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CHARLESTON SCHOOL OF LAW
EXTERNSHIPS
The Charleston School of Law Externship Program provides students with meaningful hands-on, practical legal experience in a variety of legal practice areas while earning academic credit. Charleston Law students are able to find the perfect fit to learn and develop skills in the legal field of their interest, including public service, corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, civil litigation, family law and intellectual property.
The externship experience:
- assists students in exploring a particular area of interest of their choice at a field-placement site
- exposes students to the operation of the legal system
- enhances students’ practical skills, such as, communication, research and writing
- enhances students’ personal skills such as poise and confidence
Additionally, externships provide students with the opportunity to meet and work with members of the legal bar and their staff, which may prove invaluable as the students pursue employment.
To qualify for an externship, students must have completed at least 27 credit hours and be in good academic standing. Externships are available in the fall, spring and summer semesters.
If you are a licensed attorney and would like to be an externship site, contact Michelle Condon.
Interested in pursuing an externship?
The Charleston School of Law’s Externship Program allows students who have completed 27 credits and are in good academic standing to gain practical legal experience working with a variety of employers. A licensed attorney at the externship site must supervise the student’s law related work. Sites can include governmental agencies, courts, nonprofits, corporations, and private law firms. This fall, the law school will offer a corporate externship course as well as a general externship course.
Students earn Pass-Fail academic credit depending on the number of hours they work at the site during the semester. During the fall and spring semesters, students can earn two credits (104 work hours) or three credits (160 work hours). During the summer, students additionally can earn four credits (208 work hours) or five credits (260 work hours).
To support their experience at the externship site, students receive eight hours of educational instruction by attending a regularly scheduled externship course and reviewing their progress during one-on-one midterm and final evaluation meetings with the externship director. The externship course covers legal ethics, best practices in the workplace, professional identity, supporting diversity and cultural competency in the workplace, time management, wellness, and related topics.
Externship site supervisors must complete midterm and final evaluations of the extern and ensure that the extern has completed at least 25 pages of legal writing.
For questions about the externship program, contact Michelle Mensore Condon, Director of Externships and Public Service and Pro Bono or call 843.377.2457. Potential sites can post for an externship opportunity through this link.