Advanced Externship
The Advanced Externship is for students who have completed an externship course and wish to take another externship of the same type. For example, a judicial externship student seeking to complete a second semester with a judge would take the Advanced Externship course. If a student has completed a Judicial Externship and now seeks to extern with an attorney, they must take the appropriate Attorney Externship course.
The Advanced Externship does not have a classroom component but all the other requirements still apply including journal assignments, timekeeping, and individual meetings with the instructor.
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How does the Advanced Externship Course work?
- You must have successfully completed a prior externship course to be eligible for an Advanced Externship.
- The second externship can be with the same field placement as the first, or it can be a new placement of the same type (attorney or judicial)
- An Advanced Externship is 3 credits (pass/fail), which includes 140 hours of work in the field placement over the course of the semester. Students must work at least 10 weeks during the academic year.
- There is NO weekly seminar that is required as part of the Advanced Externship. You will have weekly writing assignments and multiple in-person meetings with the professor.
- Because there is no class component, an Advanced Externship does NOT fulfill your experiential learning graduation requirement.
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Can I do multiple Advanced Externships?
- No. No externship course may be repeated, including Advanced Externships.
- Students may take up to 9 total externship credits.
- Students cannot do more than 2 externships at the same placement.
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How do I know if it is an appropriate placement?
- Placements may be paid or unpaid. Paid externships are subject to a separate approval process.
- You may extern for a current or former employer if you submit an Educational Plan and the Director of Externships approves the placement as a substantively new learning experience.
- The work must be substantive legal work, diverse in nature, and must include opportunities for writing and observation. Students must produce at least 10 cumulative pages of original written work product in the placement.
- Field placements may be conducted at both public and private sector legal offices, and can include policy or legislative work.
- At least one of the field placement supervisors must be an attorney with at least 3 years of experience. In the case of JD Advantage placements, like legal compliance, the supervisor needs to have completed law school and have three years of relevant legal experience.
- Externships at an office where you have a close relative working are presumptively inappropriate.
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Are remote placements allowed?
- Externships may be fully in-person, fully remote, or a hybrid of in-person and remote work
- All field placements should have a plan for remote student work in case it becomes necessary due to Covid-19 infection or quarantine
- Discuss expectations around in-person and remote work when you are interviewing. Make sure that you and the field placement supervisor have a mutual understanding of what will be required of you.
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How do I submit my placement for approval?
- Externships must be submitted for approval on UB Law Connect.
- Paid externships are subject to a separate approval process and must be submitted for approval at least 3 weeks before classes begin.
- Unpaid externships must be submitted for approval at least 1 week before classes begin.