tuesday, May 31: 7.5 hours Worked on §922(g) memo (8:30‐9); watched voir dire in Judge Smith’s court (9‐10:30); watched jury selection (11‐12); watched trial court (1‐4); observed charge conference (4‐5). Wednesday, June 1: 7.5 hours Watched rest of trial including closing arguments (8:30‐10); watched jury bring back guilty verdict (10‐11); went with Judge Smith as he dismissed the jury and discussed with him about the styles and strategies of the two attorneys (11‐12); worked on memo for Judge (1‐2); met with supervisor and discussed progress (2‐3); continued working on memo for Judge (3‐5). Thursday, June 2: 7.5 hours Worked on memo and turned in second draft to supervisor (8:30‐10:30);began writing motion to dismiss prisoner’s §2255 motion (9:45‐12); Got second draft of memo back and discussed case with clerk (1‐2); reorganized memo (2‐3:30); observed sentencing in Judge Jones’s court (3:30‐4); worked on quick assignment to spot issues in a defendant’s brief for clerk (4‐5). Friday, June 3: 4.5 hours Received two new assignments from supervisor (8:30‐9); worked on first new assignment, an order denying a prisoner’s motion (9‐11); discussed the importance of networking and how to meet new people with the Judge (11‐12); had lunch with law clerks from Judge Smith’s and Judge Johnson’s court (12‐1). Total Hours this Week: 27 Total Hours to Date: 63