EXTERNSHIPS A
TO Z
Your Guide to the Judicial and Public Interest
Externship Programs
Externship Opportunities
• Judicial Externships (Placements with Judges)
• Government/Public Interest Externships (Placements with
Government Entities and Non-Profit Organizations)
• Students may not receive credit for paid work, including
work for which they receive PILF funding.
• Students may apply a total of 8 externship credits towards
graduation. Students may do more than one externship in
each program, if they choose.
Judicial Externships - Basics
• Judicial Externships
• Perform unpaid work for a judge and his or her staff in chambers
• Participating judges include: United States Circuit, District,
Bankruptcy, and Magistrate Judges; Ohio Supreme Court Justices;
an Ohio Court of Appeals Judge, and Franklin County Common
Pleas,Domestic Relations, Juvenile, and Probate Court Judges
Judicial Externships - Basics
• Offered summer, fall, and spring semesters
• Summer – May/June
• 2 credits
• Students work 8 hours per week for 8 weeks
• Fall – August to December
• 3 Credits
• Students work 8 hours per week for 14 weeks
• Limited to the number of judges willing to participate
Judicial Externships - Academic
Component
• Graded “satisfactory”/ “unsatisfactory”
• Must attend mandatory one-hour class once per month (ABA
requirement)
• Submit weekly journal entries discussing your experiences as an
extern
• Write a 5 page reflective essay
• Submit a sample of work that you wrote for the Court during your
externship
Public Interest and Governmental
Externships - Basics
• Public Interest Externships
• Perform unpaid work for a governmental entity or non-profit organization
that is approved as an externship placement by the law school.
• The law school has secured a number of placements with state and federal
governmental agencies and Ohio-based non-profit organizations.
• Students may also find their own placements, provided space in the
program is available and the placement obtains approval from the law
school.
• Students may work at out-of-state placements.
Government and Public Interest placements with whom we
have relationships
•
CASA of Franklin County
•
Columbus Bar Association Ethics Department
•
Columbus Legal Aid
•
Correctional Institution Inspection Committee
•
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office
•
Cuyahoga County Public Defender
•
Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office
•
Disability Rights Ohio
•
Economic and Community Development Institute
•
Environmental Law and Policy Center
•
Fairfield County Prosecutor’s Office
•
Federal Public Defender’s Office-Habeas
•
Federal Public Defender’s Office-Trial
•
Franklin County Municipal Court Small Claims and Dispute Resolution
•
Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office-felony
•
Franklin County Public Defender
•
Franklin County Public Defender-juvenile
•
Health Policy Ohio
•
Jobs and Family Services
• Industrial Commission
• Nationwide Children’s Hospital
• Ohio Attorney General
• Ohio Attorney General-Antitrust Division
• Ohio Civil Service Employees Association
• Ohio Department of Agriculture
• Ohio Environmental Council
• Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission
• Ohio Legal Assistance Fund (OLAF)
• Ohio Poverty Law Center
• Ohio Public Defender
• Ohio Supreme Court-Dispute Resolution, Master Commissioners
• Student Legal Services at OSU
Government/Public Interest Externships - Basics
• Offered summer, fall, and winter semesters
• Fall or Spring
• 3 Credits
• Students must work approximately 10 hours per week in the
placement.
• Summer
• 2 credits or 4 credits
• Students must work 50 hours per credit at the placement.
• The hours may be worked over the entire summer or during half of
the summer.
Government /Public Interest Externships – Academic Component
• Graded “satisfactory”/ “unsatisfactory”
• Must attend a mandatory orientation session and mandatory
one-hour classes once per month
• Submit weekly journal entries
• Write a 5 page reflective essay
• Submit a sample of work that you wrote during your externship
Summer Externships - Pros
• Students who take the 4-credit externship will qualify for
financial aid for tuition and living expenses.
• Some governmental entities and non-profit agencies will
not permit students to volunteer.
• Earning externship credits will enable rising 2Ls to light-
load during the academic year.
• Students who take classes both summers totaling at
least 10 credit hours and meet all graduation
requirements may be able to graduate in December.
Summer Externships - Cons
• You must pay tuition to participate in the externship
programs.
• This makes externing during the summer expensive:
• During the summer you “pay per credit” instead of paying the
semester full-time “flat rate.”
• Summer 2014 tuition for externships was as follows:
• Two credits: In-state - $3,500+ / Out-of-state - $5,400+
• Four credits: In-state - $7,000+ / Out-of-state - $11,000+
• You can earn 88 credits easily without earning credits during the
summer, so you are essentially paying for “unnecessary” credits.
• You may be able to volunteer and get the same
experience for free.
Special Considerations for Students
Considering the Oxford Program
• You can complete a 2-credit judicial or public interest externship
before you leave.
• This will enable you to receive your summer financial aid in May, as
opposed to July.
• A word of caution: the amount of financial aid you receive will be
exactly the same; you will just get it sooner.
• You can use your summer credits to graduate early, thereby defraying
the cost of the externship and Oxford experiences.
Out-of-State Externships
• Students may obtain a public interest placement outside of the State
of Ohio.
• Students who extern outside of Ohio will be required to participate in
TWEN discussions in lieu of attending class.
• Students who extern in Ohio must attend the monthly externship
class, even if the student is not externing in Central Ohio.
• Please be advised that non-resident students who extern outside of
the State of Ohio during the summer will not be eligible for in-state
residency for their 2L and 3L years.
The Application Process
• Application materials may be found at
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/programs/externships/
• Complete an application and submit your resume and a 5-page writing
sample with your application
• Be as specific as you want to be about preferred placements
• If you plan to find your own placement, you must ensure that your placement
submits a placement application.
• Please note: There is no guarantee that your placement will be approved.
• Deadline: Monday, March 30, for preference assignments
• Later applications will be considered only after timely/complete applications
have been considered.
Matching Students to Placements
• Students in both programs will be matched to placements
by Student Services staff (except for students who have
found their own placements).
• When matching students to placements, staff will consider
student preferences, a students’ demonstrated interest in
a relevant area of law, and the preferences of the
placement.
• Students’ class rank and GPA will be neither irrelevant nor
controlling.
QUESTIONS?