The externship program complements our Clinical Program at Stanford Law School and provides second- and third-year students with a focused educational experience by combining fieldwork in nonprofit and government organizations with structured coursework or research directed by a member of the faculty. Generally involving direct casework, research, and writing, externships enable students to gain experience and receive academic credit in areas of the law where a clinical course is not offered or pursue advanced work in an in area of prior clinical practice.
Externships at SLS fall into two categories: the Standard Externship Program (SEP) offers placements in Bay Area organizations, and the Special Circumstances Externship Program (SCEP) allows students to apply for placements in organizations outside the Bay Area. Many SLS students take this opportunity to work on the East Coast or abroad at international NGOs or governmental entities like the United Nations or a U.S. Embassy.
The SEP offers students 16 to 40 hours per week externships in criminal law, environmental law, direct legal services, government prosecution offices, civil rights, and public policy practices. Students are required to participate in a weekly seminar and prepare a major research paper. Examples of placements in this program include the American Civil Liberties Union, Natural Resources Defense Council, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund, and various district attorney and public defender offices.
The SCEP only allows externships for 40 hours per week because students are out of the area. Instead of the weekly seminar, SCEP externs must identify a faculty member willing to supervise the student's placement and conduct a site visit. Past placements include the U.S. Embassy in the Hague, The U.N. Rwanda Tribunal in Tanzania, the Brennan Center in New York City, and the Washington, D.C. Public Defender Service.
The Center staff can discuss placement options with students based on their interests and provide evaluations of past placements from former externs.
Please note that students may only participate in the externship program once during their time at Stanford Law School. Students in the final semester of their third-year may not extern more than 16 hours per week (which rules out participation in the SCEP).
For program details, a list of pre-approved San Francisco Bay Area placements, and sample applications, please scroll up and click on "Related Links" on the right side of the webpage.