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Learning from Practice - The Role of the Seminar in the Externship Program

 

The externship students field work experiences are enhanced by the close supervision they receive from faculty members, by participating in an externship seminar. Seminars give students an opportunity to reflect on their experience, hear from other students about other externship experience, and build important legal skills.

Externship seminars provide students with an opportunity to engage in critical reflection about the legal profession, their own future legal careers, and their priorities and values as lawyers in conjunction with their field placement experiences. Externship seminars are open to students in a wide variety of field placements; rather than emphasizing a particular area of law, they focus on the lawyering experience, the legal profession, and the workings of legal institutions.  Students have the opportunity to explore their own professional development through discussions of critique and self-evaluation, the transition from school to work, and career goals and career planning.

Each two credit seminar can have a different focus or format. Below, you can access course descriptions for each professor's course.

Seminars/Supervision Options

Most students who are externing for the first time enroll in the two-credit graded externship seminar, which meets once a week. Students who have already completed an externship enroll in the one credit Advanced Supervision seminar. Note: All students participating in an externship must be enrolled in an externship seminar (LAW-769-XXX) or supervised individually by faculty.

Two-Credit Externship Seminar

The Two-Credit Externship Seminar is graded A-F and intended for first time externs. 

Requirements:

The requirements for each externship section may be different, and are listed in each professor's course syllabus. All seminars, however, will require the following:

  • Weekly Seminar Classes:

    • Spring/Fall: In the Fall and Spring semesters, the class meets 1 hour, 50 minutes per week for a 13-week semester.

    • Summer: In the Summer semester, the class meets 2 hours, 50 minutes per week for a 9-week semester.

  • Written Assignments:

Assignment Rough Due Date

Goals Meeting with Supervisor/Form

Submit by end of first working week

Contemporaneous Time Log

Fill out time logs every week

Reflective Journals/Cover Page

10 journals submitted according to syllabus schedule

Midterm Self-Assessment

Submit by mid-semester

Final Reflective Essay

Submit by last day of semester

Presentation on your externship

Last weeks of semester 

Student Extern Final Evaluation of Externship

Submit by last class through CareerLink

Supervising Attorney Final Evaluation of Student Extern

Student responsible for making sure Attorney Supervisor submits by last class

Submit signed time log to professor

Submit by last class
 

  • Reading Assignments:

Professors assign reading assignments pertaining to the content of the seminar class.

  • A Substantial Written Project:

This is generally one 10-15 page research or reflective paper, or a series of shorter papers assigned throughout the semester.

  • Log of Hours Worked:

Students must keep a contemporaneous log of hours worked. Your professor will require you to have your field supervisor confirm the hours worked either by email or by signing the hours log.

  • Other Assignments:

There may be a class presentation, simulations, or a combination of assignments.

NOTE: Students can only enroll in the Two-Credit Externship Seminar once. 

Advanced Supervision

The Advanced Supervision seminar is for students who have already participated in a two-credit externship seminar. This seminar is one credit and is graded Pass/Fail. 

Requirements:

All Advanced Supervision Seminars will require the following:

  • Seminar Classes

    • Fall & Spring: In the Fall and Spring semesters, the Advanced Seminar meets nine times for 50 minutes over the course of the semester. The seminar typically meets for the first three weeks of the semester and then every other week for the rest of the semester.

    • Summer: In the Summer semester, the seminar will meet weekly.

  • Journals:

Students must submit journals reflecting on the externship experience. Students must follow their professor’s guidelines and requirements regarding format, length, and submission. The frequency of journal submissions will depend on whether the course is taken in the Fall/Spring semester or during the summer. 

  • Reading Assignments:

Professors may assign students reading assignments pertaining to the content of the seminar class.

  • A Substantial Written Project

Generally, the professor will assign a five to six page research or reflective paper.

  • Log of Hours Worked:

Students must keep a contemporaneous log of hours worked. Your professor will require you to have your field supervisor confirm the hours worked either by email or by signing the hours log.

Summer Remote Seminars

During the Summer semester, the Externship Program offers remote seminars (Two-Credit & Advanced) for students who are externing onsite outside of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area. Students will need to reserve 2.5 hours each week to attend this online class in a quiet space where they can hear and speak with a headset. The seminars meet at 6 pm EST. 

  • International Externships: Students can extern outside of the United States if the placement meets the program requirements and the student can attend the 6 PM seminar.  More requirements for International Externships can be found here.
  • In-House Counsel Externship Seminar: This seminar is specifically for students externing in corporate in-house counsel offices both in and outside of the Washington D.C. area (the In-House Counsel Seminar is also offered in the Fall and Spring semesters on campus in regular classroom format). This seminar has the same general requirements as the Two-Credit Seminar listed above. More information about externing in a corporate in-house counsel office can be found here.
Individual Supervision

Individual Supervision by a Faculty member (Fall & Spring Only)

Individual Supervision is a one credit Pass/Fail course. 

During the Fall and Spring semesters, students unable to attend any of the Externship Seminar offerings due to scheduling issues or other constraints may ask individual faculty members to provide supervision. The faculty member must be a full-time professor or must have an office within the WCL law school building. Faculty members, who agree to individually supervise externship students, must sign the Individual Faculty Supervision Guidelines.

PLEASE NOTE: Neither the Individual Supervision nor the field credit does not count towards WCL's experiential skills requirement.

Requirements:

  • Faculty Advisor/Student Meetings

Students are required to meet with their professor between 5-7 hours per semester. Topics for meetings may include: the progress of the externship, problems, insights and strategies for getting the most out of the externship, and reflection on broader issues concerning the practice of law that relate to observations and experiences in the field.

  • Journals:

Students must submit biweekly journals reflecting on the externship experience. Students must follow their professor’s guidelines and requirements regarding format, length, and submission.

  • Reading Assignments:

Professors may assign students reading assignments pertaining to the content of the seminar class.

  • A Substantial Written Project:

The professor will assign an 8 to 10 page research or reflective paper.

  • Log of Hours Worked:

Students must keep a contemporaneous log of hours worked. Your field supervisor must confirm the hours worked either by email or by signing the hours log.

  • Monthly Progress Report Due to the Director of the Externship Program:

All students participating in Individually Supervised Externships are responsible for contacting the Director of the Externship Program on the last day of each month to report on the status of their supervision. This includes the dates and times they met with their professors, the dates on which journals were submitted and the status of additional writing assignments. Failure to report to the Director of the Externship Program each month could result in a denial of credit for both the supervision component and the field placement. 

 

Additional Information

How do I select a seminar?

Students select their seminar based on their course schedules. All of the externship seminars begin with the prefix LAW 769. 

If I enroll in a second externship, do I take a second 2-credit externship seminar?

No. A student can only receive credit for the graded two-credit LAW-769 course once. Students who enroll in a second externship must enroll in the one credit Advanced Supervision seminar.  The only exception is for students who subsequently enroll in the Corporate Counsel seminar.

Must I enroll in an externship seminar to earn field placement credit?

Yes. Students receiving credit for a field placement must be supervised by faculty through the Externship Program.

Does the externship seminar meet WCL's experiential skills requirement?

The Two-Credit Externship Seminar, the Advanced Externship Seminar, and the field placement credits all meet WCL's experiential skills requirements.

Individual Supervision, including related field placement credits, does not meet WCL's experiential skills requirements.

Can I take the seminar in one semester and complete the fieldwork hours in another semester?

No. In order to earn externship credit, the fieldwork hours need to be completed in the same semester as the externship seminar.