Students

The Office of Career Development maintains a list of possible externships on CDOnline. In the OCI and Job Listings tab, you can filter by positions that are “Eligible for School Credit” to find current listings. Students are encouraged to contact past sponsors from government or nonprofit agencies in a professional fashion regarding any current externship needs. As per the Law School Rules, students cannot extern at private, for-profit law firms or corporations.

Examples of agencies and organizations that have served as externship placement sites include Colorado state and federal courts at every level, The Deming Center Venture Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Boulder and Denver District Attorney's Office, The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Colorado Attorney General's Office, Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, Colorado Technology Association, Greenpeace International, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, The National Audobon Society, The Wilderness Society, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, University of Colorado Athletics Department, Western Mining Action Project, Colorado Legal Services, and many more as detailed here.

In deciding whether to approve a program for extern credit, Colorado Law will evaluate the following criteria to see if they are met:

• The externship placement site is a non-profit or governmental agency. Students are not allowed to complete externships at private, for-profit law firms or corporations.
• The program is of substantial educational value,
• The work to be done is of the kind a beginning lawyer might do in a professional capacity or is closely related thereto,
• The work must have a substantial writing component,
• The field supervisor is a practicing attorney or judge located at the externship site who is commited to mentoring and providing the student with substantial feedback on his/her/their work product,
• The sponsoring organization must provide the student with an adequate opportunity to work the required number of hours to earn the externship credit,

In addition to working at their sponsoring organization, students are required to attend mandatory classes offered during the semester through the Externship Program.

Please note:

1. Students may not do an externship as a research assistant for a law school professor.
2. Students must have completed at least 30 law school credits to be eligible to do an externship.
3. Law firms and private organizations who would like to employ the services of our students are encouraged to employ them for wages. In many circumstances, the time a student spends working for a law firm may be billed to a client. The Career Development Office is available to aid in matching firms and private organizations with students who would be qualified to work for them.

Students may earn 2, 3, or 4 academic credits for their externship work in a single semester, unless approved for a semester long 7-credit externship in Colorado or 10-credit externship in a national or international placement. The maximum number of externship credits a student can earn while in law school is 7.

To be eligible for academic credit, a student's externship must meet the following requirements:

• A qualified field sponsor who is a lawyer or judge (students may not extern at private, for-profit law firms or corporations)
• A minimum of 50 hours of work during the semester of enrollment for each externship credit, with a minimum number of 2 externship credits per semester and a maximum number of 4 credits per semester (unless approved for a semester long 7-credit externship in Colorado or 10-credit externship in a national or international placement) 
• Participation in mandatory course sessions offered throughout the semester 
• Submission of substantial written work authored by the student in the course of the externship. Acceptable writing pieces include:
  • compositions for your externship sponsor which are reviewed and critiqued
  • legal memoranda and briefs which are a significant part of your work and which are reviewed by your field supervisor
  • pleadings can sufffice so long as they are primarily authored by the student and can be redacted appropriately to remove personal identifying informtion and sensitive content
• Other externship paperwork as required by the rules

Externship hours cannot be applied retroactively. ABA rules require that an externship is supervised by faculty and that students engage in ongoing contemporaneous reflection. Consequently, you cannot count any hours worked prior to student submission of an externship application and approval of an externship application by the Program Director.  

More information regarding externship requirements is available at Law School Rule 24 and in the Program Description Agreement, which serves as the externship application.

Colorado Law students should send their completed (signed by the student and supervisor) to lawexternships@colorado.edu. Students should CC their externship supervisor on this email. Applications to enroll in an externship during any semester should be submitted no later than the stated deadline. The deadline is/will be listed on the "Information for Students" portion of this website. 

1. Determine an externship site that will satisfy the above requirements and will meet your career interests.
2. Approach the site of interest and identify an attorney who will serve as your field supervisor. You must identify a single person to serve as your supervisor even if you will work with several attorneys during the course of your externship. Make sure that you discuss with your supervisor your need to be trained and mentored.
3. Decide the number of academic credits you would like to receive for your externship. Each credit consists of 50 working hours per semester and you may register for 2, 3, or 4 credits, unless otherwise approved for a semester long 7-credit externship in Colorado or a 10-credit externship in a national or international placement in consultation with the Director of Experiential Learning. Students cannot register for a 1-credit externship. 
4. Students interested in completing a semester long 7-credit externship in Colorado or a 10-credit externship in a national or international placement must make an appointment to meet with the Director of Experiential Learning and must include the Petition to Participate in a Single-Semester 7-Credit Externship in Colorado, or a Single-Semester 10-Credit Externship at a National or International Placement with their application.
5. Obtain a resume, bio, or CV from your field supervisor (which should include qualifications of this individual to be your supervisor, along with a business address and phone number).
6. Complete Externship Application (Program Description Agreement)

Upon receiving your application, we will carefully review your application materials. If your application is approved, we will send you a confirmation email and we will register you for the requested number of credits by the Law Registrar's Office. 

Your completed application should consist of:

• The Program Description Agreement.
• Please ensure the COVID-19 Assesment section of the Program Description Agreement is compelte and signed.
• A copy of your field supervisor's resume and bio clearly showing his/her/their qualifications. Documents printed out from employer websites are acceptable.
• If applying for a 7 or 10-credit externship, please include the Petition to Participate in a Single-Semester 7-Credit Externship in Colorado, or a Single-Semester 10-Credit Externship at a National or International Placement with your application.

• At the mid-point of the externship placement, the extern must complete the Student Mid-Semester Self-Analysis form.
• Upon completion of the required externship hours, the extern must submit the Student Final Externship Report, Student Externship Timesheet , and a Writing Sample created as part of the externship (please redact names and any other information needed to preserve confidentialuty as determined with your placement ). 
• Supervisors must complete the Field Supervisor Final Externship Report. Students are responsible for making sure their supervisor knows about this requirement.

All materials should be emailed to the Director of Experiential Learning at lawexternships@colorado.edu. Please download the forms below to your computer before filling them out.

• Student Mid-Semester Self-Analysis
• Student Final Externship Report
• Student Externship Timesheet 
• Field Supervisor Final Externship Report