Externships Host Site Info
We appreciate your interest in participating as an externship host site, providing students with an educational opportunity to gain substantial lawyering experience under the supervision of a licensed judge or attorney.Â
Host Site Supervisors are expected to meet regularly with the extern (at least once a week) to discuss assignments, provide feedback, and field questions. At the end of the externship, supervisors should participate in the student’s formal evaluation. Supervisors should ensure that all work assigned to the extern is equivalent to work that would be assigned to an entry-level attorney. Supervisors should spend significant time reviewing externs’ drafts and providing detailed feedback to the extern.
Supervisors should strive to include the extern in office meetings, strategy meetings, and any other facets of office life — or the life of a particular case — that would enhance the extern’s understanding of the work.
Organizations & supervisors must be approved prior to an externship placement.
Externship Host Sites
Qualified organizations include, but are not limited to:
- Government agencies
- Judicial chambers
- Legal aid offices
- Positions with the legislature
- Prosecutors Office or Public Defender offices
- Public interest organizations
- Public service legal work for an organization.
For-profit externship sites are limited to:
- Corporate counsel or small firms (10 or fewer attorneys).
- Local, Seattle area.
- 1 quarter (may not be extended to multiple quarters)
- Limited to: Min. 4 to Max. 6 creditsÂ
- Must be an unpaid experience
- Extern's time may not be billed
Externship Host Site & Site Supervisor qualifications and responsibilities
- Externship host sites must provide adequate training and assignments that are both educational and challenging.
- The Externship Host Site will provide the student with adequate workspace and resources to complete assignments.
- The Site Supervisor is a licensed attorney or judge who has been admitted to practice for three years or more, and who has not been the subject of disciplinary action within the past ten years.
- The Site Supervisor has primary responsibility for overseeing the student experience at the Host Site throughout the quarter and monitoring the progress of all student work including any work assigned by other attorneys.
- The Site Supervisor will ensure that the student receives timely feedback on assignments, either directly from the Site Supervisor or from any other attorneys who assign work to the student. The Site Supervisor will meet with the student at least once per week to provide constructive instruction and feedback about the student’s work.
- The Site Supervisor will participate in a site visit if requested by the law school.
- The Site Supervisor will notify the Faculty Supervisor promptly if any issues arise with the student’s performance at the Host Site.
- The Site Supervisor will complete, review with the student, and submit a final evaluation of the student to the UW School of Law Externship Program within one week after the end of the quarter.
Site Supervisor
The Site Supervisor has primary responsibility for overseeing the student experience, prioritizing educational goals, monitoring their progress, and giving timely feedback on assignments.
A site supervisor must be:
- A judge or attorney, admitted to practice in at least one jurisdiction for a minimum of 3 years and who has not been the subject of disciplinary action within the last 10 years.
- A regular employee of the Externship host site, or, if not a regular employee, one who has been appointed by the Externship host site to assume principal responsibility for the legal matters upon which the student works.
- An employee of the host site for at least three years, and/or have at least three years of practice experience related to the subject matter of the externship.
All potential new externship host sites must complete an Externship Host Site Information Form and return it to extern@uw.edu.