Externships A to Z
Your Guide to the Judicial and Public Interest
Externship Programs
Externship Opportunities
 Judicial Externships (Placements with Judges)
 Public Interest Externships (Placements with Government Entities
and Non-Profit Organizations)
 Students may not receive credit for externships with for-profit
corporations or with law firms. Additionally, 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.
 However, students may not earn externship credit for a second
semester at the same placement (i.e., with the same judge, at the
same court, or with the same public interest placement).
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; and Franklin County Domestic
Relations and Juvenile Court Judges
Judicial Externships - Basics
 Offered summer, fall, and winter semesters
 Summer – May-June
 2 credits
 Students work 8 hours per week for 7 weeks
 Fall/Spring Semesters
 3 Credits
 Students work 8 hours per week for 14 weeks
 Limited to the number of judges willing to participate
JEP - 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 5-6 page reflective essay
 Submit a sample of work that you wrote for the Court
during your externship
PI 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 nonprofit 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.
PI Externships - Basics
 Offered summer, fall, and winter semesters
 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.
 Fall/Winter Semesters
 3 Credits
 Students must work 50 hours per credit at the placement.
 Limited to 40 students per semester (including summer).
PI 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 5-6 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 lightload during the infamous “App Ad/OCI” semester.
 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 2013 tuition for externships was as follows:
 Two credits: In-state - $3,444.60 / Out-of-state - $5,313.60
 Four credits: In-state - $6,961.20/ Out-of-state - $10,699.60
 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.
 If you meet all ABA and Moritz requirements, 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
write short papers 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 their 1L 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/externships/
 Complete an application and submit your resume and a 5-page
writing sample with your application
 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.
 Application deadlines are posted online at
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/externships/
 Late/incomplete applications will be considered only after
timely/complete applications have been considered.
The Application Process
 You can apply for both the judicial externship program and
the public interest externship program, but you may only
participate in one of the two programs per semester.
 Applicable to March applicants only:
 You may apply to participate in the externship programs for
both semesters.
 However, if you have a preference for a particular program or
semester, please state your preference(s) clearly.
The Application Process
 If we have more applicants than spots, we will give
preference first to 3Ls graduating in December, then
to 3Ls graduating in May, and then to 2Ls. We will
also give preference to those placements that will not
permit students to volunteer.
 When it is time to register for classes, register as if
you will not receive an externship. If you are
selected, we will register you for the externship, and
you can drop a class if necessary.
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 student’s
demonstrated interest in a relevant area of law, and
the preferences of the placements.
 Students’ class rank and GPA will be neither irrelevant
nor controlling.
Federal Bar Association
Columbus Chapter Scholarship
 The Columbus Chapter of the FBA offers two $5,000
scholarships to judicial externs from OSU and Capital.
 The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit,
financial need, character, and diversity.
 To qualify, your judicial externship must take place during
the fall or winter semesters.
 Applications are due to April Davis on Friday, March 28.
 Applications are available at:
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/externships/
Questions?
Contact April Davis
davis.3537@osu.edu
614-688-2974