Externship Site Information

1. Substantial Lawyering Experience and Designated Externship Site Supervisor. An externship should provide a student substantial lawyering experience that is reasonably similar to the experience of a lawyer advising or representing a client or engaging in other lawyering tasks in a setting outside a law clinic under the supervision of a licensed attorney or an individual otherwise qualified to supervise.

2. Affiliation Agreement. An externship requires an affiliation agreement to be entered into between the externship program and the externship site that describes both:

   1. the substantial lawyering experience and opportunities for performance, feedback, and self-evaluation; and
   2. the respective roles of faculty and the externship site supervisor in supervising the student and in assuring the educational quality of the experience for the student, including a clearly articulated method of evaluating the student’s academic performance.

   Examples of the affiliation agreement can be found at the bottom of this webpage.

3. Externship Site Supervisor Oversight. An externship must include a method for selecting, training, evaluating, and communicating with externship site supervisors, including regular contact between faculty and externship site supervisors through in-person visits or other methods of communication that ensure the quality of the student educational experience.
4. Student Evaluation. An externship must include an evaluation of each student’s educational achievement by the externship program.
5. Sufficient Control over Student Experience. An externship must include sufficient control of the student experience to ensure that the requirements of the ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools are met.

Current and potential externship sites should review the Externship Manual available on this website, which answers most questions and provides further detail. If you have additional questions, please contact the Externship Director. 

To Become a New Externship Site

1. To become an approved externship site, the potential externship site must first complete an externship site application applying to be an externship site. The application is automatically routed to the externship director upon submission. The potential externship site must meet the minimum requirements for approval, which are available in the Externship Site Minimum Requirements section of the Externship Manual.
2. After the externship director receives the application, they will contact the potential externship site for a follow-up conference call or in-person meeting to discuss the application and address any additional questions.
3. After the follow-up is completed, the externship director will either approve or reject the application and communicate the decision to the potential externship site.
4. If approved, the externship program will send the approved externship site an affiliation agreement for execution.
5. After the affiliation agreement is executed, the externship site will be listed as an approved site for students. Students who are hired by the site and meet the academic minimum requirements may then apply to the externship program. For further information, see the Academic Minimum Requirements section of the Externship Manual.

To Post a New Externship Position

To post a new externship position, the externship site must email the Externship Department.

1. Prior Approval. Each Externship Site must be approved by the Externship Director prior to the student beginning work and prior to the student being registered for the Externship. The link to the Externship Site Application is below.
2. Minimum Number of Attorneys. Each Externship Site must have at least three (3) full-time, licensed attorneys in good standing unless the Externship site is a healthcare compliance department at a hospital, healthcare compliance department at a healthcare organization, or if the Externship site is the Patent Office at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Healthcare compliance departments at hospitals or healthcare organizations must have at least one (1) full-time licensed attorney in good standing. The Patent Office must have at least three (3) full-time Supervisor Patent Examiners. There are no other exceptions.
3. Externship Site Application. Each Externship Site must complete an Externship Site Application to obtain approval to be an Externship Site.
4. Malpractice Insurance. Each Externship Site must have current malpractice insurance.
   1. Note that government entities and judicial chambers will have this provision waived.
5. Commercial General Liability Insurance. Each Externship Site must have a minimum general liability insurance.
   1. Note that government entities and judicial chambers will have this provision waived.
6. Designated Externship Site Supervisor.
   1. Each Externship Site must have a designated Externship Site Supervisor for each Extern. A single Supervisor can supervise more than one Extern, but each Extern must be assigned to a designated Supervisor.
   2. Externship Site Supervisor Qualifications
      1. The Externship Site supervisor must be an experienced attorney that is employed on an in-house, full-time basis at the Externship Site.
      2. The Externship Site supervisor must have practiced for at least five (5) years, and must be currently licensed and in good standing in IL or the jurisdiction where the Externship Site is located.
         1. Note that federal placements and those practicing federal law may be able to satisfy this requirement with being currently licensed and in good standing in another state.
      3. Externship Supervisor Supervision Requirements
         1. Monitor the Extern’s responsibilities on a regular basis.
         2. Involve the Extern in meaningful legal work. Externships are primarily academic in nature and thus the Externship should involve quality legal work, supervision of the student's work, and meaningful supervision and feedback for the student.
         3. Complete and submit within the required time frame, the two (2) evaluations of the Extern. Externship Sites that fail to comply with this requirement may be prohibited from continued participation in the Externship Program.
         4. Immediately notify the Externship Director if the Supervisor will no longer supervise an Extern.
7. Affiliation Agreement
   1. Each Externship must execute an Affiliation Agreement prior to the first day of class. If the Affiliation Agreement has not been executed prior to the first day of classes, the student will not be permitted to remain enrolled or earn credit in the Externship Program. Examples of the Affiliation Agreement can be found at the bottom of this webpage. Please see the 'Affiliation Agreement' section of the Externship Manual for more information.