Externships
Graduate with the Experience that Employers Value
Our externship offerings provide you the opportunity to develop essential skills by working with a judge or at an approved non-profit organization or government agency. Whether you are looking to augment your studies by externing in a specific area or for a specific organization, or you want to explore your options before taking a clinic, you'll find the perfect choice among more than 50 placements.
Learn More Heading link
Put your legal knowledge and skills into practice while exploring a practice area and working under the supervision of an attorney or judge. Combining the complementary classroom seminar and legal field placement, UIC Law’s JD Externship Program experience offers students the opportunity to further refine their essential lawyering skills while working for a judge, non-profit organization, or government agency.
Watch the video to learn more about the JD Externship Program directly from our law students, faculty, and staff!
Download JD Externship Program Overview
Applying for Externships, Requirements, and Placement Heading link
Our students extern with local, state, and federal government agencies, some of the nation’s leading public interest organizations, and at all levels of the judiciary. Take a look below to view academic requirements and qualifications needed to participate in the JD Externship Program.
Learn More Heading link
The JD Externship Experience Heading link
While specific assignments and activities may vary, performing real legal work on behalf of your placement site is at the core of the externship experience. Typical activities include conducting legal research, drafting documents and opinions, assisting with client intake, interviewing clients and witnesses, assisting attorneys in hearings and trials, and attending meetings and strategy sessions. Through this hands-on experience, you’ll gain and refine the practical skills and professional values that create effective attorneys. In addition to your placement responsibilities, you’ll track and report fieldwork hours and participate in the complementary seminar course component, which focuses on professional responsibility and ethics, professionalism, problem-solving in the workplace, and goal setting. Throughout this for-credit program, you’ll get feedback from your supervising attorneys and course instructors.
The JD Externship Experience Heading link
“Interviewing allowed me to not only write the petition for their second chance, but for me to truly believe they deserved a second chance. It was an exercise in empathy and
humanity for sure. These skills will be very valuable as I continue working with clients during law school and in my career to come.”
Gonzalez Testimonial Heading link
“The most meaningful part of my externship was learning that in order to be an effective litigator you have to be quick, calculated, and vicious—in the best way!”
| Legal Extern, National Legal Advocacy Network
Read More Externship Testimonials
Stay Informed Heading link
To learn more about the JD Externship Program, consider the following opportunities:
- Attend an Externship Information Session—several are held each semester to provide a general overview of the program and instructions for participating.
- Check eCommons announcements and your email for important Externship Program dates and instructions.
- Consult each semester’s course schedule for extern course dates and times. The type of placement (judicial, government, criminal, or non-profit) determines the course for which you register.
