Externships
Experience. Flexibility. Success
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:
Employers: Would you like to serve as a placement site and host a Syracuse Law extern? Fill out our externship placement form.
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 :
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.
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:
*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.”
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:
Placements are available from local, state, and federal judges, in government offices, non-profit organizations, law firms, corporations, and more.
Coming soon…a list of CNYEx placements
CNYEx is:
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.
Coming soon…a list of NYCEx placements.
NYCEx is:
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.
Coming soon…a list of DCEx placements.
DCEx is:
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.
Coming soon…a list of PhillyEx placements.
PhillyEx is:
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.
• LondonEx is offered every Summer for 4 credits.
Dafni S. Kiritsis, Director of Externships and Career Services | 315.443.1358