Judicial Externships        

Students work in a judicial setting for 12 hours a week starting with the first week of classes for a total of 168 hours. 
While all judicial externships include research, writing, and observation opportunities, externship experiences vary depending on the student’s placement. Students in the Federal District Court generally work on two or three assignments throughout the semester. Topics may include Social Security Administration appeals, civil rights issues, pro se petitions, or jurisdictional questions. Students in Federal Bankruptcy Court conduct research on sections of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Students in an appellate court will generally spend the semester working on two or three cases with relatively complex issues.

Students in the trial courts will work on more projects than students in the federal or appellate courts, although typically the projects will be less complex. Trial court externs can expect to work on criminal issues such as the lawfulness of an arrest or search, or on the civil side, a statute of limitations or statutory interpretation issue. Students in the probate courts will typically work on issues involving dissolution of marriage, custody, visitation, support, and property division. Juvenile court externs will work on delinquency issues and care and protection cases. Housing court externs will be assigned cases involving issues such as landlord-tenant disputes, eviction proceedings or easements.

Opportunities for observation are greatest for those externs working in the state trial courts. Students often have the opportunity to watch arraignments, sentencing hearings, or short trials. Externs in the federal courts have the opportunity to observe similar cases, but the cases may not arise with the same frequency as in state trial courts. Observation opportunities are generally more limited in the appellate courts.

Seminar assignments and readings are designed to complement the individual work experience by providing structured reflection on many aspects of the roles of courts, judges and lawyers in society. Students are required to complete a conflicts form and learning agenda, maintain a journal, submit weekly time sheets and complete a research assignment.

Click here for list of judicial sites accepting applications for Fall 2013 placements through Symplicity.

Prerequisites:             Judicial Externships are open to students who have successfully completed 32 hours of law studies. 

Types
of Externships:           Externship Seminar that meets for a total of fourteen hours over the course of the semester. 
                                    Seminar assignments  and reading provide an opportunity for structured reflection on the role of the lawyer. 
                                    Students are required to complete a conflicts form and a learning agenda, maintain a weekly journal, submit 
                                    weekly time sheets and complete a research assignment. Students receive 3 credits for the externship and
                                    1 credit for seminar participation.
                                    Semesters Offered: Fall and Spring

                                    Faculty Supervised Field Placement where students must secure a full-time faculty member to supervise 
                                    their externship placement. Student is required to meet with a faculty supervisor at least every other week. 
                                    Students are required to complete a conflicts form and a learning agenda, maintain a weekly journal, and
                                    submit weekly time sheets. Students receive 3 credits for the externship.
                                    Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring, and Summer

Orientation:                 Students will be required to attend an externship orientation prior to the commencement of their field 
                                    placement for an introduction to the course requirements, instruction on ethics, professionalism, and a skills 
                                    refresher.

Grading:                      Pass/Fail

Application:                Application is made each semester for placements the following semester.
                                    Apply through Symplicity, Career Services' on-line recruitment system.

Click here for a list of pre-approved Externship Placement Sites.

FAQs for EXTERNSHIPS

EXTERNSHIP ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS

EXTERNSHIP APPLICATION and REGISTRATION

Please view the EXTERNSHIP HANDBOOK for an overview of the policies and procedures relevant to the Western New England University School of Law Externship Program.

Sampling of Judicial Externship Sites
 
Judge Henry Boroff, U.S. Bankruptcy Court (Springfield, MA)
Judge William Boyle, Springfield District Court (Springfield, MA)
Judge Vanessa Bryant @ the U.S. District Court of Connecticut (Hartford, CT)
Judge Philip A. Contant, Westfield District Court (Westfield, MA)
Judge Alfred Covello, U.S. District Court (Hartford, CT)
Judge Carol A. Erskine, Worcester Trial Court (Worcester, MA)
Judge Mary E. Hurley, Chicopee District Court (Chicopee, MA)
Judge Kenneth P. Neiman, United States District Court (Springfield, MA)
Judge Dominic J. Squatrito, U.S. District Court (Hartford, CT)
Judge Daniel Swords, Hampden County Juvenile Court (Springfield, MA)

 

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Jeanne Kaiser
Professor of Legal Research and Writing

Professor Kaiser directs the Judicial Externship Program. While in law school Ms. Kaiser, a 1993 magna cum laude graduate, served as both a Staff Member and Editor on the Western New England University Law Review and was the recipient of numerous awards for academic excellence. After graduation from law school, she served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Elizabeth Porada of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Before joining the Program in 1998, Ms. Kaiser was a Litigation Associate in a Northampton general practice law firm. She serves as Director of the Legal Education Assistance (LEAP) Program.

Questions? Contact Marie Fletcher, Clinical Programs Administrator, at Tel.: 413-782-1469 or email: mfletcher@law.wne.edu.