Externships

Earn credit and develop professional relationships while working in premier placements across the country. Our robust opportunities provide the flexibility you need to tailor your experience to your career goals.

Work with attorneys to:

• Improve research, writing, and legal analysis skills. 
  
• Learn how to identify and adapt to the culture and expectations of a work environment.
  
• Build a professional network within the legal communities and location you plan to practice in.

Placements

Each of our Externship Programs provides a variety of placements to fit the many interests of our students. Among them, you will find:

• Compliance Groups
  
• Corporate Counsel
  
• General Counsel
  
• Government Agencies
  
• Judiciary
  
• Non-Profits
  
• Public Interest 
  
• Private Firms
  
• Politics
  
• University Offices

Employers: Would you like to serve as a placement site and host a Syracuse Law extern? Fill out our externship placement form.

Expansion

The Orange Network is vast and the College of Law has alumni in all 50 states and 53 countries around the world. The program continues to expand, offering students a range of locations where they can complete externships. Outside of our core programs, the Externship Program accommodates students who take advantage of our network in other cities and smaller pilot programs, including :

• Atlanta
  
• Florida
  
• Boston
  
• Houston
  
• Los Angeles
• San Diego
  
• San Francisco
  

Can't find a placement that fits your goals? Already have an opportunity you would like to take for credit as an externship? Talk with Dafni Kiritsis.

Requirements

JD Residential (JDr):
Open to 2L and 3L students. 1L students are eligible for an externship the summer after their first year. Students must be in good academic standing (minimum GPA of approximately a 2.5) at the time they apply and throughout the course of their externships Professional Responsibility is a pre/co-requisite class to any externship. Participation in the accompanying, one credit externship seminar is required.

JD Interactive (JDi):
JD Interactive (JDi): Open to JDi students in their 5th semester or later for summer, spring or fall. Three (3) credits of externship placement are required as part of the JDi curriculum. Students must be in good academic standing (minimum GPA of approximately a 2.5) at the time they apply and throughout the course of their externships Professional Responsibility is a pre/co-requisite class to any externship. Participation in the accompanying, one credit externship seminar is required

Seminar:
All externship students must enroll in the accompanying 1 credit externship seminar. Each seminar is an on-line, primarily asynchronous class, that examines the complex operations of the legal profession and relevant new lawyer topics and includes written assignments. Students will present in class, hear from guest speakers, and reflect on the transition from classroom to practice settings.

Travel & Housing:
Students are responsible for securing housing and travel to and from their program's city as well as to and from their placement. In larger cities, it is recommended to live nearby public transportation.

Externship Hours:
Students select their externship credits based on their overall class schedule and in consultation with their placement supervisors. You must register for at least 2 credits of externship hours. Externship hours must be completed between the first day of the semester and the last day of the semester. Hours cannot be carried over from one semester to another.

For enrollment of 2-6 credits, 1 credit equates to 50 hours:
2 credits-100 hours / 3 credits-150 hours / 4 credits-200 hours / 5 credits-250 hours / 6 credits-300 hours

For enrollment of more than 6 credits, 1 credit equates to 45 hours:
7 credits-315 hours / 8 credits- 360 hours / 9 credits-405 hours / 10 credits-450 hours / 11 credits-495 hours Full time JDi: 10 credits-450 hours / Full time JDr: 12 credits-540 hours

Family & Elder Law Practicum:
The Family & Elder Law Practicum offers you the opportunity to focus your externship experience on family law practice, which includes opportunities to advocate for and protect children’s rights and serving those aged 60 and over and who are of low or moderate incomes. This focused externship will be delineated as such on your transcript.

Externship Process:

1. Once you have secured an externship placement, e-mail lawexternships@syr.edu for approval; provide the placement name, supervisor name and expected credits.
2. The student must sign and return the Student Agreement Form to lawexternships@syr.edu
3. The placement must sign and return the Memorandum of Agreement to lawexternships@syr.edu
4. Register for the one-credit seminar and appropriate externship.

*Students may seek permission to extern at the same placement over multiple semesters if their work is substantially different or more advanced in the repeated semester. A brief written memorandum on this issue is required. Please contact lawexternships@syr.edu for more information. Under NY Bar rules, up to 15 credit hours of distance education courses, within defined parameters, may be included in the 83 credit hours and the 64 classroom credit hours. Remote externships are considered to be “distance education courses.”

Programs

Our alumni network spans the entire US and we continue to develop new opportunities for our students. Explore the programs below to find out which best fits your career goals.