Field Supervisor Information

Externships

Cooley externs learn in court, in board rooms, and in law offices across the nation.

In 1997 Thomas M. Cooley Law School introduced the Externship Program, designed to provide appropriate clinical offerings to every student. The Cooley Externship Program provides third-year students with the opportunity to expand on their substantive and practical legal education by practicing alongside an experienced attorney in the extern’s area of interest. Each supervising attorney assigns legal work to an extern and acts as a teacher and mentor. The attorney provides the extern with regular feedback about his or her job performance and insight into the professional obligations of being an attorney. An extern meets regularly with a Cooley faculty member, who reinforces necessary lawyering skills and helps the extern begin the lifelong process of “reflective-lawyering.” The close relationship between student, attorney and professor helps the extern bridge the gap between law school and real-world practice. The best part of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School Externship Program is limitless opportunities. Since the beginning of the program, thousands of students have participated in externships at over 1,700 different placement sites. The list grows as new sites are reviewed and approved by the faculty each term.

Interested in Becoming a Field Supervisor?

As externs, Cooley students are supervised by practicing lawyers. Under direct supervision of their attorney supervisors, many students appear before real judges on motion day and conduct full trials. Cooley students write legal briefs and memoranda of law, draft legal documents, prepare client files, take depositions, and engage in all aspects of discovery. They learn to practice law and will hit the ground with your law practice.

So why bring Cooley students into your practice? They are learning the law to be practicing attorneys. Their learning curve on a new job will be significantly less because of their preparation, and their tenacity will see them through any challenge presented. They will bring determination, excellent research skills, thorough legal knowledge, and enthusiasm to your practice. After all, they are making it through one of the toughest, most rigorous legal education programs in the nation. They are proven winners, and ready to join your team.

For more information about the Thomas M. Cooley Law School Externship Program, please contact Clinical Coordinator, Marianne Flinn, The Office of Planning, Programs, and Assessment, Cooley Center, 300 S. Capitol Ave., Lansing, MI 48901 or call (517) 371-5140 ext. 2914, or email flinnm@cooley.edu.