Law Practice Externships 

Students work in a nonprofit or governmental agency or organization, or law firm for 12 hours a week engaging in a variety of lawyering tasks under the supervision of an attorney. The emphasis of the placement is for students to acquire a range of lawyering skills with a particular focus on professionalism, ethics, and public interest lawyering.

Click here for list of law practice externship sites accepting applications for Fall 2013 placements through Symplicity.


Prerequisites:             Law Practice 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. 
                                    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.
                                    Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring, and Summer

                                    Grading: Pass/Fail

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

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

FAQs FOR EXTERNSHIPS

EXTERNSHIP ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS

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.

Students Certified Under Rule 3:03: Please note that placements requiring students to be 3:03 certified have additional eligibility requirements.    To request 3:03 Certification complete a Request for 3:03 Certification Form (also available in the Registrar's Office). Additionally, an amendment is sent to the S.J.C. upon completion of an externship placement and 3:03 certification is withdrawn at that time. Contact Marie Fletcher for more information.

Sampling of Law Practice Externship Sites

Berkshire County District Attorney's Office (Pittsfield, MA)
City of Springfield Law Department (Springfield, MA)
Committee For Public Counsel Services (Springfield, MA)
Committee For Public Counsel Services - Public Defender Division (Northampton, MA)
Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (Hartford, CT)
Connecticut Department of Public Health (Hartford, CT)
Friendly's Ice Cream Corporation (Wilbraham, MA)
Hampden Probate and Family Court (Springfield, MA)
Massachusetts Attorney General's Office (Springfield, MA)
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (Springfield, MA)
Massachusetts Department of Social Services Legal Department (Springfield, MA)
Massachusetts Fair Housing Center (Holyoke, MA)
Massachusetts Justice Project (Worcester, MA) 
Northwestern County District Attorney’s Office (Northampton, MA)
Office of the State's Attorney (Meriden, CT)
Safe Passage (Northampton, MA)
U.S. Attorney's Office (Springfield, MA)
U.S. Postal Service (Windsor, CT)

 

freeman 

Harris Freeman
Professor of Legal Research and Writing

Professor Freeman co-directs the Law Practice Externship Program.  He was the recipient of numerous awards for academic excellence while in law school. After graduation he served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Michael A. Ponsor of the Massachusetts Federal District Court. Before joining the program in 1999, he was an Associate in a Northampton, MA, law firm focusing on litigation of employment, civil rights and personal injury claims. Mr. Freeman is an Adjunct Faculty member at the Labor Relations and Research Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he teaches graduate courses in labor and employment law. He is also a Cooperating Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Western Massachusetts.

myra_orlen2jpg 

 Myra Orlen
 Assistant Dean for Academic Success
 Associate Professor of Legal Research and Writing

Professor Orlen co-directs the Law Practice Externship Program. After graduation from law school, Professor Orlen served as the Law Clerk for the Honorable Alexander O. Bryner, Chief Judge of the Alaska Court of Appeals, and later served a clerkship in the Superior Court of Massachusetts. After her clerkships, she worked as a Staff Attorney for the University of Massachusetts Student Legal Services Office in Amherst and as an Associate in a Northampton, MA, law firm. Professor Orlen has taught in the law program since 1995.

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