Student Information
Public Interest Extern Clinic- Law 675
Course Instructor: Associate Professor and Clinic Director, Mary Rudasill
The Public Interest Extern Clinic is open to students who have completed 54 hours of law credit including evidence and civil procedure. These pre-requisites will allow students to obtain the Illinois Student Practice License so that they can represent clients and appear in court under the supervision of a licensed attorney from the Clinic. Students who choose public interest law offices outside of Illinois will need to determine if they are eligible for that state’s student practice license. Students are also required to have a cumulative grade point average of 2.3 or better in order to enroll in this clinic. See the School of Law Rules relating to Clinics on the Clinic/Public Services web page for more details about enrollment in clinical courses.
Students who enroll in the Public Interest Extern Clinic will work in publicly-funded law office which provides public "service" type legal assistance. These include state's attorney offices, public defender offices, legal service offices, worker's compensation arbitrator's offices, etc. Students may also work in non-profit organizations which have in house counsel and federal, state or local agencies which have attorneys on their staff. These agencies include the Department of Public Health in Springfield, Illinois, one of the many offices of the state attorney general, and similar agencies and offices. In the fall and spring semesters, students who wish to clerk for state or federal judges will enroll in this clinic. Judicial externs placements for the summer term will be through the Summer Judicial Extern Clinic course (Law-672), discussed elsewhere on this Clinic web site.
Each placement site must be pre-approved by the Clinic Director. A list of currently approved sites is located in the Placement Library in a notebook labeled Approved Sites for Public Interest Extern Clinics. The approved site list is also included on the Clinic web page. See “Currently Approved Public Interest Extern Placement Sites”. If a student wants to arrange to do an extern placement in a qualified office which is not currently approved, the proposed site may apply for approval prior to the time the student enrolls for the course. Applications are available in Room 104, the Legal Clinic.
The type of experiences a student has at an extern placement will vary with the type of office the student selects. Judicial externs do mainly research, writing and court observations. State's attorney externs get into court and do traffic and misdemeanor bench trials and other types of courtroom work. Legal work done in agencies and legal services providers will also vary. Students should select an extern placement based on the types of skills they wish to develop and the experiences they desire. In addition to working in the chosen legal office, extern students must submit various paperwork throughout the semester and participate in class discussions via the course TWEN page. Students will also have a limited number of class sessions at the law school and at least two individual meetings with the Professor overseeing the course.
Summer Public Interest Extern Class Meetings
Externships may be done over the summer between the student's second and third years of law school. Students will need to plan ahead to accomplish this to be certain they have the general course requirements and appropriate prerequisites. (See the School of Law Rules pertaining to Legal Clinic)
Class sessions for the summer course will take place in the evenings in late April, during the spring semester and prior to the beginning of summer classes. This will allow students who have placements in offices located anywhere in the United States to spend their summer at their placement site.