Course Information

B547: Public Interest Internships
B698: Judicial Externship
B545: Criminal Law Externships

Mandatory Session:
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 12:00-1:00 p.m. in Room 121 

If you did not attend the mandatory session, you must watch the video below:

Description

The Public Interest Externship Program encourages students to gain experience in public interest work by permitting students to obtain academic credit for unpaid legal work done in public service venues. Students are supervised by a faculty member at the law school as well as an attorney or judge at the externship site. A critical component of the externship is the academic component assigned by the faculty member. This academic component is designed to encourage students to think reflectively and critically about the practice of law and the ethical issues it poses.

First things first:

• Register for the academic component (B547, B698, or B545) by emailing your intentions to Inge Van Der Cruysse (ivanderc@indiana.edu) who will then get the necessary registration documents to you. 
• Read the Course Handbook Download Course Handbook
  .
• Upon registration you will be assigned a faculty supervisor.
• You must register for the academic component (B547, B698, or B545) before starting work. No credit will be given unless registration pre-dates the beginning of work.
• Complete all academic requirements on time including staying in contact with your faculty supervisor.
• Two things to keep in mind:
  • You must be supervised by a licensed attorney; and
  • You must perform substantially all your work at the externship site; in general remote locations, telecommuting, or working from home are not acceptable.

Course Requirements

1. You are required to read the Rules of Professional Responsibility for your jurisdiction. In Indiana, those rules may be found online Links to an external site..
2. Attend the mandatory class, April 19th at noon. If you cannot attend, contact your faculty supervisor.
3. You must be accessible on a continuous basis via your law school e-mail account.
4. You must contact your faculty supervisor by e-mail within the first week of starting your externship using the initial status report form Download initial status report form
   . This report will include (1) your supervising attorney's or judge's name, address, telephone number and e-mail address; (2) verification of your starting and ending date; and (3) confirmation of having read the Rules of Professional Responsibility and those on Admission and Discipline, the excerpt on Reflective Lawyering, and the course handbook.
5. You must keep track of the hours you work at the externship. You will report the hours with each essay (see #6 below).
6. You must submit to your faculty supervisor reflective essays about your externship using the weekly essay form Download weekly essay form
   .
   • Weekly. Write reflective essays on a weekly basis.
   • Deadline for submission. Submit your essays by e-mail to your faculty supervisor using the required essay form every second and fourth Friday of each month that you are working. This means you will submit two or three essays on each of the following Fridays if you worked any part of this two- or three-week period:
     • May 13
     • May 27
     • June 10
     • June 24
     • July 8
     • July 22
     • August 12
     • August 26
   • Essays are due on Friday no later than midnight EDT. You must obtain advance approval from your faculty supervisor if you believe that you need to deviate from this schedule.
   • Reflect. Your essays should be reflective in nature, not merely descriptive. Re-read the excerpt about reflective lawyering (page 10 of course handbook).
   • Length. Your essays should be a minimum of three pages (double-spaced) and a maximum of five pages for each week of work. But submit your eassy on each due date as one file. Be sure to number the pages of your essay.

Due Dates/Deadlines

• Prior to the start of your externship, you must attend the mandatory class on April 20.
• Within the first week of starting your externship, you must submit a status report with contact information.
• Each week throughout your externship, you must write a reflective essay.
• On the second and fourth Fridays of each month for the weeks you that you have worked, you must submit your reflective essays (as one attachment) by e-mail to your faculty supervisor before midnight EDT.

Grading

The Public Interest externship Program is a pass/fail course. Your grade will be based on your fulfillment of the requirements set forth above. Failure to comply with the above requirements in a timely and professional manner could result in:

• Failing the course;
• Loss of course credit;
• Involuntary withdrawal from the course (which may require repayment of financial aid); and/or;
• Placement of a negative letter concerning your lack of professional responsibility in your law school file.

No academic credit will be given for work of which your faculty supervisor is unaware.

Course Faculty:

• Laura Daghe Links to an external site.
• Robert Downey Links to an external site.
• Lisa Farnsworth Links to an external site.
• Seth Lahn Links to an external site.
• David Main Links to an external site.
• Inge Van Der Cruysse Links to an external site.