Externships
Experience. Flexibility. Success
Gain the practical experience needed to jump start your legal career. Earn credit and develop professional relationships while working in premier placements across the country. Our robust programs 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
- 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.
Students/Employers: Interested in a virtual/remote placement? Read more about placement expectations and the approval process for placements starting Fall 2021.
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. Locations for planned expansion include:
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- South Florida
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
Academic: Students are eligible to participate beginning their 1L summer. 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, and must satisfy the Professional Responsibility pre-/co-requisite (LAW 647 as a 1L elective or LAW 746).
Seminar: All externship students must enroll in the accompanying 1 credit externship seminars. Each seminar 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 panels and distinguished lecturers, 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 Placement Credits
- The Student is expected to work a minimum of 100 hours at the placement for 2 credit hours.
- The Student is expected to work a minimum of 150 hours at the placement for 3 credit hours.
- The Student is expected to work a minimum of 200 hours at the placement for 4 credit hours.
- The Student is expected to work a minimum of 250 hours at the placement for 5 credit hours.
- The Student is expected to work a minimum of 300 hours at a placement for 6 credit hours.
- The Student is expected to work a minimum of 540 hours at the placement for 12 credit hours.
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.
Located in the heart of Central New York, the College of Law sits within a reasonable drive of externship placements in:
- Albany
- Binghamton
- Buffalo
- Cortland
- Rochester
- Utica
- Watertown
Placements are available from local, state, and federal judges, in government offices, non-profit organizations, law firms, corporations, and more.
Program Information:
NYEx is:
• Either part-time or full-time for a single semester
• Offered every Spring, Summer, and Fall. Recruitment occurs early each Spring semester for all options the following academic year. Applications are managed through an interview session on the College’s Symplicity platform.
Credits:
2-6 credits part-time for NYEx Placement; 12 credits full-time NYEx Placement; 1 credit for Externship Seminar.
Experience law in the Big Apple, the United State’s most populous city, working at placements like the NYS Attorney General’s Office, Constellation Advisers LLC, DLA Piper, and federal Judges.
Program Information:
NYCEx is:
• A full-time, semester-long externship.
• Offered every Spring and Summer.
Credits:
Spring: 12 credits for NYCEx Placement; 1 credit for Externship Seminar.
Summer: 5 credits for NYCEx Placement; 1 credit for Externship Seminar.
Get a taste of the US capital’s unique legal environment in Washington, DC. Work at the US Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, on the Hill with US and State representatives, for the FBI, NASA, Planned Parenthood, at law firms, or at one of many other prominent placements.
Program Information:
DCEx is:
• A full-time, semester-long externship.
• Offered every Spring and Summer.
Credits:
Spring: 12 credits for DCEx Placement; 1 credit for Externship Seminar.
Summer: 5 credits for DCEx Placement; 1 credit for Externship Seminar.
Testimonial:
I will tell you DCEx a fantastic opportunity. Between the two externships I have experienced, we have had seminars at three of the top 20 law firms in the country (Arnold & Porter, DLA Piper, K&L Gates, Ernst &Young), met with several top-tier government employees (Department of Justice attorney, Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, NCS Deputy, Commodities Future Trading Commission Commissioner, Judge Advocate General and Administrative Law Judges) and a member of Congress. Not only are those great networking opportunities, DCEx gives you the chance to visit some of the more exclusive buildings in the US (including rooms in the White House where there is no public access).
However, big picture wise, DCEx students are obviously participating for future internships/jobs. Through one of my placements during spring 2019 at the CPSC, working under the Chairwomen of the entire government agency, I have secured a paid internship for the summer. I was also offered a paid clerkship at the Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission under one of the 5 ALDs in the agency.
The externships give me a leg up when compared to other law students because instead of having only 4-6 months of actual legal experience at two spots (roughly two summers), I will have roughly 8-9 months experience at two or three placements. Lastly, there are two big networking events offered by the College of Law in the spring/summer where many alumni, externship hosts, and others come and mingle with us. These are perfect opportunities to speak with a wide array of DC-connected professionals and set up lunches/coffee meet ups to network and make connections.
I decided to go to the College of Law over other schools because of the externship program and it has paid off immensely.
—Ethan Paraboschi L’19
Philadelphia is one of the nation’s most historic cities and a perfect place to gain experience with public defenders, public interest agencies, and private law firms.
Program Information:
PhillyEx is:
• A full-time, semester-long externship.
• Offered every Spring and Summer.
Credits:
Spring: 12 credits for PhillyEx Placement; 1 credit for Externship Seminar.
Summer: 5 credits for PhillyEx Placement; 1 credit for Externship Seminar.
Spend the summer abroad in London, one of the world’s most dynamic and historic cities and gain a comprehensive understanding of the rich legal tradition that produced the US legal system. The College of Law has maintained the prestigious LondonEx program for over 40 years. LondonEx emphasizes a comparative law immersion, where students can learn the fundamental tenets of English law, emphasizing its institutions, profession, court structure, procedure, and substantive law.
Program Information:
• LondonEx is offered every Summer for 4 credits.
Faculty & Staff Contacts
Dafni S. Kiritsis, Director of Externships and Career Services | 315.443.1358
- DCEx & NYCEx: Professor Deborah O’Malley | 315.443.3981
- LondonEx: Assistant Dean of International Programs Andrew Horsfall | 315.443.3583
- NYEx: Dafni S. Kiritsis | 315.443.1358
- PhillyEx: Professor Todd Berger | 315.443.9552