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Judicial Field Placements

B698 is taught by S. Lahn, L. Violi

The Judicial Field Placement provides an opportunity for second- and third-year students to receive academic credit for their work with a judge in chambers.

COURSE GOALS

The student will work with judges, clerks, and court staff in a judicial setting, and gain insight into how a chambers runs and how the judge and their staff work together to serve the court. The student will gain a behind-the-scenes view of what happens in a courtroom from the judge s perspective and how cases are discussed and decided. The student will also learn to discern what written and oral advocacy techniques are effective (and ineffective) from the judicial perspective. The goal of the course is for students to be able to develop their own lawyering and legal skills, assess that development, reflect on their experience and its application to their legal career, and discuss it with their employer and faculty supervisors.

PREREQUISITE(S)

Successful completion of the 1L curriculum.

STUDENT ROLE

The student s role in this course will first and foremost consist of working as an extern at their court. Work responsibilities at the externship will vary based on the employer, but will likely consist of legal research, reviewing and drafting memos and other legal documents, and observing hearings, trials, and conferences.

Students are required to work 52 hours for each academic credit earned (i.e. 104 hours for two credits and 156 hours for three credits). The academic component consists of ABA-required work: (1) written goals and objectives for the externship, (2) reflective essays, (3) one-on-one meetings with the faculty supervisor, and (4) a final self-assessment and evaluation of the workplace. Students are required to maintain and submit a detailed timesheet throughout the semester.

APPLICATION METHOD

For assistance with finding an externship, please work with your CSO Advisor. Faculty approval prior to registration is required. Students interested in this externship course are encouraged to contact Dean McFadden (anmcfadd@iu.edu).

Once you have secured a position, getting set to work for credit is a fairly simple process: You need to complete the Externship Permission Form on CareerNet, which can be found under the Externships tab on the left side of your homepage. We ll review and approve the externship, and then you ll enroll in the relevant course for the semester during Registration or during the Drop/Add period.

MATERIALS

The Syllabus and any additional reading materials and assignments will be posted on this course s Canvas page.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Before signing up for an externship course, please be sure review the Faculty Policy on Field Placements.

For additional questions, contact Dean McFadden (anmcfadd@iu.edu)

NOTE: If you have not secured or approved your placement for the course as of registration day, please register for another course you want to take in case securing and/or approving the placement falls through. Once you secure and get your placement approved, you can drop the extra class and add the externship.

Please note: Ordinarily, no student may enroll in a field placement concurrently with a law clinic. Rare exceptions may be made by Dean McFadden.